Debt Collectors
Fin. Code 392.301 — no threats of arrest, no false lawyers, and damages
Texas's debt collection chapter governs anyone collecting a consumer debt, meaning an obligation, or an alleged one, primarily for personal, family or household purposes. A debt collector there includes anyone who directly or indirectly engages in collecting such debts, not only an outside agency.
- Threatening that the debtor will be arrested for not paying a consumer debt without proper court proceedings.
- Threatening to file a criminal charge where the debtor has not violated a criminal law, or falsely accusing someone of fraud or another crime.
- Threatening seizure, repossession or sale of property without proper court proceedings, where the law requires them.
- Threatening violence, or to take an action prohibited by law.
- Profane or obscene language, calls without disclosing the caller's name with intent to annoy or harass, and repeated or continuous calls with intent to harass.
A debt collector may not use fraudulent, deceptive or misleading representations, among them misrepresenting the character, extent or amount of a debt, claiming to be or be affiliated with the government, using papers that look like court documents, claiming a communication is from an attorney or law firm when it is not, and adding fees that no written contract or statute authorizes.
A violation is grounds for a suit, and the collector may still sue on the debt. A person may sue for an injunction and for actual damages, and one who succeeds recovers reasonable attorney's fees and costs; for certain violations the minimum is $100 each. The chapter does not stop a collector from threatening or filing a civil suit to collect, and a suit brought in bad faith or to harass costs the person who brought it the defendant's fees.
Sources for this section (5)
- Fin. Code 392.301 — Threats or coercion
- Fin. Code 392.304 — Fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading representations
- Fin. Code 392.403 — Civil remedies
- Fin. Code 392.001 — Definitions for debt collection
- Fin. Code 392.302 — Harassment; abuse
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Texas attorney.