EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is part of a series that is sponsored by WebRecon. WebRecon identifies serial plaintiffs lurking in your database BEFORE you contact them and expose yourself to a likely lawsuit. Protect your company from as many as one in three new consumer lawsuits by scrubbing your consumers through WebRecon first. Want to learn more? Call (855) WEB-RECON or email admin@webrecon.net today! Thanks to WebRecon for sponsoring this series.
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.
It’s one thing for a plaintiff to file a lawsuit accusing a company of violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. That happens a lot and there’s really nothing new or surprising about another FDCPA lawsuit. But maybe it’s worth noticing when a plaintiff pre-emptively asserts that the defendant is not entitled to the FDCPA’s Bona Fide Error defense. That’s something you don’t see every day.
The Background: Back in February, the plaintiff received an email from the defendant, seeking to collect $1,162.63 on an unpaid apartment debt. A couple days later, the plaintiff replied to the email, stating, “I am not going to render a payment for this debt of any debt you claim I owe.” To the plaintiff, this was a request that the defendant cease communication because the plaintiff was refusing to pay the debt.
- A few weeks later, the defendant allegedly sent the plaintiff another email, attempting to collect on the debt. The defendant then sent another email, offering to settle the debt for 50% of the balance that was owed.
- The plaintiff noted that the defendant may assert a Bona Fide Error defense under the FDCPA, but the plaintiff argued that “the continual nature of Defendant’s violations and its persistence in attempting to collect the alleged debt after Plaintiff’s clear communication or refusal to pay, strongly suggests a willful disregard for the FDCPA, rather than a bona fide error.”
The Claims: The complaint accuses the defendant of violating Section 1692c(c) of the FDCPA and Section 1006.14(h)(1) of Regulation F by failing to cease communication and collection activity after receiving a written notice.
