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DISCLAIMER: This article is based on a complaint. The defendant has not responded to the complaint to present its side of the case. The claims mentioned are accusations and should be considered as such until and unless proven otherwise.
A collector is facing a pair of Fair Debt Collection Practices Act lawsuits for failing to cease communicating with the plaintiffs after receiving emails indicating that they were refusing to pay the debts and requesting that the defendant stop communicating with them. The suits highlight the dilemma that collectors face when it comes to making determinations about what consumers mean when they communicate with collectors.
Copies of the complaints, both filed in the District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, can be accessed using case numbers 23-cv-00091 and 23-cv-00065 or by clicking here and here.
Both plaintiffs are women with deteriorating health, according to the complaints, who received email communications from the defendant about separate unpaid debts. In one case, after receiving an email from the defendant attempting to collect on a debt, the plaintiff responded with the following email:
My name is Brittany Kokenzie. My Kidpik account number ending in 7447 and my TrueAccord account number Is 47-62-2690-00840. I have every intention on paying my debt back. Unfortunately, I’m unable to pay it right now. My account was hacked and we are still resolving that issue. I will contact as soon as I can. It’s best for me to contact y’all when I’m able to pay. Thank you, Brittany Kokenzie.
“I will contact as soon as I can” and “It’s best for me to contact y’all when I’m able to pay” are “clear” statements that the plaintiff wished the defendant to cease communication with her. The defendant subsequently sent two more emails to the plaintiff seeking to collect on the unpaid debt. The complaint accuses the defendant of violating Section 1692c(c) of the FDCPA and state law in Georgia.
In the other complaint, the plaintiff responded to an email communication with the following email:
Mr. Jefferson,
I received your email about the amount I owe to Affirm. I understand the balance owed is $43.55. I live in Valdosta and the economy here is hard. This may be a small sum for most people but I have had a very difficult time and will not be paying the account. I have not worked in quite some time. If ever my situation improves I will call or email you at the number you included in your email. Thank you.
Shelly Smith
The statement that the plaintiff “will not be paying the account” was a refusal to pay and the defendant should have stopped communicating with the plaintiff after receiving the message, the plaintiff alleges in her complaint. But the defendant allegedly sent seven emails and text messages in the three months after the plaintiff sent the email to the defendant. The complaint accuses the defendant of violating Section 1692c(c) of the FDCPA and state law in Georgia.
