Loan recovery agents: what they legally cannot do, and how to complain

Written and verified by the Grahak Mitra research team — an independent project documenting digital consumer self-help in India.

Last updated: 2026-07-11

Under the RBI's Fair Practices rules for regulated lenders, a recovery agent cannot threaten, intimidate, abuse, or publicly shame you; cannot call you at odd hours outside the permitted window; cannot contact or shame your family, friends, or phone contacts about your debt; and cannot misrepresent who they are or what they can do. These are limits on how you may be treated even when a payment is genuinely overdue — the debt does not give anyone a licence to harass you, and being harassed is not your fault. If those limits are being broken, the conduct is reportable, and you have a clear path to complain.

Complaining is a process, not a switch that stops the calls the same day — but the conduct is illegal, it goes on record, and it is the right and safest response. You do not have to pay under threat to make it stop.

What a recovery agent may — and may not — do

This is a plain summary of the RBI's conduct rules for regulated lenders and their agents. The exact wording and the precise permitted-call window are set by the RBI — check the linked RBI source for the specifics rather than relying on a figure quoted second-hand.

The permitted hours for contact are fixed by RBI; this page deliberately does not quote a specific time, because that detail can change and belongs to the official source. What does not change is that threats, abuse, and contacting your circle to shame you are outside the rules.

How to complain, in order

1. Complain to the lender first. Write to the lender's grievance officer, describe the conduct, and attach your evidence (screenshots, call logs, dates). Keep the complaint reference — many complaints are meant to be addressed at this stage.
2. Escalate to the RBI if the regulated lender does not resolve it: the RBI Integrated Ombudsman (cms.rbi.org.in) for a grievance against a regulated lender, and RBI Sachet (sachet.rbi.org.in) to report an unregistered or abusive lending app or entity.
3. For threats, extortion, or morphed or obscene images, go to the police. These are crimes, not part of debt collection — file at cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930, and report to your local police. See also how to report to cybercrime.gov.in and 1930.
4. For general help, the National Consumer Helpline — 1915 (consumerhelpline.gov.in) — can guide you.

Document it well

Save screenshots of messages, call logs with dates and times, the lender's or agent's name, and anything sent to your contacts, before you block anyone. A complaint is only as strong as what you can show. If you are still deciding whether the lender was ever legitimate, see how to check if a loan app is legal; if the harassment is happening right now, start with what to do about loan-app harassment.

Honest about the outcome

Filing a complaint does not guarantee that the calls stop instantly, and no one can promise you that a particular lender or app "will be shut down" — that is not how the process works. What is true is that this conduct is against RBI's rules and, where it involves threats or morphed images, against the law; that reporting it puts it on record; and that documenting and complaining is your strongest, safest step. Keep every acknowledgement number, and tell someone you trust — you do not have to handle this alone.