# Your rights You have rights. Here they are, in plain language. > This is general information, not legal advice. If you need legal advice about your specific situation, talk to a lawyer. ## Federal rights ### You can ask for proof of the debt You have the right to ask us to verify the debt. We will collect the documentation from the business that placed the account and send it to you. This right comes from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. § 1692g. The FDCPA applies most strongly to consumer debts. Business debts are not directly covered by FDCPA, but we provide the same verification right to everyone. ### You can dispute the debt If you disagree with the debt, you can dispute. Once a dispute is open, the compliance engine blocks any further calls or emails on the account until the dispute is resolved. See [Opening a dispute](/for-debtors/debtor-portal/opening-a-dispute.md). ### You can ask us to stop contacting you If you tell us to stop, we will stop. You can do this in writing (reply to an email saying "stop contacting me" or similar) or verbally on a call. When we record that intent, the scheduler stops both calls and emails on every account for that debtor under the same business. After we stop, the business that placed the account may still try to collect through other means, but we won't reach out to you anymore. See [How to stop contact](/for-debtors/compliance-and-rights/how-to-stop-contact.md). ### You can't be harassed or threatened Under law, we can't: * Threaten violence or harm. * Use obscene or profane language. * Call repeatedly with the intent to annoy. * Call at unreasonable times (before 8 am or after 9 pm in your time zone, unless you agreed otherwise). * Misrepresent who we are or what you owe. * Threaten consequences we can't or won't carry out (we cannot have you arrested for unpaid business debt). * Discuss your debt with people not authorized to discuss it. ### You can have an attorney represent you If you hire a lawyer, tell us. We'll communicate with your lawyer instead of you about this debt. ## State rights Many states have their own consumer protection laws that extend or strengthen federal rights. These laws are most relevant if you are a sole proprietor or an individual. Some examples: * **California** — The Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (Civil Code § 1788) and the Fair Debt Buying Practices Act add protections beyond federal law. * **New York** — 23 NYCRR Part 1 requires specific disclosures and procedures. * **Massachusetts** — 940 CMR 7.00 has detailed rules. * **Florida** — Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (Florida Statutes § 559.55) provides similar protections. We follow state law in addition to federal law. The compliance engine reads per-state rules from `config/compliance/states.json` and applies them to every outreach decision. For state-specific rules, see [Compliance & Your Rights](/for-debtors/compliance-and-rights.md). ## Our practices A few things our system does that go beyond what's strictly required: * Pause all outreach on a placement the moment a dispute is opened, regardless of whether the debt is a "consumer" debt under FDCPA. * Disclose at the start of a call that the caller is an AI when state law requires it. (Some states require this; in others it's not mandatory and the disclosure may not be made.) * Record calls and store the recordings on the account record. (There is no self-serve "download my recording" feature in the portal today; if you'd like a copy of a specific call, [contact support](/troubleshooting/contact-support.md).) * Provide a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) intake for CPRA-covered individuals — see [Compliance & Your Rights](/for-debtors/compliance-and-rights.md). ## What to do if you think your rights were violated If you believe we or anyone on our system violated your rights: 1. **Tell us.** [Contact support](/troubleshooting/contact-support.md). Explain what happened. We investigate every complaint. 2. **Document it.** Save voicemails, emails, and any other proof. 3. **Tell the government.** You can file a complaint with: * **Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)** — `consumerfinance.gov/complaint/`. Federal. * **Federal Trade Commission (FTC)** — `reportfraud.ftc.gov`. * **Your state attorney general.** Look up the consumer protection office for your state. 4. **Talk to a lawyer.** Most consumer attorneys take FDCPA cases on contingency. ## Special rights for sole proprietors and individual debtors If you are an individual or a sole proprietor (a business that's just you, with no separate legal entity), FDCPA applies fully. The compliance engine flags these placements and applies stricter rules — stop-contact obligations, prohibited practices, and the rest of the FDCPA list above. If you are a corporation, LLC, or other formal entity, FDCPA does not directly apply — but state laws and the practices we choose still cover you. ## Special rights related to recording We record calls. Where state law requires both parties to consent to recording (a "two-party consent" state), our agent announces the recording at the start of every call. If you don't want to be recorded, tell us. We'll either end the call or continue without recording, where state law and our practices allow. You can also use the portal, which doesn't involve calls. See [Recording consent by state](/for-debtors/compliance-and-rights/recording-consent-by-state.md). ## TODO * Add state-by-state right summaries pulled from `config/compliance/states.json`. * Add CFPB complaint URL with current screenshot. *** Last reviewed: 2026-05-12 by Compliance Lead. **TODO: external counsel review (this is the highest-priority page for legal review before publish).** --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. 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