Debt Collectors
MCL 339.915 — what a collector may not do, and the $50 floor
Michigan has two lists of banned collection practices that read nearly word for word alike: one for licensed collection agencies, and one for a business collecting consumer debts as part of its own operation, including an employee collecting for 1 employer.
Among the practices both lists ban:
- Misrepresenting that not paying will lead to arrest or jail, or to seizure, garnishment or sale of property.
- Forms made to look like court papers, and government seals or forms.
- Calling repeatedly or continuously, or at times or places known to be inconvenient. Communications are limited to 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. unless the debtor agrees in writing to another time.
- Telling an employer about the debt, except with the debtor's written authorization after the claim went to collection, in answer to the employer's own inquiry, or to find the debtor.
- Contacting a debtor known to have a lawyer, once the lawyer has been contacted in writing, unless the lawyer does not answer or discuss the claim within 30 days.
- Violence or threats of it, profane or obscene language, shame cards, published lists of debtors, and post cards about a debt.
- Using a person acting as a police officer or process server to collect.
At least $50, and at least $150 when it was willful. A person harmed, or from whom money was collected by a banned practice, may sue. Recovery is actual damages or $50, whichever is greater. For a willful violation the court may award 3 times actual damages or $150, whichever is greater, and awards reasonable attorney fees and court costs.
Whether a particular debt can still be sued on is on the Old Debts And Time Limits page.
Sources for this section (5)
- MCL 339.915 — Prohibited acts of a licensed collection agency
- MCL 339.916 — Damages for a collection agency's prohibited acts
- MCL 445.252 — Prohibited collection practices
- MCL 445.257 — Damages for prohibited collection practices
- MCL 445.251 — Collection practices act; who is a regulated person
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Michigan attorney.