As with many other things, debt collection is governed by laws and statutes; these are in place to protect the consumer, and assure the party calling in the debt fair opportunity to do so. Doing a simple web search for more information on debt collection rights will yield hundreds of results explaining the rights of the consumer, and detail the measures in place designed to protect them from untoward Debt Collection practices. This is because there are far more instances of a debtor being harassed than a creditor over an account with an outstanding balance.The most prominent law in place to protect consumer’s rights is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or FDCPA for short. This law lays down the standards to which all debt collection agencies are to be held while they attempt to collect any monies owed them or their client. Essentially it prohibits abusive tactics that harass you or invade your privacy. For example, a debt collector is allowed to contact you by phone initially, but cannot do so before 8am or after 9pm, and must be calm and courteous when doing so. You are allowed and in some cases encouraged to request that any further communications between you and the collector be in writing. If you have an attorney, they should also be receiving copies of all information regarding the attempted collection of said debt.