Florida Debt Collection Laws

What Are Florida Debt Collection Laws?

Florida debt collection laws limit how creditors and debt collectors can pursue unpaid debts. These laws are designed to protect consumers from harassment and unfair collection tactics while still allowing legitimate collections. In Florida, debt collection is governed by both federal law and state law, each with different rules and protections.

Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act

The Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA) applies to both debt collectors and original creditors. It prohibits specific practices that are considered abusive, harassing, or misleading. Under the FCCPA, a creditor or collector cannot:

• Harass you with repeated phone calls.
• Use profane, obscene, or abusive language.
• Threaten force, violence, or criminal prosecution.
• Communicate with your employer without your permission unless it is to verify employment.
• Tell others about your debt without your consent.

The FCCPA gives consumers the right to sue creditors and collectors who violate the law, and successful lawsuits can result in actual damages, statutory damages, and attorney’s fees.

Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal law that regulates third-party debt collectors. It sets strict rules about when and how collectors can contact consumers. For example, collectors cannot:

• Call before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
• Contact you at work if you tell them not to.
• Threaten legal action they cannot take.
• Lie about the amount you owe or pretend to be someone they are not.

The FDCPA also allows consumers to demand that a debt collector stop contacting them by sending a written cease-and-desist letter.

What Happens If a Debt Collector Violates the Law?

If a debt collector violates the FDCPA or FCCPA, you have the right to take legal action. Florida law allows you to recover actual damages for any financial harm you suffered, statutory damages up to $1,000 under the FDCPA, court costs and attorney’s fees, and possible punitive damages in serious cases.

Filing a lawsuit also discourages future misconduct by the collector or creditor.

How to Protect Yourself from Illegal Debt Collection

If you are dealing with a debt collector, you can protect yourself by keeping records of all communication, sending a written request for validation of the debt, sending a cease-and-desist letter if you want to stop communication, and consulting with an attorney if you believe your rights have been violated.

Florida Judgment Collection

You can collect a judgment in Florida by recording a certified copy of the judgment in the debtor’s county, obtaining a writ of execution, and using tools like wage garnishment, bank account garnishment, and property liens. Florida judgments last for 20 years.

Once a judgment is entered, you can use several collection methods, such as:

• Bank Garnishment: Creditors can freeze and take funds from your bank accounts.
• Wage Garnishment: Creditors can garnish up to 25% of your disposable income from your paycheck, unless you qualify for head of household protection.
• Property Liens: Creditors can record the judgment as a lien against real estate you own, which must be satisfied before you can sell or refinance the property.
• Levy and Execution: Creditors can ask the sheriff to seize and sell non-exempt personal property to satisfy the judgment.

Not all property can be taken. Florida law protects a person’s primary residence through the homestead exemption and provides other protections for personal property and wages.

Florida law does not impose criminal penalties for failing to pay a civil judgment. This means you cannot be arrested solely for not paying your debt.

Effective asset protection planning requires understanding the tools judgment creditors may use to discover and take non-exempt assets.

Ways to Collect a Judgment in Florida

Winning a lawsuit is only half the battle. After a Florida court enters a judgment in your favor, the creditor must take additional legal action to actually collect the money owed. Here are the main ways:

1. Record the Judgment

The first step is to record a certified copy of the judgment in the public records of any Florida county where the debtor owns property. Recording the judgment creates a lien on the debtor’s real estate in that county. Without recording, the judgment is only a piece of paper and does not attach to any property.

A creditor can enforce a foreign judgment by domesticating the judgment in Florida.

2. Conduct Asset Discovery

If the creditor does not know what assets the debtor owns, they can conduct post-judgment discovery. Florida law allows the creditor to issue subpoenas, send interrogatories (written questions), request documents, and even schedule a deposition to uncover bank accounts, real estate, vehicles, or other valuable assets.

3. Garnish Wages or Bank Accounts

Florida creditors can file a motion for a writ of garnishment to freeze the debtor’s bank account or take a portion of their wages. Garnishment is a powerful tool, but some wages and accounts may be protected under Florida exemptions, such as the head of household wage exemption.

The creditor is not required to provide advance notice to the debtor prior to serving a writ of garnishment. Money subject to garnishment must be in the actual possession and control of the garnished third party. The money must be owed to the debtor without condition, and the amount owed must be liquidated (fixed) in amount. In most instances, a writ of garnishment pertains to current debts and obligations owed to the debtor.

A creditor cannot get a continuing writ of garnishment against payments other than wages. For example, money payable by a company to a debtor working as an independent contractor, or rents owed to a landlord, are not subject to continuing writs.

4. Levy and Execute on Assets

If the debtor owns valuable personal property, like cars, boats, or business equipment, the creditor can request a writ of execution from the court. This writ allows the sheriff to seize and sell the debtor’s non-exempt assets at a public auction to satisfy the judgment.

Vehicle seizure is a specialized form of execution and levy used to seize and auction a debtor’s vehicle.

5. Levy on Business Interests

A levy on a business interest means seizing shares or membership interests in a privately held business.

Creditors can use execution and levy against debtor’s shares of common stock of their own business. The sheriff will sell the stock at auction. The creditor can bid at the auction the amount of its judgment for the stock. The party that purchases the stock at auction steps into the debtor’s shoes as a stockholder. If the debtor owned one hundred percent of issued stock the successful bidder at auction gains control of the company and all company assets including, for example, company bank accounts.

A creditor may not execute and levy upon the debtor’s membership interest in a partnership or multi-member LLC. The creditor may not levy assets owned by the LLC. The creditor’s sole remedy is a charging lien on partnership or LLC profit distributions payable to the debtor. A debtor’s membership interest in a partnership or multi-member LLC with a properly drafted partnership agreement or LLC operating agreement in Florida provides asset protection.

6. File Proceedings Supplementary

If traditional collection efforts are not working, Florida law allows the creditor to file proceedings supplementary. This process lets them uncover hidden assets or fraudulent transfers and even add third parties (such as spouses or businesses) to the collection process if they are holding the debtor’s assets.

7. Renew the Judgment

Florida judgments are enforceable for 20 years, but the lien on real estate only lasts 10 years unless renewed. To preserve lien rights, the creditor must re-record the judgment before the lien expires.

Frequently Asked Questions