Recently in Debt Collection Issues Category
Under a settlement with the Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, NCO Financial Systems, the world's largest debt collector, has agreed to validate debts BEFORE they attempt to collect them from innocent consumers. What a Concept!
The State of Texas claims that among complaints filed with their office, consumers say that NCO employees made unlawful harassing and threatening phone calls and oftentimes using profanity to get them to pay up.
Investigators also discovered that some of the debts that NCO demanded payment on belonged to people with different middle initials or Social Security numbers.
To settle with the State of Texas NCO agreed to spend $300,000 over three years to monitor its practices and additionally pay $150,000 into a three-year restitution fund to compensate Texans harmed by its acts.
With money tight and people out of work, the last thing they anyone needs is to be harassed and hounded by aggressive, pompous, foul-mouthed debt collectors who believe they are above the laws. Will NCO live up to their promises to police themselves?
Promises to adhere to consumer protection laws are not new to NCO though...
Upon Settling with the State of Pennsylvania, NCO promised to pay $300,000, but specifically denied that they had engaged in unlawful or inappropriate business practices. The agreement also required "NCO to comply with consumer protection laws and to maintain certain policies and procedures designed to facilitate and monitor its ongoing compliance".
And then of course there was this settlement: NCO Group to Pay Largest FCRA Civil Penalty to Date
One of the nation's largest debt-collection firms will pay $1.5 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by reporting inaccurate information about consumer accounts to credit bureaus. The civil penalty against Pennsylvania-based NCO Group, Inc. is the largest civil penalty ever obtained in a FCRA case. MORE
Know your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. If you are contacted by a debt collector there are laws designed to protect you from being harassed or intimidated over a debt -whether or not you actually owe it!
See earlier blogs here:
The Importance of Knowing your Rights ...
The State of Texas claims that among complaints filed with their office, consumers say that NCO employees made unlawful harassing and threatening phone calls and oftentimes using profanity to get them to pay up.
Investigators also discovered that some of the debts that NCO demanded payment on belonged to people with different middle initials or Social Security numbers.
To settle with the State of Texas NCO agreed to spend $300,000 over three years to monitor its practices and additionally pay $150,000 into a three-year restitution fund to compensate Texans harmed by its acts.
With money tight and people out of work, the last thing they anyone needs is to be harassed and hounded by aggressive, pompous, foul-mouthed debt collectors who believe they are above the laws. Will NCO live up to their promises to police themselves?
Promises to adhere to consumer protection laws are not new to NCO though...
Upon Settling with the State of Pennsylvania, NCO promised to pay $300,000, but specifically denied that they had engaged in unlawful or inappropriate business practices. The agreement also required "NCO to comply with consumer protection laws and to maintain certain policies and procedures designed to facilitate and monitor its ongoing compliance".
And then of course there was this settlement: NCO Group to Pay Largest FCRA Civil Penalty to Date
One of the nation's largest debt-collection firms will pay $1.5 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by reporting inaccurate information about consumer accounts to credit bureaus. The civil penalty against Pennsylvania-based NCO Group, Inc. is the largest civil penalty ever obtained in a FCRA case. MORE
Know your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. If you are contacted by a debt collector there are laws designed to protect you from being harassed or intimidated over a debt -whether or not you actually owe it!
See earlier blogs here:
The Importance of Knowing your Rights ...
Academy Collection Service, Inc. and its owner, Keith Dickstein, have agreed to pay $2.25 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that Academy and its collectors misled, threatened, and harassed consumers; disclosed their debts to third parties; and deposited postdated checks early, in violation of federal law. This is the largest civil penalty the FTC has obtained in a debt collection case.
"These defendants are responsible for their debt collectors' abusive practices," said Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "They ignored people's complaints and rewarded the collectors who broke the law. This is not a business model that the FTC tolerates."
According to a complaint filed by the Department of Justice on the FTC's behalf, Academy collectors violated the FTC Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) while collecting debts, and Dickstein failed to stop the violations. The complaint also names Edward L. Hurt III and Albert S. Bastian, who oversaw Academy's Las Vegas collection center and who are not part of the settlement with Academy and Dickstein.
