Section 1788.10 - [Effective 1/1/2025] Use of threats to collect debt prohibited No debt collector shall collect or attempt to collect a covered debt by means of the following conduct:
(a) The use, or threat of use, of physical force or violence or any criminal means to cause harm to the person, or the reputation, or the property of any person.(b) The threat that the failure to pay a covered debt will result in an accusation that the debtor has committed a crime where the accusation, if made, would be false.(c) The communication of, or threat to communicate to any person the fact that a debtor has engaged in conduct, other than the failure to pay a covered debt, which the debt collector knows or has reason to believe will defame the debtor.(d) The threat to the debtor to sell or assign to another person the obligation of the debtor to pay a covered debt, with an accompanying false representation that the result of the sale or assignment would be that the debtor would lose any defense to the covered debt.(e) The threat to any person that nonpayment of the covered debt may result in the arrest of the debtor or the seizure, garnishment, attachment, or sale of any property or the garnishment or attachment of wages of the debtor, unless the action is in fact contemplated by the debt collector and permitted by the law.(f) The threat to take any action against the debtor, which is prohibited by this title.Amended by Stats 2024 ch 522 (SB 1286),s 3, eff. 1/1/2025.Added by Stats. 1977, Ch. 907.This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.