Home → Arrest threats and the law
Threats of arrest over an unpaid debt are addressed directly in federal law. This page sets out what the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act says, with a link to each provision.
15 U.S.C. § 1692e — the general rule
The section then lists specific conduct that violates it. Four of those items bear on threats of arrest.
A violation includes the representation or implication that nonpayment of any debt will result in the arrest or imprisonment of any person, or the seizure, garnishment, attachment or sale of any property or wages — unless such action is lawful and the debt collector or creditor intends to take such action.
Both conditions are required by the text: the action must be lawful, and it must be intended.
In plain termsA collector can’t say — or imply — that not paying will get you arrested, or your wages or property seized, unless that step is actually lawful and they truly intend to take it. Non-payment of an ordinary consumer debt is not itself a crime, so for a typical payday loan neither condition is met.
A violation includes the threat to take any action that cannot legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken.
This is separate from (4) and broader: it reaches any threatened action, not only arrest.
In plain termsBeyond arrest, a collector can’t threaten any step they either cannot legally take or do not actually plan to take. Under the statute, the bluff is itself the violation.
A violation includes the false representation or implication that the consumer committed any crime or other conduct in order to disgrace the consumer.
In plain termsA collector can’t falsely claim you committed a crime in order to shame you into paying. Owing money on a loan is not, on its own, a crime.
A violation includes the false representation or implication that the collector is vouched for, bonded by, or affiliated with the United States or any State — including the use of any badge, uniform, or facsimile thereof.
In plain termsA collector can’t pose as the government — no fake badges or uniforms, and no claiming to be backed by a state or federal agency.
Section 1692e(4) does not say that arrest can never follow from anything connected to a debt. It says the representation is a violation unless the action is lawful and is intended.
Several states address this separately in their own payday lending statutes. Washington bars criminal action against borrowers for non-payment. Maine prohibits criminal prosecution for payday loan default. Iowa bars a lender from threatening criminal prosecution. Those provisions are set out on the state pages with citations.
The FDCPA is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Both accept consumer complaints. State attorneys general also have consumer protection divisions; the relevant office for each state is listed on that state’s page.
The statute also provides for private actions, which is a matter to raise with a lawyer or a legal aid office rather than with us.
Every provision above links to the statute at the FTC or the Office of the Law Revision Counsel. Click any marker.