The individual defendants allegedly participated in, or had the authority to control, Academy's practices. Academy's collectors allegedly engaged in false or deceptive threats of garnishment, arrest, and legal action; communication with third parties about consumers' debts; and calls to consumers at their workplace when the employer prohibits such calls. Other practices included frequent, harassing, threatening, and abusive calls; unfair and unauthorized withdrawals from consumers' bank accounts; and early deposit of postdated checks consumers submitted for debt payment.
More than 1,000 complaints against the company were filed with the FTC, various state attorneys general, the Nevada and Pennsylvania Better Business Bureaus, and the company itself. The FTC alleges that, without sufficient investigation, the defendants dismissed consumer complaints or did not properly discipline collectors, and that collectors who were terminated for FDCPA violations often returned to work within a few weeks or months.
Under the settlement, Academy and Dickstein will pay a $2.25 million civil penalty. The consent decree bars them from misrepresenting to consumers that nonpayment of a debt will result in the garnishment of wages, seizure or attachment of property, or lawsuits, or misrepresenting that Academy representatives are attorneys. The settling defendants are also prohibited from improperly communicating with third parties about a debt; using false, deceptive, or misleading representations in debt collection efforts; communicating with a consumer at any unusual time or place, including the workplace; or harassing, oppressing, or abusing any person in connection with debt collection. The settling defendants are also barred from making any withdrawals from consumers' bank accounts without obtaining the consumers' express informed consent, and they cannot deposit or threaten to deposit any postdated check or other postdated payment instrument prior to the date on the check or instrument.
In addition, the consent decree requires the settling defendants to clearly and conspicuously disclose to consumers that they may stop Academy from contacting them about the debt. They also must notify consumers that they may contact an Academy physical address, e-mail address, or toll-free phone number if they have a complaint about the way the company is collecting the debt.
For more information on abusive and illegal debt collection practices and your rights under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act see a few earlier blogs here:
Debt Collectors Being held accountable
"These defendants are responsible for their debt collectors' abusive practices," said Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "They ignored people's complaints and rewarded the collectors who broke the law. This is not a business model that the FTC tolerates."
According to a complaint filed by the Department of Justice on the FTC's behalf, Academy collectors violated the FTC Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) while collecting debts, and Dickstein failed to stop the violations. The complaint also names Edward L. Hurt III and Albert S. Bastian, who oversaw Academy's Las Vegas collection center and who are not part of the settlement with Academy and Dickstein.
The individual defendants allegedly participated in, or had the authority to control, Academy's practices. Academy's collectors allegedly engaged in false or deceptive threats of garnishment, arrest, and legal action; communication with third parties about consumers' debts; and calls to consumers at their workplace when the employer prohibits such calls. Other practices included frequent, harassing, threatening, and abusive calls; unfair and unauthorized withdrawals from consumers' bank accounts; and early deposit of postdated checks consumers submitted for debt payment.
More than 1,000 complaints against the company were filed with the FTC, various state attorneys general, the Nevada and Pennsylvania Better Business Bureaus, and the company itself. The FTC alleges that, without sufficient investigation, the defendants dismissed consumer complaints or did not properly discipline collectors, and that collectors who were terminated for FDCPA violations often returned to work within a few weeks or months.
Under the settlement, Academy and Dickstein will pay a $2.25 million civil penalty. The consent decree bars them from misrepresenting to consumers that nonpayment of a debt will result in the garnishment of wages, seizure or attachment of property, or lawsuits, or misrepresenting that Academy representatives are attorneys. The settling defendants are also prohibited from improperly communicating with third parties about a debt; using false, deceptive, or misleading representations in debt collection efforts; communicating with a consumer at any unusual time or place, including the workplace; or harassing, oppressing, or abusing any person in connection with debt collection. The settling defendants are also barred from making any withdrawals from consumers' bank accounts without obtaining the consumers' express informed consent, and they cannot deposit or threaten to deposit any postdated check or other postdated payment instrument prior to the date on the check or instrument.
In addition, the consent decree requires the settling defendants to clearly and conspicuously disclose to consumers that they may stop Academy from contacting them about the debt. They also must notify consumers that they may contact an Academy physical address, e-mail address, or toll-free phone number if they have a complaint about the way the company is collecting the debt.
