A class-action lawsuit has been filed in federal court in California, accusing a collection agency of not notifying the plaintiff that calls between the two parties were being recorded until after the plaintiff had confirmed his identity and the representative of the defendant had disclosed certain information about the debt.
A copy of the complaint in the case of Stewart v. IQ Data can be accessed by clicking here.
The complaint accuses the defendant of violating state law in California which requires both parties to consent to calls being recorded and seeks to include anyone else who received similar calls. Violations of the law in question can result in statutory damages of $5,000 per call. According to the complaint, a violation of the law occurs the moment a recording is made without the consent of all the parties.
The plaintiff indicated in the complaint that he received three calls from the defendant. Each call went the same way, according to the complaint. The plaintiff would provide his personal information and verify his identity, the defendant would disclose the identity of the original creditor and the identity of the defendant, and then the defendant would disclose the balance of the debt and that it was in collection. After that, the defendant would notify the plaintiff that the calls were being recorded. The script that was used by the defendant was the same during each call, according to the complaint.
We are required to notify on a recorded line that this is an attempt to collect a debt by a debt collector any and all information is obtained for that purpose. This call may be recorded. Mr. Stewart we would like to know what your intent is on recovery so we can stop collection action against you.
The plaintiff said he was not aware that the calls were being recorded until he received copies of them in relation to another unrelated lawsuit that he had filed.
