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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.
This is one of those areas where the situation appears black-and-white on paper, but in reality can be very grey (or gray). A collector is facing a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act lawsuit because it sent a letter to the plaintiff after the plaintiff opted out of receiving text messages and the plaintiff is now claiming that was a request to cease all communications.
The Background: This past March, the plaintiff received a text message from the defendant requesting payment for a debt, according to the complaint. The message also included the instruction, “Reply STOP to stop texts.”
- The plaintiff replied stop to the text message, according to the complaint, and received a notification from the defendant, “You are now unsubscribed and will no longer receive text messages.”
- Three weeks later, the plaintiff received a letter from the defendant, seeking to collect on the unpaid debt.
- Last month, the defendant sent another text message seeking to collect on the unpaid debt.
- The additional communications caused the plaintiff to suffer emotional distress, including feelings of nervousness and frustration. The plaintiff was also confused “over whether the debt was still owed,” according to the complaint. Does this mean that the plaintiff thought opting out of receiving text messages meant that the debt wasn’t owed anymore?
The Claims: The plaintiff filed suit, accusing the defendant of violating Section 1692c(c) the FDCPA by sending the letter and the text message after the plaintiff had notified the defendant that he wished for the defendant to cease communication with him. But did he?
- The second text message aside, was opting out of receiving text messages the same as informing a collector that the plaintiff no longer wished to receive any communication from the defendant?
