"Stop Contacting Me about This Debt" - Letter to Creditors - Do it Yourself

This letter tells debt collectors to stop using phone calls, letters or personal visits to try to make you pay back your debt. After they get this letter, the debt collectors can only contact you about legal action they will take.

Does Your Debt Qualify?
A "Stop Contact" letter will only work for certain debts. A stop contact letter may work for you only if:

• Your debt is for a personal, consumer or family expense. You can not use a stop contact letter for any non-consumer or business debt. You also can not use a stop contact letter for family maintenance like child support or spousal maintenance.

• You are being contacted by a third-party debt collector. That means your original creditor (like a department store, car dealership or credit card company) sold your debt to a debt collection agency, or hired an agency or a lawyer to collect it for them. Your original creditor can still contact you about the debt.
   

To learn more about your rights and duties, read these fact sheets from Legal Aid:

• Your Debt Collection Rights

• What to Do If You Are Sued

• Garnishment and Your Rights

You will need certain information to finish the interview. Some is basic, like your name and address. Other information includes:

• The name and address of the debt collection agency

• The name of your original creditor (like a credit card company or a store)

• An account number for the debt from the original creditor, from the debt collector, or from both. If you don't have the account number with you now, you can write it in later.

This interview works best with Chrome or Firefox internet browsers. You will also need Microsoft Word. (Note: Microsoft Word Pad is not the same as Microsoft Word and will not work with this program.)

Start the interview by visiting the Stop Contact Letter interview on LawHelp Interactive. You will be taken to a new website. 

On LawHelp Interactive, choose:

1. "Get Started" to complete the interview right away, 
   
   OR
    
2. "Create Account or Log In" to create an account so you can save your answers and come back later if you need more time.
    

Start the Interview!