FDCPA

When individuals or companies are in bankruptcy, the law protects them from attempts to collect on debts that were undertaken before the bankruptcy case. Debt collectors may also not attempt to collect debts that have been settled via a bankruptcy. The complaint for this class action claims that Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing ignored a bankruptcy plan that included a property it believed it was servicing. The complaint claims that Shellpoint violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

Imagine you rent a car for a day and return it without incident. Three months later, out of the blue, you’re dunned by a debt collector for over $1,300 worth of damage to the car. The complaint for this class action claims that this kind of thing has happened to many people who rented from Hertz Corporation rental companies, where the first they hear of “damage” is a letter from debt collector Viking Billing Service.

The complaint for this class action brings suit under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Wisconsin Consumer Act (WCA), for debt collection letters to the two plaintiffs in this case that the complaint alleges were misleading and deceptive. One concerns a debt that was discharged in bankruptcy; the other concerns a misleading statement about the “Last Activity Date.”

Debt collectors know many ways to mislead consumers and to pressure them into paying their debts, sometimes at the cost of other needed expenses. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) was passed, among other things, to try to stop debt collectors from misleading consumers. The complaint for this class action alleges that Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC sent a letter to consumer debtors which violates the FDCPA.

The complaint for this class action takes issue with a rather odd collection letter, which consists mostly of a single paragraph typed nearly entirely in capital letters—a practice sometimes identified as shouting. The letter is from Christal & Smith Enterprises, Inc., which does business as JVS Group, Inc. The complaint claims that the information in the letter is not just deceptive and misleading but also intended to be demeaning to the recipient, in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). It then defines a class that is based on a different violation of the FDCPA, the failure to name the current creditor.

What’s wrong with telling a mortgage borrower that if they don’t pay their arrears, their loan will be accelerated? The complaint for this class action alleges that the debt collector, Seterus, Inc., was merely pressuring the borrowers, that it never intended to accelerate the loan and would accept any monthly amount on the arrears instead. The statement is therefore deceptive and misleading, and designed merely to pressure the borrowers.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) tries to protect consumers from abuses and misstatements by third-party debt collectors. The complaint for this class action claims that Account Services Collections, Inc., one of those third-party debt collectors, violated the FDCPA because it was not clear about the party to whom the debt was owed. 

The complaint for this class action alleges that Convergent Outsourcing, Inc. presented debt reduction arrangements as once-only, limited-time offers. The complaint says the offers would have been accepted at any time and their presentation as needing to be paid by a certain date violated the provisions of Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by being misleading.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) forbids third-party debt collectors from making false representations to consumer debtors. But the complaint for this class action claims that Systematic National Collections, Inc. made a number of false statements in trying to collect a “stale” debt from the plaintiff in this case.

If consumer debtors want to dispute their debts, how may they do that? The complaint for this class action claims that they may call as well as write letters, and that the debt collection letter from Commonwealth Financial Systems, Inc. is misleading under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).