West Virginia Debt Collection Harassment and Consumer Protection Lawyers
By J. Brandon Shumaker · Slavey & Shumaker PLLC · Morgantown, WV · Last updated October 26, 2026
Table of Contents
Collection calls can feel relentless: calls to your cell phone and your workplace, threats about your job or your freedom, letters that look like court papers, or demands for fees you never agreed to pay. West Virginia law sets firm limits on how a debt can be collected, and those limits apply whether or not you actually owe the money.
At Slavey & Shumaker PLLC, we represent consumers throughout Morgantown, Monongalia County, and North Central West Virginia in claims under the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act. Our office is on Chancery Row, beside the Monongalia County Courthouse.
1. Who the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act Protects
The debt collection provisions of the Act protect any “consumer,” which W. Va. Code § 46A-2-122(a) defines as any natural person obligated or allegedly obligated to pay any debt, including the personal representative of a deceased person’s estate.
The protections apply to a “claim,” meaning an obligation or alleged obligation to pay money arising from a transaction that was primarily for personal, family or household purposes, whether or not the obligation has been reduced to judgment (§ 46A-2-122(b)).
2. Debt Collection Practices West Virginia Law Prohibits
Article 2 of Chapter 46A lists specific categories of prohibited collection conduct. Each section states a general rule and then lists examples, “without limiting the general application” of the rule.
A debt collector may not collect or attempt to collect a debt by any threat, coercion or attempt to coerce. The statute lists, among other conduct:
- Threatening violence or other criminal means to harm a person, their reputation or their property
- Accusing or threatening to accuse a person of fraud or any crime
- Falsely telling another person, including a credit reporting agency, that a consumer is willfully refusing to pay a just debt
- Threatening that nonpayment will result in the arrest of any person
- Threatening wage garnishment or other action requiring court approval without telling the consumer that a court order must be in effect first
- Threatening to take any action that the law prohibits
A debt collector may not unreasonably oppress or abuse any person in connection with collecting a claim. Prohibited conduct includes:
- Using profane or obscene language, or language intended to unreasonably abuse the listener or reader
- Calling without disclosing the caller’s identity, with intent to annoy, harass or threaten
- Calling any person more than thirty times per week, or engaging any person in telephone conversation more than ten times per week, or calling at unusual or known inconvenient times, with intent to annoy, abuse, oppress or threaten
The statute measures the collector’s conduct from the standpoint of a reasonable person. Read W. Va. Code § 46A-2-125
A debt collector may not unreasonably publicize information about a consumer’s alleged debt. The statute lists, among other conduct, communicating with your employer about the debt before a judgment has been entered (other than through proper legal action or process), disclosing the debt to relatives who do not live with you except through legal process or at their own unsolicited request, and publishing “deadbeat lists.”
A debt collector may not use any fraudulent, deceptive or misleading representation or means to collect a claim. Examples in the statute include using a name other than the collector’s true business name, falsely representing the character, extent or amount of a claim or its status in a legal proceeding, falsely implying government affiliation, using documents that simulate court papers, and representing that fees may be added to a debt when they legally cannot.
A debt collector may not use unfair or unconscionable means to collect a claim. Among other things, the statute prohibits:
- Collecting interest, fees or charges that are not expressly authorized by the agreement and by statute or regulation
- Communicating with a consumer more than three business days after receiving written notice that the consumer is represented by an attorney regarding that debt, when the notice meets the statute’s requirements (including the attorney’s name, address and telephone number, sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the collector’s registered agent or principal place of business)
- Collecting a debt that is beyond the statute of limitations for a collection lawsuit without including the disclosures the statute requires in every written communication
3. What You Can Recover Under the WVCCPA
The remedies for prohibited debt collection practices are set out in Article 5 of Chapter 46A, beginning with W. Va. Code § 46A-5-101.
Actual Damages
§ 46A-5-101(1)(a)
- Losses caused by the violation
Civil Penalty
§ 46A-5-101(1)(b) · § 46A-5-106
- $1,000 per violation
- Total capped at the greater of $175,000 or the total alleged outstanding indebtedness
- Court may adjust for inflation from September 1, 2015
Attorney’s Fees
§ 46A-5-104
- Court may award reasonable fees and expenses to the consumer
- Based on the factors listed in the statute
Debt Cancellation
§ 46A-5-105
- For willful violations by a creditor
- Court may cancel a debt that is not secured by a security interest
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4. The Notice and Right to Cure Before a Lawsuit
Before filing suit, West Virginia law generally requires the consumer to give the creditor or debt collector written notice of the alleged violation and its factual basis by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the registered agent on file with the West Virginia Secretary of State, or to the principal place of business if no agent is registered. A lawsuit may not be filed until 45 days after that notice, during which the creditor or debt collector may make a cure offer (W. Va. Code § 46A-5-108(a)).
5. Filing Deadlines
Filing deadlines depend on the type of claim. For example, for violations arising from consumer credit sales, consumer leases or consumer loans, no action under § 46A-5-101(1) may be brought more than four years after the violations occurred.
6. What to Do If a Debt Collector Is Harassing You
- Keep a log of every call: date, time, phone number, the caller’s name and company, and what was said.
- Save everything: voicemails, text messages, letters, envelopes and emails. Take screenshots of your call history.
- Do not ignore court papers. If you have been sued on a debt, a deadline to respond is already running.
- Do not agree to pay, or make a payment, on an old debt before getting advice, especially if it may be past the statute of limitations.
- Talk to a lawyer about sending a representation notice that meets § 46A-2-128(e) and about whether the conduct supports a claim.
7. Related Consumer Protection Claims
Debt collection problems often show up on credit reports. If a collector or creditor is reporting inaccurate information, see our page on credit report errors and identity theft claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Federal law, including the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, may also apply to some collectors, and a single course of conduct can support claims under more than one statute.
8. Frequently Asked Questions About Debt Collection Harassment in West Virginia
Speak With a Morgantown Consumer Protection Lawyer Today
Slavey & Shumaker PLLC, 174 Chancery Row, Morgantown. Serving Monongalia, Preston, Marion and Harrison Counties.
This page is provided for general informational purposes about West Virginia law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case depends on its own facts.