Business Debt Collection Rights: What B2B Creditors Can Actually Do
Business Debt Collection Rights: The Rules Are Different When Both Parties Are Businesses
The Misconception That Costs Creditors Money
Most business owners who research "debt collection rights" find consumer protection content. The FDCPA. Calling-hour restrictions. Cease-and-desist obligations. Harassment standards. They absorb these rules and apply them to their B2B collection efforts — unnecessarily limiting their own leverage.
The FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) does not apply to business-to-business debt. This is not a technicality. It's a fundamental legal distinction that changes everything about how you can collect.
When one business owes another business money, the consumer protections that restrict calling times, mandate validation notices, and prohibit certain contact methods simply don't exist under federal US law. The EU's Consumer Credit Directive doesn't cover B2B transactions either. The regulations that govern consumer collection — designed to protect individuals from aggressive practices — were never intended for disputes between commercial entities.
Understanding this distinction gives B2B creditors substantially more flexibility in how they pursue debts.
What B2B Creditors Can Do
Contact the debtor at any reasonable business time. No FDCPA 8am-9pm window applies. You can call during business hours in the debtor's timezone without regulatory concern.
Communicate with anyone at the debtor company who has authority. No restriction on third-party disclosure in B2B contexts. You can speak with the CFO, the CEO, the accounts payable manager, or anyone authorised to discuss the company's financial obligations.
Report to commercial credit bureaus. Dun & Bradstreet, Experian Business, Creditreform, and similar commercial credit reporting agencies accept reports of delinquent B2B debts. A negative entry affects the debtor's ability to obtain trade credit, financing, and insurance — creating pressure independent of any legal action.
Engage professional collection without the consumer-mandated 30-day validation period. B2B collection agencies can pursue claims immediately upon engagement, without waiting for a validation period to expire.
Exercise contractual remedies. B2B contracts can include provisions that would be unenforceable in consumer contexts: retention of title clauses, personal guarantees from company directors, UCC security interests, confession of judgment clauses (where available), and interest rates above consumer usury caps.
What B2B Creditors Cannot Do
Broader rights don't mean unlimited rights. Common law and state-level regulations still apply:
No misrepresentation. You cannot falsely claim to be a lawyer, a court officer, or a government agency. You cannot threaten legal action you have no intention of pursuing.
No tortious interference. You cannot contact the debtor's customers to announce the debt — this could constitute tortious interference with business relationships.
State licensing requirements still apply. Many US states require debt collection agencies to be licensed regardless of whether they handle consumer or commercial debt. New York, California, and Florida all require registration for B2B collection activity.
EU data protection applies. Under GDPR, B2B collection in Europe must comply with data protection requirements — including lawful basis for processing, data minimisation, and the debtor's right to information about how their data is used.
The Strategic Advantage
The practical implication of B2B collection rights is this: commercial creditors have more tools, more flexibility, and fewer procedural constraints than consumer creditors. The debtor who tells you "you can't do that" is usually citing consumer rules that don't apply to their situation.
Your most powerful rights as a B2B creditor: The right to charge statutory interest on late payments (EU: ECB rate + 8-10 percentage points; UK: BoE rate + 8%). The right to recover collection costs from the debtor (EU Late Payment Directive: minimum €40 per invoice). The right to report delinquency to commercial credit bureaus. The right to file for payment orders without the debtor's prior notice (in most jurisdictions). The right to obtain pre-judgment asset freezes (EAPO in the EU, Mareva injunctions in the UK).
Know your rights. Exercise them. The debtor is counting on you not knowing — and not acting.
