Up to $1,000 in statutory damages. If you successfully sue a debt collector, the court will award you up to $1,000 in statutory damages. These damages are provided by law as a penalty against a debt collector that violated the FDCPA and you don't have to prove that you suffered any actual harm to be awarded statutory damages. Although there are rare cases where a court awards a consumer less than $1,000, in most cases the consumer is awarded the full $1,000.
Provable actual damages. If a debt collector's abuse has caused you to cry or lose sleep or if the collector's harassment has affected your relationship with your loved ones or your performance at work, you may be able to recover actual damages. Not every consumer will suffer actual damages due to a collector's conduct, but if you can successfully prove that you've suffered tangible harm, you're entitled to compensation for that suffering.
A free attorney. Probably the most important remedy under the FDCPA is the fee-shifting provision. This means that if you win your case, the collector has to pay your attorney fees. Because of this, most consumer attorneys will sue a debt collector on a full contingency fee, which means that you don't have to give your lawyer any money up front. Your attorney gets paid by the debt collector or gets a percentage of any out-of-court settlement.
Your litigation costs are covered. Litigation can be expensive. The costs for filing fees, service fees, deposition transcripts, etc. can quickly add up. But if you win your FDCPA case, the debt collector has to pay all of your court costs.
Hold the debt collector accountable. When the FDCPA was enacted, Congress gave each individual consumer the right to sue a debt collector for violating the Act. The idea was that consumers and their attorneys would act as "private attorney generals" by holding debt collectors that violate the FDCPA accountable for their conduct through private lawsuits. Debt collectors love to lecture consumers about taking "personal responsibility" for paying their bills. An FDCPA lawsuit is a chance to turn this argument right back around at the debt collector and force them to take responsibility for their illegal debt collection tactics.