By the Collection’s Agitator
Hey Tribe, welcome back.
So now that we are familiar with the FDCPA and reviewed some debt collector prohibitions let’s see how other consumers engaged with debt collectors.
“Melisa,” unlike Kim earlier, has delinquent unpaid debt. Not only does she have outstanding consumer debt, but she also has several consumer accounts in collection.
In Melisa’s case, the debt collectors made all of the required disclosures in their initial phone call and mailed the dunning notice within five days. If this is all that occurred, and Melisa failed to respond, or engage-the debt collectors would be well within their rights to proceed with legal actions. But it did not quite go that way.
Because Melisa had several delinquent consumer accounts in collection. She dealt with two independent debt collectors (AcmeC and Dice), collecting three debts. AcmeC was attempting to collect on two accounts. We will talk about AcmeC first.
AcmeC, where do I begin? Well, when they finally located Melisa, they mostly followed FDCPA guidelines. Note I said located Melisa. Melisa has moved twice since opening the now delinquent accounts. When Melisa opened the accounts, she gave her cousin’s contact information as an alternative contact. Because she had moved and changed her phone number, the original creditor did not have Melisa’s home number; thus, neither did AcmeC. Yes, some people still have landlines-don’t judge us. When the Borg comes, and cell towers are destroyed, some of us will still be able to communicate and organize the resistance. Wait and see.
Now, back to Melisa. Because AcmeC did not have Melisa’s current phone number, they called her cousin “Sonia,” this is permissible under the Act (insert link). However, AcmeC’s message on Sonia’s answering machine went beyond what is permitted. The caller included statements about Melisa’s unpaid debt, called her a f*@#ing deadbeat, and failed to state they were calling to confirm location information.
While the FDCPA permits debt collectors to contact a third party when attempting to locate an alleged debtor, it is very prescriptive about what can and cannot be disclosed. Yes, you can state the name of the company you represent but cannot reveal that an individual has outstanding debt or the debt amount. They are also prohibited from contacting a third party more than once unless the individual requests follow-up calls–AcmeC called Sonia four times. Twice after she had already provided Melisa’s contact information (see court holding in Evankavitch v. Green Tree Servicing). Likewise, debt collectors cannot use profane or abusive language in consumer communications- the expletive deadbeat comment is not okay. Leeway is given if speaking with the consumer’s legal counsel or credit bureau. Sonia does not fall into either of these categories.
Another helpful but underutilized provision of the FDCPA is that it applies to all consumers—not just alleged delinquent account holders. Sonia can sue AcmeC based on their prohibited communications with her. I’ll just let that sit for a moment. Now you are reading closely, aren’t you?