A debt collector is any person who regularly collects debts owed to others.
Lawyers who practice collections law assist creditors in the collection and satisfaction of outstanding debt, enforcement of rights under liens, and recovery of court-ordered judgments. Debt collections attorneys may also assist clients in repossessing the real and personal property of insolvent debtors.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) requires that debt collectors treat debtors fairly, and prohibits certain methods of debt collection. The act applies to third-party debt collectors such as people who work for a debt collection agency. It is designed to protect debtors from harassment by these individuals in the form of threats of arrest or bodily harm if you don’t pay.
Collectors can’t imply that they represent law enforcement, nor can they make multiple phone calls daily or call you at work if you refuse to take such calls.

Debt relief or debt cancellation is the partial or total forgiveness of debt, or the slowing or stopping of debt growth, owed by individuals, corporations, or nations.  In modern times, the most common alternatives to debt relief in cases where debt cannot be paid are forbearance and debt restructuring. Forbearance meaning that interest payments (possibly including past due ones) are forgiven, so long as payments resume. No reduction of principal occurs, however in debt restructuring, an existing debt is replaced with a new debt. This may result in reduction of the principal (debt relief), or may simply change the terms of repayment, for instance by extending the term (replacing a debt repaid over 5 years with one repaid over 10 years), which allows the same principal to be amortized over a longer period, thus allowing smaller payments.
Personal debt that can be repaid from income but if it is not being repaid may be obtained via garnishment or attachment of earnings, which deduct debt service from wages.