All terms

Limited-content message

Limited-content message — A limited-content message is a voicemail for a consumer that contains only the content Regulation F permits and, because it is defined not to be a "communication" in connection with debt collection, can be left without triggering the mini Miranda or risking a third-party disclosure.

Section 1006.2(j)(1) requires four elements: a business name that does not indicate the debt collection business, a request that the consumer reply, the name or names of one or more natural persons the consumer can contact, and a reply telephone number. Section 1006.2(j)(2) permits four optional additions — a salutation, the date and time of the message, suggested reply times, and a statement that the consumer may speak to any of the company's representatives. Adding anything else converts it into a communication, which reinstates § 1006.18(e) disclosure duties and the § 1692c(b) third-party problem if someone else hears it; a limited-content message still counts as an attempt to communicate for call-frequency purposes.

See also

• Mini MirandaThe mini Miranda is the disclosure a debt collector must make in its initial communication that it is attempting to collect a debt and that any information obtained will be used for that purpose, plus the shorter disclosure in every subsequent communication that the communication is from a debt collector.
• 7-in-77-in-7 is the Regulation F telephone-frequency rule under which a debt collector is presumed to comply with the FDCPA's harassment prohibition if it places no more than seven calls to a particular person about a particular debt within seven consecutive days, and none within seven days after a telephone conversation about that debt.
• Right-party contactA right-party contact, or RPC, is a live conversation with the consumer actually obligated on the account, as opposed to a wrong number, a third party, or an unanswered attempt.

Where this appears

• What Is Regulation F (12 CFR Part 1006), and What Did It Add to the FDCPA?

This is an informational reference, not legal advice, and using it creates no attorney-client relationship. Limitations periods turn on facts this page cannot know — which state's law governs, the contract type, when the claim accrued, and whether anything tolled or revived it. Confirm against the primary source and your own counsel before acting.