Debt collector and creditor

This is a pretty confused question. A creditor collecting their own debt is not covered under the FDCPA unless the the creditor collecting its own debt acquired the debt from another entity after the debt was in default. The most common situation in which this occurs is with junk debt buyers. A JDB is a creditor collecting its own debt but the JDB acquired the debt after the debt was in default. As such, the FDCPA would apply. In my state, JDB are classified as a "collection agencies" and must be licensed as such.

The FDCPA does not apply to creditors collecting their own debts, correct. But there are lots of state laws that fill in this gap. In California, we have the Rosenthal Act. So locate a local consumer rights attorney and see what your rights are here.

The FDCPA does not apply to creditors. It only applies to debt collectors. If the creditor had to repurchase its account from another entity, then the creditor becomes a debt collector under the FDCPA. Debt buyers are debt collectors. Collection agencies that collect medical debts are debt collectors. Law firms that are involved in the collection of debts are debt collectors under the FDCPA.