For more information on abusive and illegal debt collection practices and your rights under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act see a few earlier blogs here:
Debt Collectors Being held accountable
We've all seen the TV and radio ads that promise for a price, they will work to clean up your credit reports for you. Many ads falsely claim they can work magic and accomplish what you can not...remove accurate negative information. These ads and bogus claims continue to trick and bamboozle unsuspecting consumers out of their had earned money by promising them things they know they can't deliver on. The FTC, along with 24 State Agencies, are stepping in to stop these companies from their aggressive and deceptive practices by launching Operation Clean Sweep.
According to the Federal Trade Commission "Operation Clean Sweep" was launched to effectively stop these illegal credit/debt repair organizations from continuing to "deceptively claim they can remove negative information from consumers credit reports, even if that information is accurate and timely...and prohibit further violations, and make them pay consumer redress and return their ill-gotten gains."
"Companies that promise they are able to scrub your credit reports of accurate, negative information for a fee are lying - plain and simple,' said Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. 'Under federal law, accurate, negative information can be reported for up to seven years, and some bankruptcies can be reported for up to 10 years."
Here's a partial list of companies on Operation Clean Sweep's radar...
Nationwide Credit Services, Inc. and James R. Dooley
Clean Credit Report Services, Inc., Ricardo A. Miranda, Daniel R. Miranda, and Ruthy Villabona
Successful Credit Service Corporation, also doing business as Success Credit Services, and Tracy Ballard, also known as Tracy Ballard-Straughn
Advantage Credit Repair LLC and Mark D. Solomon
RCA Credit Services, LLC, Rick Lee Crosby, Jr., and Brady Wellington
Latrese & Kevin Enterprises, Inc., also d/b/a Hargrave & Associates Financial Solutions
ACE Group, Inc., also d/b/a as American Credit Experts, Inc., The Ace Group, Inc., The Ace Group, and ACE; Legal Credit Repair Center, Inc., also d/b/a LCRC, Michael Singer, Melvin Kessler, and Gerald Roth.
See the FTC's full Press Release: Operation Clean Sweep': FTC and State Agencies Target 36 'Credit Repair' Operations...& for additional info on these companies see Clean Sweep List (PDF version)
How can you avoid being scammed by credit repair companies?
Here are a few suggestions from the FTC:
•Avoid any company that wants you to pay for credit repair services before they provide any services. It is against the law.
•Avoid any credit repair company that will not tell you your legal rights and what you can do, yourself, for free.
•Avoid any credit repair company that tells you not to contact a credit reporting company directly.
•Avoid any credit repair company that advises you to dispute all of the information in your credit report.
•Avoid any company that suggests creating a 'new' credit identity - and then, a new credit report - by applying for an Employer Identification Number to use instead of your Social Security number. That is against the law. If you follow illegal advice and commit fraud, you also may be subject to prosecution.
If you think you have been the victim of a credit repair scam, contact the FTC. You can file a complaint at www.ftc.gov or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP. You can also ask for free information about recognizing credit repair scams and building a better credit record.
A few tips to help repair your own credit reports;
1. Order your free annual credit reports from the official place. Either call the automated toll-free line at 877-322-8228 or order them at annualcreditreport.com.
2. Carefully review your credit reports and note any any errors, including erroneous middle initials, accounts more than 7 years old, inaccurately noted places of employement and home addresses, accounts that are not yours.
3. Send your dispute to the CRA's via certified mail so you have proof that you disputed inaccurate and/or fraudulent information if they don't comply with the FCRA and you need to find an experienced consumer attorney.
Also see earlier blog: Court Ruling; Credit Reporting Bureaus Must Revamp their Systems -and Remove Old Debts...:
What can you do about abusive debt collectors?
If you are being harassed by a debt collector for a debt you may or may not owe, it's important to know your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
See a couple earlier blogs:
Florida AG cracking down on Debt Repair:
Debt Collectors being held accountable...
According to the Federal Trade Commission "Operation Clean Sweep" was launched to effectively stop these illegal credit/debt repair organizations from continuing to "deceptively claim they can remove negative information from consumers credit reports, even if that information is accurate and timely...and prohibit further violations, and make them pay consumer redress and return their ill-gotten gains."
