How to Write a Cease and Desist Letter to a Creditor
- 1). Know When to Use a Cease and Desist Letter
Many consumers are of the false belief that a cease and desist letter will put an end to all attempts to collect the debt you owe. This misnomer is furthered by the countless websites created by disgruntled debtors and consumers-rights activists that misinterpret or are confused by the Fair Debt Collection Protection Act, and use the misinformation to spread ideas and theories on stopping creditors from doing what they are legally allowed to do. Most of these websites encourage consumers to use a cease and desist letter to stop creditors from trying to collect debts completely; that isn't what cease and desist letters are for. Rather, they are more of a last resort before taking more serious action when creditors refuse to stop calling you repeatedly on multiple phone numbers, call beyond the hours they are permitted to contact consumers, make threats or use vulgar language, or when you, aren't the customer they are trying to reach.
What a cease and desist letter can do is put an end to all collection calls for that particular debt from that creditor for good. Once the cease and desist letter has been received, the creditor is allowed to make contact with you one more time by phone. That means they may continue to call until you answer the phone and speak to them, but once that call has been completed, they will no longer be allowed to call you. All attempts to collect the money you owe will then be made in the manner you requested; usually, by mail. However, other arrangements are possible, such as by e-mail or by fax, depending on your preferences and what the creditor is willing to do. - 2). Contact the Creditor By Phone First
Try giving the creditor a call before you go through the process of writing and sending a cease and desist letter. Occasionally, the creditor will be more than willing to stop calling you with nothing more than verbal notification. Other creditors may require nothing more than a simple written notification asking them to stop calling you, and they will accept the notification by e-mail or fax. Give the creditor a heads up that you want to end all phone calls and switch to another form of contact, and you may be surprised to find they're willing to comply without a cease and desist letter.
If, for anyone reason, the phone representative for the creditor gives you any trouble for trying to end the phone calls, or they start making threats or are otherwise acting outside the lines that the FDCPA regulates, then let them know you will be drafting a cease and desist letter to send over to them and you will expect them to be compliant. Ask them for the mailing address where the letter should be directed and whose attention it should be directed to, as well. If they refuse to provide it, hang up and call again. When you get in contact with a different representative, just ask for the creditor's mailing address. You don't need to specify why you need it, but if they ask and refuse to provide it without a reason, then tell them you will be sending over information regarding your loan and its repayment. - 3). Use a Sample Cease and Desist Letter
If you have called your creditor and determined you will need to send them a cease and desist letter to stop the phone calls, then use the sample cease and desist letter below to draft your letter. Be sure to make the appropriate changes before sending the letter to the creditor, or else it may not be honored and the phone calls will not stop:
Mr./Mrs./Ms. First and Last Name
Street Address
City, State Zip Code
Creditor/Company Name
ATTN: Name of Representative (if applicable), OR
ATTN: Legal Department
Street Address
City, State Zip Code
Sent Via Certified and Regular Mail, and Via Facsimile
RE: Cease and Desist Contact for Account Number: #######
Dear Sir/Madam (or name of representative, if applicable):
Please accept this correspondence as notification of enforcement of my rights as a consumer pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Protection Act. I am requesting that you immediately cease and desist any further communication with me with relation to any and all alleged debts, including any debt for account number ###. I also request that you discontinue any further communication with my family members, neighbors, friends, and any other party you may try to contact with regard to this issue. Pursuant to the FDCPA, you may contact me only one more time to discuss any future plans or ideas you may have regarding this debt.
Please be notified that if you refuse to comply with this request, you will be in violation of. If you choose to ignore this request, you will be reported immediately to the Federal Trade Commission and appropriate action will be taken, including but not limited to, any and all retribution available to me through the civil court system.
Very truly yours,
(Your Signature)
First and Last Name
Remember, the creditor may contact you one more time to let you know what their intentions are with regards to your outstanding debt. If the creditor tries to contact you more than once after the cease and desist letter was received, or their repeated calls do not stop, you may need to take further action and look into pursuing action under the FDCPA to end the calls and hold the creditor responsible for violating the act. - 4). Send the Letter By Regular and Certified Mail
After the letter is complete, print two copies and sign them both. Then, make two more copies of one of the signed letters. Send one of the original signed letters to the creditor via Certified Mail; this will both ensure they receive the letter, and give you written proof that someone at the company signed for the letter in case they later dispute ever receiving it. If you have never sent a letter via Certified Mail before and need help, read the article linked below:
How to Send a Letter By Certified Mail
http://www.ehow.com/how_5490807_send-certified-letter.html
The second original signed letter should be sent via regular mail just to make sure they definitely receive it. You can also fax a copy of the letter over to cover all of your bases, and although this isn't really necessary, the creditor may honor the cease and desist letter received by fax immediately instead of waiting a few days to receive the letter in the mail. Keep at least one copy on file for yourself in case you need it for any reason, including to show the letter in court if the creditor chooses to ignore the request to cease contact. Also save the notice you receive from the certified letter to prove the letter was received and signed for. - 5). Confirm the Letter Was Received
After you receive the card confirmed the letter was received by Certified Mail, give the creditor a call to verbally confirm that they received it. If they state they have received it, reaffirm that they may only contact you once more now that they have the cease and desist letter, and that the phone call you made to them neither nullifies the letter, nor counts as their one last time to contact you. If the creditor tells you that they have not, in fact, received the cease and desist letter, let them know that you have in your hand the card confirming the letter was signed for and received, and give them the name of the individual who signed for the letter. Also let them know that if they choose to violate the request, you will be taking further action and the proof that they received the letter will be used to support your case. - 6). Repeat the Process for Every Company Involved
Cease and desist letters only apply to the company the letter was addressed to. For example, if you have an outstanding debt owed to Company A, and you send them a cease and desist letter, they will have to stop calling you. However, if Company A hires Company B, a third-party collection agency, to handle debt collection for your account, Company B is not required to follow the cease and desist order. You will have to draft and send a new cease and desist letter to Company B to stop the collection calls.
Creditors can also sell your outstanding debt to another creditor, instead of using a collection agency. If this happens, you will again have to send a new cease and desist letter to the company to stop the calls. Likewise, if the debt ends up back with the original creditor, either because they purchased the debt back from a company they previously sold it to, or a third-party collection agency returned the account to their office, you will also need to send a new cease and desist letter to stop the calls. In all of these instances, the cease and desist letter would not apply to anyone other than the original creditor when they first had the debt in their control, so no collection agency or other debtor would be breaking the law by contacting you by phone to attempt to collect the debt.
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