A District Court judge in Ohio has granted a defendant’s motion to dismiss after it was sued for allegedly violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act because it included a reference to its state license number in the signature line of a collection letter.
A copy of the ruling in the case of Washington v. Merchants Credit Guide Co., can be accessed by clicking here.
The plaintiff received a collection letter from the defendant, which is based in Illinois. The letter was signed:
Sincerely,
Ohio General Business License #1597625
MERCHANTS’ CREDIT GUIDE CO.
(888) 249-3811
The plaintiff filed suit, alleging the letter violated 1692e and 1692f of the FDCPA by using false, deceptive or misleading representations and unfair and unconscionable means to collect on a debt. The plaintiff’s argument is that the inclusion of the line “Ohio General Business License #1597625” when the company is based in Illinois is a violation of the FDCPA because it could mislead a least-sophisticated consumer into believing “that the letter was authorized or approved by the State of Ohio.”
In looking at the precedents Sheriff v. Gillie and Bednarski v. Postestivo & Assocs., Judge Jeffrey Helmick of the District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Western Division, determined that the letter does nothing more than “identify Defendant as a debt collector, located in Chicago, Illinois, and licensed in the State of Ohio.”
Taking a line from the Sheriff ruling, Judge Helmick noted that the letterhead portion of a letter is for identifying the principal and the signature block is for naming the agent.
“Contrary to the letters at issue in Sheriff and Bednarski
