Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title XV Chapter 93
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 49 (2026)

Debt collection in an unfair, deceptive or unreasonable manner

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 49. No one who is a creditor or an attorney for a creditor, or an assignee of a creditor, of a natural person present or residing in Massachusetts who has incurred a debt primarily for personal, family or household purposes shall collect or attempt to collect such debt in an unfair, deceptive or unreasonable manner.

For the purposes of this section, such collection or attempt to collect shall be deemed unfair, deceptive or unreasonable if:

(a) The creditor communicates, threatens to communicate, or implies the fact of such debt or alleged debt to a person other than the person who might reasonably be expected to be liable therefor, or to an authorized user after the fact if that status is communicated to the creditor in writing, except with the written permission of the alleged debtor. The provisions of this paragraph shall not prohibit a creditor from notifying a debtor of the fact that the creditor may report a debt or alleged debt to a credit bureau or engage an agent or an attorney for the purpose of collecting the debt or alleged debt. For the purposes of this paragraph, the use of language on envelopes indicating that the communication relates to the collection of a debt shall be deemed a communication of such debt or alleged debt.

(b) The creditor communicates directly with the alleged debtor after notification from an attorney representing such debtor that all further communications relative to the debt should be addressed to him.

(c) The creditor communicates with the alleged debtor in such a manner as to harass or embarrass the alleged debtor, including, but not limited to communication at an unreasonable hour, with unreasonable frequency, by threats of violence, by use of offensive language, or by threats of any action which the creditor in the usual course of business does not in fact take.

(d) The creditor communicates with alleged debtors through the use of forms or instruments that simulate the form and appearance of judicial process.

Failure to comply with the provisions of this section shall constitute an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the provisions of chapter ninety-three A.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 64 cases (17 in the last 5 years), 1971–2026 · leading case: Baldassari v. Pub. Fin. Trust, 337 N.E.2d 701 (Mass. 1975).
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Baldassari v. Pub. Fin. Trust, 337 N.E.2d 701 (Mass. 1975). · cites it 10× “This is a consumer class action for an injunction and damages against a Massachusetts finance company and its out-of-State parent corporation, based on alleged collection of debts in an unfair, deceptive or unreasonable manner in violation of G. L. c. 93, § 49, inserted by St.…”
McDermott v. Marcus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks, P.C., 775 F.3d 109 (1st Cir. 2014). · cites it 4× “Although not cited by either party, Massachusetts has its own unfair debt collection statute, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 49 , which is entitled “Debt collection in an unfair, deceptive or unreasonable manner.”
O'Connor v. Nantucket Bank, 992 F. Supp. 2d 24 (D. Mass. 2014). · cites it 4× “Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 49 The state counterpart to the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Mass.”
McGrath v. Mishara, 434 N.E.2d 1215 (Mass. 1982). · cites it 4× “Their complaint, in four counts, alleged violations of Boston’s Rent Control Ordinance; G. L. c. 93, § 49 (c); G. L. c. 186, § 15B; and G.”
Islam v. Option One Mortg. Corp., 432 F. Supp. 2d 181 (D. Mass. 2006). · cites it 3× “To create a common-law negligence action based on these statutes would be to graft an unwritten remedy onto their enforcement scheme. This the Court is unprepared to do.”
Papasodero v. Thayer & Assocs., Inc., 14 Mass. L. Rptr. 684 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2002). · cites it 8× “The plaintiffs’ claims against defendant Thayer are: (Count I) violation of G.L.c. 93, §49, Fair Debt Collection Act; (Count VI) violation of G.”
U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n v. Schumacher, 467 Mass. 421 (Mass. 2014). “” Schumacher also raised several counterclaims, asserting that the bank had violated G. L. c. 93, § 49 (unfair, deceptive, or unreasonable debt collection procedures); G.”
Alger v. Ganick, O'Brien & Sarin, 35 F. Supp. 2d 148 (D. Mass. 1999). · cites it 3× “” Mass. Gen. L. ch. 93, § 49. The statute concludes with the language that, “Failure to comply with the provisions of this section shall constitute an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the provisions of chapter ninety-three A.”
Boyle v. Wenk, 392 N.E.2d 1053 (Mass. 1979). “G. L. c. 93, § 49. 9 Wenk’s conduct seems to have been more than a spontaneous outburst.”
Lacey v. BAC Home Loans Servicing, LP (In re Lacey), 480 B.R. 13 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2012). · cites it 3× “§§ 1692 -1692o, and its Massachusetts counterpart, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 49 because he was not in default at the time the Defendants commenced foreclosure proceedings, or, in the alternative, that the amount of any default was substantially less than what the Defendants…”
Beecy v. Pucciarelli, 441 N.E.2d 1035 (Mass. 1982). “3 The claims were based upon theories of defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy, abuse of process, malicious prosecution, negligent and grossly negligent breach of duty, violation of the Canons of Ethics and Disciplinary Rules Regulating…”
Lannan v. Levy & White, 186 F. Supp. 3d 77 (D. Mass. 2016). “§§ 1692e, 1692f (“FDCPA”) and Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 49 , as actionable under Mass.”
Show all 64 citing cases →
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 49(a) — 1 case
Olivia Dorrance v. Akg Realty, LLC (Mass. Super. Ct. 2024).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 49(b) — 1 case
Alger v. Ganick, O'Brien & Sarin, 35 F. Supp. 2d 148 (D. Mass. 1999). “” Mass. Gen. L. ch. 93, § 49. The statute concludes with the language that, “Failure to comply with the provisions of this section shall constitute an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the provisions of chapter ninety-three A.”
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 49(c) — 1 case
Commonwealth v. Credit Acceptance Corp. (Mass. Super. Ct. 2021).
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