Start here
I am late, or in collections
Who should skip this. People whose accounts are current, or who already have a lawyer handling a case.
What this page is for
Late and “in collections” are not the same stage.
- Late with the original company means the card issuer, hospital, landlord, or servicer still owns the account.
- In collections usually means another firm is trying to collect, or the original company has moved the account to a collections department.
- In court means a summons, complaint, or garnishment paper exists. That is a deadline, not a phone problem.
This page helps you name the stage, keep housing and food first, write things down, and use official CFPB rights pages. It is not legal advice. It does not tell you to ignore a debt you owe. It does not tell you which debt to pay.
If today you cannot cover rent, utilities, food, or medicine, use Start here: “I may not make this month’s bills” in the same sitting. Collection noise is not a reason to skip shelter.
Name the stage (10 minutes)
For each overdue account, write:
- Original company
- Who is calling or writing now
- Amount they name
- Date of first collection letter or call you can prove
- Any paper that says summons, complaint, judgment, garnishment, eviction, or foreclosure
Then circle one stage:
- Still with the original company
- A collector is contacting me
- Court or lockout paper is here
If more than one account is late, do not blend them. A hospital bill and a card are different clocks.
If you are late with the original company
Pay nothing extra toward this account until housing, essential utilities, food, and required medicine for this month are covered.
If cash remains:
- Send the minimum, or the amount you can keep, *on time if you can*
- Call the original company, not the first number in a text you did not expect
- Ask whether a hardship program, a due-date change, or a written arrangement exists
- Write the date, the name, and what they said
A late fee is expensive. A missed rent payment is a different category. The growing-balance path and the minimum-payment Playbook belong here only after the month’s protect-first list is stable.
If a collector is contacting you
Collectors generally have to give you validation information when they first communicate, or within five days of first contact. CFPB and FTC explain what that notice should include: who is collecting, which creditor the debt is tied to, an itemized amount, and how to dispute within a stated 30-day window.
Read the paper before you talk.
- If you do not recognize the debt, or the amount looks wrong, CFPB says you can dispute in writing within 30 days of receiving the validation information. During a timely written dispute, the collector generally must pause collection on the disputed amount until they respond with verification.
- If you do recognize the debt, a dispute is not a strategy for delay. Paying a debt you owe is still your obligation. The question is only *when* and *in what order* after housing and food.
- Keep copies. Note dates and names. Do not give a one-time debit code on the first call if you do not understand when it will hit.
Collectors may not harass you. CFPB and FTC list prohibited conduct. If the contact crosses that line, you can submit a complaint to the CFPB. A complaint is not a payment plan.
Do not send money to a company that promises to wipe the debt for a fee before you have read CFPB pages on debt relief. Many of those pitches are a second problem.
If court paper is here
Stop using this page as the main tool.
A summons or complaint has a response deadline. Ignoring it can turn into a default judgment. FourHundred cannot draft an answer and cannot tell you whether you have a defense.
Same-day steps:
- Read the deadline on the paper
- Contact legal aid or a legal-services office in your area
- If the paper is about housing, also call 211 and look for a HUD-approved housing counselor
- Keep paying the protect-first bills if you can
Do not take a payday loan to “make the lawsuit go away” on a phone promise.
What not to do
- Do not hide from a summons.
- Do not pay the loudest caller first just because they called twice.
- Do not share a Social Security number, account password, or live bank login with a number you did not initiate.
- Do not ask a public AI chatbot whether you should file bankruptcy or which collector to pay. That is a person-level decision.
- Do not treat “I disputed it” as the same thing as “I do not owe it.”
- Do not empty a retirement account on the first collection letter without tax advice.
How this connects to the rest of FourHundred
- Start here — this month’s bills. Use it when the collector and the landlord are in the same month.
- Start here — card balance is growing. Use it when the account is still open, current enough to have a statement, and the problem is a rising number rather than a collection file.
- Playbook — minimum payments. Useful only while the account is still with the issuer and the minimum is a live choice.
- Foundation — $400 test. Explains how a small shock becomes a lasting balance. It is not a collections script.
- Method. Why FourHundred will not pick a settlement company.
Next action (today)
Pick the worst paper in the pile — the one with the nearest deadline.
Write four lines:
- Stage: original company / collector / court
- Amount named: $____
- Deadline on the page, if any
- First official link I will open today
Then do one thing only:
- Protect-first bills, if those are also short
- or a written note to the collector if you are inside the validation window and the debt is unrecognized or the amount is wrong
- or legal aid, if a court date exists
One account. One action. Then stop for today.
Official places to go
- CFPB, what information a collector has to give you:
- CFPB, Debt Collection Rule overview:
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/understand-how-cfpb-debt-collection-rule-impacts-you/
- CFPB, Regulation F validation notice, 12 CFR § 1006.34:
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1006/34/
- FTC, Debt Collection FAQs:
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/debt-collection-faqs-0
- CFPB, submit a complaint:
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/
- CFPB, get help paying rent and bills / 211:
Legal-aid directories vary by state. Start with the court paper, then a local legal-services search. FourHundred does not assign lawyers and does not take a referral fee.
FourHundred is an education tool. It is not personalized financial, tax, or legal advice. This page does not tell you whether a particular debt is yours, whether to settle, or whether to file.