Cease-communication upon written request
15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c)Plain English
If a consumer notifies the collector in writing that they refuse to pay or want the collector to stop communicating, the collector must cease all collection contact — with narrow statutory exceptions for litigation notice and certain third-party notifications.
How SettleUp Collections enforces
The agent strictly halts outbound collection activity on receipt of a written cease request. The exception notice (the § 1692c(c)(2) "we may invoke our remedies" letter) is drafted from a single locked template, and any further communication requires explicit operator approval flagged in the audit trail.
Why this rule is in the library
Section 1692c(c) is the consumer's escape hatch from the entire collection workflow. After a written cease request, § 1692c(c)(2) allows only one narrow follow-up: a notice that the collector "may invoke" its remedies. Anything beyond that notice — another demand letter, a follow-up call, an "are you sure?" SMS — is a stand-alone § 1692k violation. SettleUp Collections models the cease-request flag as a hard gate at the agent level: the rule is checked at every dispatch attempt, not just at intake, because a cease request can arrive mid-relationship. The locked exception-template prevents a well-intentioned lawyer from accidentally iterating past § 1692c(c)(2) and triggering fresh statutory damages.