"Companies that promise they are able to scrub your credit reports of accurate, negative information for a fee are lying - plain and simple,' said Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. 'Under federal law, accurate, negative information can be reported for up to seven years, and some bankruptcies can be reported for up to 10 years."
Here's a partial list of companies on Operation Clean Sweep's radar...
Nationwide Credit Services, Inc. and James R. Dooley
Clean Credit Report Services, Inc., Ricardo A. Miranda, Daniel R. Miranda, and Ruthy Villabona
Successful Credit Service Corporation, also doing business as Success Credit Services, and Tracy Ballard, also known as Tracy Ballard-Straughn
Advantage Credit Repair LLC and Mark D. Solomon
RCA Credit Services, LLC, Rick Lee Crosby, Jr., and Brady Wellington
Latrese & Kevin Enterprises, Inc., also d/b/a Hargrave & Associates Financial Solutions
ACE Group, Inc., also d/b/a as American Credit Experts, Inc., The Ace Group, Inc., The Ace Group, and ACE; Legal Credit Repair Center, Inc., also d/b/a LCRC, Michael Singer, Melvin Kessler, and Gerald Roth.
See the FTC's full Press Release: Operation Clean Sweep': FTC and State Agencies Target 36 'Credit Repair' Operations...& for additional info on these companies see Clean Sweep List (PDF version)
How can you avoid being scammed by credit repair companies?
Here are a few suggestions from the FTC:
•Avoid any company that wants you to pay for credit repair services before they provide any services. It is against the law.
•Avoid any credit repair company that will not tell you your legal rights and what you can do, yourself, for free.
•Avoid any credit repair company that tells you not to contact a credit reporting company directly.
•Avoid any credit repair company that advises you to dispute all of the information in your credit report.
•Avoid any company that suggests creating a 'new' credit identity - and then, a new credit report - by applying for an Employer Identification Number to use instead of your Social Security number. That is against the law. If you follow illegal advice and commit fraud, you also may be subject to prosecution.
If you think you have been the victim of a credit repair scam, contact the FTC. You can file a complaint at www.ftc.gov or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP. You can also ask for free information about recognizing credit repair scams and building a better credit record.
A few tips to help repair your own credit reports;
1. Order your free annual credit reports from the official place. Either call the automated toll-free line at 877-322-8228 or order them at annualcreditreport.com.
2. Carefully review your credit reports and note any any errors, including erroneous middle initials, accounts more than 7 years old, inaccurately noted places of employement and home addresses, accounts that are not yours.
3. Send your dispute to the CRA's via certified mail so you have proof that you disputed inaccurate and/or fraudulent information if they don't comply with the FCRA and you need to find an experienced consumer attorney.
Also see earlier blog: Court Ruling; Credit Reporting Bureaus Must Revamp their Systems -and Remove Old Debts...:
What can you do about abusive debt collectors?
If you are being harassed by a debt collector for a debt you may or may not owe, it's important to know your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
See a couple earlier blogs:
Florida AG cracking down on Debt Repair:
Debt Collectors being held accountable...
In today's economic climate consumers may find it difficult to avoid aggressive debt collection tactics. It's important to know what your rights are in order to stop any abusive and illegal attempts to collect a debt. You have consumer protection rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that protect you from abusive debt collection practices, whether or not you owe the debt. It's important to know your rights and what you need to do to protect them.
If you receive a notice that a debt collection company is suing you over a debt that you may or may not have knowledge of, it's important to respond and dispute that letter timely, asking for verification of the alleged debt.
Additionally, when seeking an attorney to represent you, be sure to find an experienced consumer attorney who regularly practices in this area and litigates these cases enough to be fully knowledgeable of the abusive tactics all too often used by debt buyers and aggressive debt collectors.
Consumer Attorneys, John Watts & M. Stan Herring, have a very informative law blog on issues pertaining to debt collection, binding arbitration, and credit reporting practices, your consumer rights, lawsuits and more.
Here is a portion of their narrative depicting a recent case they handled. This court room drama paints a picture that illuminates both the importance of knowing your legal rights and the importance of hiring experienced consumer attorneys that can protect those rights!
An Example Of A Recent Debt Buyer Lawsuit
"...Normally the debt buyers concede at the courthouse that they have no proof and ask the court to enter judgment against them in favor of the consumer defendant or they ask for a dismissal with prejudice.
