Regulations have been established by the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act that stipulate how far debt collectors are permitted to go in their efforts to collect on debts. For example, there are only permitted to call between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., and they are not allowed to make idle threats of action that cannot legally be taken. If you instruct them not to call you they cannot continue calling.

As a consequence, you have several options. You can simply refuse to take the call. Most answering machines allow screening your call before picking up and if you have caller ID/call blocking you may be able to filter the call out entirely.

If you decide to talk you can request that they not continue calling you. If you enforce this request by sending a "cease and desist" letter it is illegal for the collectors to continue to contact you. This can be a costly legal act, so it may be better to explore other options before resorting to this.

If at all possible, the most effective way to deal with debt collectors is to pay your debt. After all you did make the debt and your creditor has a right to payment. If you are struggling to meeting the full payment try to negotiate a rate reduction.

If you make a payment arrangement, stick to it. Debt collectors only have a desire to perform the service for which they have been employed. If you show that you are going to stick with your payment arrangement they will stop calling you.

It is important to keep good record of all calls received and agreements made. If you have instructed a debt collector to stop calling you, make note of that, especially if they are calling your place of employment. If it is legal where you live you could record calls. However research this because you may be required to inform the caller that the conversation is being recorded.

If you inform the debt collector that you are recording the conversation, most will be very careful not to overstep their bounds. If you are trying to negotiate a debt reduction these recordings can be very helpful.

Most debt collectors have the authority to accept substantially less than they're asking for. Naturally, since they get paid a percentage of what they collect, they're going to try to keep the amount as close to the original as possible. But they will accept less if you press. They know that 50% of $500 is better than %100 of nothing.