Debt Collector Calling Every Day? The Letter That Asks Them to Contact You Only in Writing

It started with a letter from a company you’d never heard of, saying you owe $2,840 from an account you closed years ago. Then the calls. Morning, lunch, evening, from different numbers. A text saying “final notice before legal action”. A voicemail left with reception at work. You’re not even sure the debt is yours, and you’re now afraid to answer your phone.

Australian law does not allow this. Debt collectors are permitted to ask you to pay. They are not permitted to harass, mislead, or contact you more often than the regulators’ guideline allows, and you have the right to require them to deal with you in writing only. One letter can ask for all of that, and it also asks them to prove the debt exists.

Your rights

• No harassment or coercion. Section 50 of the Australian Consumer Law and s 12DJ of the ASIC Act 2001 prohibit undue harassment or coercion in connection with payment for goods, services or financial products. Misleading you about your legal position (threatening “arrest”, “bailiffs tomorrow”, or court action they don’t intend to take) is separately prohibited.
• Contact limits. The ACCC/ASIC Debt Collection Guideline sets what regulators consider reasonable: no more than three contacts per week (or ten per month), only between 7:30am and 9pm on weekdays and 9am and 9pm on weekends, none on national public holidays, and no contact at your workplace if you’ve asked them not to. Once you nominate a representative or ask for contact in writing, they should respect that.
• Proof of debt. You are entitled to ask for the details: who the original creditor was, the account, the amount and how it’s made up, the date of last payment, and evidence of assignment if the debt was sold. A collector who can’t produce that shouldn’t be collecting.
• Hardship and dispute rights. If it’s a consumer credit debt, the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 gives you the right to request a hardship variation, and a financial-firm collector must have an internal dispute process and belong to AFCA.
• Time limits. Old debts may be statute-barred (see our companion post on the 6-year rule). If yours is, say so in writing.

By state

The conduct rules above are federal. Two things vary by state: the limitation period after which the debt is unenforceable, and who licenses the collector:

• New South Wales. Limitation Act 1969: 6 years from the last payment or written acknowledgment; the cause of action is extinguished on expiry. Collectors licensed by NSW Fair Trading (commercial agents).
• Victoria. Limitation of Actions Act 1958: 6 years. Debt collectors must be registered with Consumer Affairs Victoria under the Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012.
• Queensland. Limitation of Actions Act 1974: 6 years. Licensed under the Debt Collectors (Field Agents and Collection Agents) Act 2014 (Office of Fair Trading).
• Western Australia. Limitation Act 2005: 6 years. Licensed under the Debt Collectors Licensing Act 1964 (Consumer Protection WA).
• South Australia. Limitation of Actions Act 1936: 6 years. Consumer and Business Services regulates collectors under the Fair Trading Act 1987.
• Tasmania. Limitation Act 1974: 6 years. Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (ACL conduct rules).
• Australian Capital Territory. Limitation Act 1985: 6 years. Access Canberra (ACL conduct rules).
• Northern Territory. Limitation Act 1981: 3 years for simple contract debts. NT Consumer Affairs.

The Claim Done document asks your state first and drafts the limitation and licensing paragraphs to that state’s law.

What to do right now

1. Start a contact log today. Date, time, number, what was said, whether it was at work. Screenshots of texts. This log is what turns “they’re hassling me” into a regulator complaint.
2. Don’t acknowledge the debt on the phone. Saying “I know I owe it, I’ll pay something next week” can restart a limitation period in some states and hands them an admission. Ask them to put everything in writing.
3. Send a written notice of dispute and proof-of-debt request. Dispute the debt (or state you don’t recognise it), require full particulars including assignment documents, direct all contact to be in writing at your nominated address, prohibit workplace contact, and put them on notice of ACL s 50 / ASIC Act s 12DJ and the Guideline’s contact limits.
4. Check your credit report. Free from Equifax, Experian and illion. If a default has been listed, note the date and who listed it.
5. Complain if they breach. Financial firm or their collector: internal complaint, then AFCA. Everyone else: your state consumer body and the ACCC.

What a proof-of-debt request asks for

Most purchased-debt portfolios come with a spreadsheet, not a file. The collector paid cents in the dollar and often holds no contract, no statements and no signed application. When you require the original agreement, a full transaction history to the last payment, the notice of assignment, and the s 21D default notice (if they say a default was listed), one of three things happens: they produce it and you can assess whether to negotiate; they can’t and the account goes quiet; or they keep calling without producing it, which is exactly the conduct the regulators act on. Either way you now control the timetable. If you do owe the money, the same letter is the right place to propose a hardship arrangement or a lump-sum settlement, in writing, with a request that any credit listing be updated to “paid”.

Who to complain to

AFCA if the collector is a financial firm or acting for one (banks, credit cards, BNPL, personal loans, most debt buyers are members). ACCC and ASIC for harassment and misleading conduct. Your state consumer body (Fair Trading NSW, Consumer Affairs Victoria, Queensland OFT, Consumer Protection WA, CBS SA, CBOS Tasmania, Access Canberra, NT Consumer Affairs) for licensing breaches. The National Debt Helpline (1800 007 007) for free financial counselling.

Ask them to deal with you in writing — $49

Stop reading. Start doing. Claim Done drafts a Debt Collector Dispute Letter that disputes the debt, demands full proof including assignment, restricts all contact to writing, bans workplace contact, cites ACL s 50, the ASIC Act and the ACCC/ASIC Guideline limits, raises the limitation period for your state where it applies, and sets out the AFCA and regulator complaint you will lodge if they breach it.

Stop the Calls and Demand Proof — $49 →

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