As budgets get tighter, you may fall behind on bills and start getting calls from collection agencies.

But in tonight's "On the Money" report, when it comes to bill collectors, you have rights.

Debt collection calls can be a scary and stressful thing.

"I hate when they call. I always hang up."

But the law says the collectors have to play by the rules. Their rules come from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

"They can't harass you. There's no firm number of times they can call you. They can't call you before 8 o'clock in the morning and creditors also can't call you after 9 o'clock at night," says Leonard Gordon with the Federal Trade Commission.

If you're getting the calls you do have some control. Gordon says you can ask them not to call you at work, but says you should try to work with them.

"The first thing you should do with a debt collector is with five days of notifying you has to send you in writing a description of the debt, how much is owed and to whom it is owed. If you don't think the information the debt collector has sent you is accurate, you have 30 days to dispute it in writing."

The feds say if you ignore the notification, you are automatically acknowledging the debt.

If you don't have the money, experts say, try to work out a deal.

"Some debt collectors are collecting on behalf of the organization to which you owe money, so it depends on how flexible they want to be."

The Federal Trade Commission says the best way to bargain is to work with the company that you owe, before it gets sent to collections. And if you've sent your number to the do not call list, that does not apply to bills that need to be paid.

Gordon adds, "the 'Do Not Call' list is for telemarketing calls. It does not exempt you from debt collection calls."

To learn more about your debt collection rights, click here for the FTC fact page.