Hey HN,

I’m Rohit, a solo founder building StopAndDesist. I’ve been building in public and wanted to share what I’ve learned so far—and get honest feedback.

The problem I couldn’t ignore

While researching US consumer protection laws, I found something surprising. Around 70 million Americans have debt in collections. Yet a federal law since 1977—the FDCPA—gives them a powerful right most don’t know exists.

Under Section 805(c), anyone can legally force a debt collector to stop contacting them by sending a single cease and desist letter.

Most people have no idea.

Debt collectors do—and their business model often depends on that ignorance.

Once the letter is sent, any further contact becomes a federal violation worth up to $1,000 each. Consumers can sue, and if they win, the collector pays attorney fees.

This law has existed for nearly 50 years. Millions still don’t know it.

What I built

StopAndDesist (stopanddesist.com) generates a legally structured FDCPA cease and desist letter in under 2 minutes for a $49 one-time payment.

The more interesting part is what happens after.

If collectors continue contacting the user, each instance becomes a violation. I built a tracker that logs contacts, calculates damages in real time, and generates an attorney-ready report.

FDCPA attorneys work on contingency, so users can pursue claims at zero upfront cost.

Why I built this as an outsider

I’m based in India, building for US users.

That distance helped me see what many normalize. Debt harassment feels like “part of life” for many Americans. From the outside, I saw something else—a federal protection system that people simply don’t know how to use.

That gap is what I’m trying to solve.

What I’ve learned

SEO in this space is deeply intent-driven:

“how to stop debt collector calls” → early stage “cease and desist letter debt collector” → aware “FDCPA cease and desist letter cost” → ready to buy

High-intent keywords convert significantly better than educational ones.

People who know what they need act fast.

The free tool that changed everything

I built a free FDCPA damages calculator.

Users answer a 10-step questionnaire about violations. Before showing results, we require email verification.

By that point, users are already invested. They want to see the outcome.

This generates a highly qualified email list—people actively facing violations. Conversion from this list is far higher than cold traffic.

The real challenges

The biggest challenge is trust.

Building a US legal tool from India creates skepticism. I’m exploring ways to solve this, including credibility signals like YC.

Reddit has also been difficult. Direct promotion gets banned quickly. The only approach that works is value-first participation with no links.

It works—but slowly.

Another challenge is positioning. StopAndDesist is not a law firm and doesn’t provide legal advice. Staying compliant while still being useful requires careful messaging.

What I’m looking for

I’d love feedback on:

Pricing — Is $49 right, or too low? Trust — What matters most for US users in this category? Distribution — What channels am I missing beyond SEO and Reddit?

Thanks for reading.

Rohit stopanddesist.com

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