A collection agency is being sued for allegedly violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act because it sent a text message to the plaintiff’s mother — who also had an account placed with the defendant — with the daughter’s name after the mother made a payment on her own account.
A copy of the complaint in the case of Nailer v. Receivables Management Partners can be accessed by clicking here.
Both the mother — Deborah Nailer — and her daughter — Velvet Nailer — had accounts placed with the defendant. When the mother made a payment on her own account, she received a text message from the defendant. The message stated, “Welcome VELVET! You have a payable balance. Your current balance is $3,065.55,” according to a screenshot of the text that was included in the complaint. The daughter, who was over 18 years old, was “upset, embarrassed, and humiliated” to learn that her mother was made aware of the existence of the debt and the total amount that was owed.
The plaintiff alleges in her complaint — filed in the District Court for the Southern District of Indiana — that the defendant violated Section 1692c(b) of the FDCPA by communicating information about a debt with someone other than the consumer, her attorney, a credit reporting agency, the creditor, the attorney of the creditor, or the attorney of the collector. The plaintiff is seeking $1,000 in statutory damages, actual damages — to be determined at trial — and attorney fees.