In this particular case, however, the debt buyer sought to win its case by putting our client on the stand and questioning him under oath. We explained that this would do no good as Alabama consumers cannot testify as to whether or not the debt buyer actually owns the debt. The only party that can testify to that is the debt buyer and then the company that the debt buyer allegedly bought the debt from which often is not the original creditor but is, yet another, debt buyer.
Nevertheless, this debt buyer wanted to proceed with trial. It brought no witness. It brought no documents which could be admitted into evidence. Instead, our client was sworn in and was questioned by the attorney for the debt buyer along these lines:
Did you have a credit card account with bracket [original creditor]?
Did you receive bills from the [original creditor]?
Did you owe any money to the [original creditor]?
Finally, the questions turned to the debt buyer which is the only relevant matter as the original creditor had not sued our client. The questions went something like this:
Did you receive letters from the debt buyer?
Don't you admit that you owe the debt buyer money?
We were then allowed to cross-examine our client and we did so in the following way:
Did you ever do business with the debt buyer?
Did you ever borrow any money from the debt buyer?
Did you ever buy any goods or services from the debt buyer?
Had you ever heard of this debt buyer before this debt buyer sued without offering any proof that it owned the debt?
Do you owe this debt buyer any money?
At the end of this questioning of our client, the Jefferson County District Court Judge asked if the debt buyer had any further proof to offer.
Not surprisingly, the answer was "No"..."
To read the rest of the narrative and learn the ruling... click here.
For more info on debt buyers & debt collection practices, and your rights see earlier blogs;
Debt Collectors being held accountable for abusive and illegal debt collection practices
and to listen to Attorney John Watts discuss your consumer protection rights on issues pertaining to debt collection practices on SpotLight click here; Debt Collectors Gone Wild
If you receive a notice that a debt collection company is suing you over a debt that you may or may not have knowledge of, it's important to respond and dispute that letter timely, asking for verification of the alleged debt.
Additionally, when seeking an attorney to represent you, be sure to find an experienced consumer attorney who regularly practices in this area and litigates these cases enough to be fully knowledgeable of the abusive tactics all too often used by debt buyers and aggressive debt collectors.
Consumer Attorneys, John Watts & M. Stan Herring, have a very informative law blog on issues pertaining to debt collection, binding arbitration, and credit reporting practices, your consumer rights, lawsuits and more.
Here is a portion of their narrative depicting a recent case they handled. This court room drama paints a picture that illuminates both the importance of knowing your legal rights and the importance of hiring experienced consumer attorneys that can protect those rights!
An Example Of A Recent Debt Buyer Lawsuit
"...Normally the debt buyers concede at the courthouse that they have no proof and ask the court to enter judgment against them in favor of the consumer defendant or they ask for a dismissal with prejudice.
In this particular case, however, the debt buyer sought to win its case by putting our client on the stand and questioning him under oath. We explained that this would do no good as Alabama consumers cannot testify as to whether or not the debt buyer actually owns the debt. The only party that can testify to that is the debt buyer and then the company that the debt buyer allegedly bought the debt from which often is not the original creditor but is, yet another, debt buyer.
Nevertheless, this debt buyer wanted to proceed with trial. It brought no witness. It brought no documents which could be admitted into evidence. Instead, our client was sworn in and was questioned by the attorney for the debt buyer along these lines:
Did you have a credit card account with bracket [original creditor]?
Did you receive bills from the [original creditor]?
Did you owe any money to the [original creditor]?
Finally, the questions turned to the debt buyer which is the only relevant matter as the original creditor had not sued our client. The questions went something like this:
Did you receive letters from the debt buyer?
Don't you admit that you owe the debt buyer money?
We were then allowed to cross-examine our client and we did so in the following way:
Did you ever do business with the debt buyer?
Did you ever borrow any money from the debt buyer?
Did you ever buy any goods or services from the debt buyer?
Had you ever heard of this debt buyer before this debt buyer sued without offering any proof that it owned the debt?
Do you owe this debt buyer any money?
At the end of this questioning of our client, the Jefferson County District Court Judge asked if the debt buyer had any further proof to offer.
Not surprisingly, the answer was "No"..."
To read the rest of the narrative and learn the ruling... click here.
For more info on debt buyers & debt collection practices, and your rights see earlier blogs;
Debt Collectors being held accountable for abusive and illegal debt collection practices
and to listen to Attorney John Watts discuss your consumer protection rights on issues pertaining to debt collection practices on SpotLight click here; Debt Collectors Gone Wild
Here's the insanity of the mortgage mess created by lenders: a homeowner gets behind a few payments, gets back on her feet and when she tries to pay, they won't take her money.
No, apparently lenders would rather have the taxpayers' money. "How can this be?" you ask. (And she's not alone)
No lender WANTS to foreclose, right? (see related articles "Mortgage Work-Out Myth" and "Mortgage Servicers Secret")
Just watch this story from the Tampa NBC affiliate WFLA which highlights the ridiculous brick wall many homeowners run into when they get behind in payments and try to catch up.
Jacci O'Brien's battle with Wachovia is a perfect example of why homeowners facing unfair foreclosure actions must fight back. The Produce the Note strategy gives homeowners a way to do that. It's time to force the lenders to negotiate with homeowners who WANT to stay in their homes and, yes, WANT to pay their mortgages. Watch the video below for more information on how to use the "Produce the Note" strategy.
Source: Consumer Warning Network
and the Tampa Tribune: Foreclosure Looming: You Can Buy Time
Also see a couple earlier entries where we have reported on similar tactics that led to innocent homeowners losing their homes;
In 2007 the FTC received nearly 71,000 complaints about abusive debt collection practices up from 69,000 the year before. Nearly 20-percent of court-filed complaints alleged harassment through repeated calls, 13-percent of complainants said collectors called a third party repeatedly and 9.2-percent said the collector
used obscene or abusive language.
For more information on abusive and illegal debt collection practices and your rights under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act see a few earlier blogs:
For more information on abusive and illegal debt collection practices and your rights under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act see a few earlier blogs:
How
to deal with abusive Debt Collectors -Do you Know your Rights?
Appeals
Court Rules Aggressive Debt Collector Violates Consumer Rights
Lawsuits
Filed against Debt Collection & Debt Resolution Company
Abusive and Illegal Debt Collection Practices lead to Federal Lawsuit...
I-Team 10
investigation: Harassing debt collection calls
When lack of insurance or low income prevents payment of medical bills,
patients can find themselves tied up in a lawsuit.
In
Three former patients, though not involved in the pending federal lawsuit,
know what it's like to fight illness one day and fight a collection agency the
next. They described the experience as stressful and frustrating.
"They'd call you at least 14 times a day, all the way up to 10 at night,"
Tammy Wells said of Heartland's collection agency.
Ms. Wells said she and her husband, Kevin, have accrued about $3,000 in
medical expenses from when she gave birth to her daughter and from repeat
visits when her child was sick. Before her court date, Ms. Wells said she got a
bill for those expenses in the mail at least every three weeks and received
phone calls more frequently than that.
Ms. Wells, who said personal bankruptcy is a possibility, said the family
often feels harassed by the debt collectors, especially because additional
bills sometimes come for amounts that have already been paid.
"They want their money before we put food on the table," Mr. Wells said.
A top official with Heartland Health said turning a patient over to the
collection agency, known as Northwest Financial Services, is a last resort that
comes after several unsuccessful attempts at contacting the patient to work out
a payment solution. If the hospital didn't collect some of its unpaid bills,
more of the cost would be shifted to patients who do pay, said John Wilson,
chief financial officer for Heartland. MORE
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NM settles with
The state sued Chicago-based Merchants' Credit Guide Company in August 2007, alleging the company tried to collect debts that were legally unenforceable because the statute of limitations had run out.
The lawsuit sought a judge's order requiring the company to tell people that debts in which time had run out could not be enforced in any court. As part of the settlement, the company agreed to do so.
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For more information on abusive and illegal debt collection practices and your rights under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act see a few earlier blogs:
How to deal with abusive Debt Collectors -Do you Know your Rights?
Appeals Court Rules Aggressive Debt Collector Violates Consumer Rights
Lawsuits Filed against Debt Collection & Debt Resolution Company
