After Disputing a Debt, Plaintiff Says Defendant Violated FDCPA

Plaintiff Francisca N. has filed a lawsuit in New York federal court against Vital Recovery Services, LLC, claiming violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

According to the lawsuit, Francisca is a resident of New York state and resides in Brooklyn. The lawsuit maintains that the defendant, on behalf of a third-party, had attempted to contact Francisca in an effort to collect an alleged consumer debt from her.

According to the lawsuit, Vital Recovery Services “began its collect efforts and campaign of communication with the plaintiff by reporting an account to national credit bureaus.”

However, as iterated in the lawsuit, on June 6, 2017, Francisca began disputing a debt with assistance from a Mrs. Frazier. In calling Vital Recovery Services on behalf of Francisca, however, Mrs. Frazier was then connected with a female representative from the company. Additionally, in the course of disputing a debt,  she gave the female representative Francisca’s account number.

When the female representative returned, after placing Mrs. Frazier on hold, she was advised that Vital Recovery Services no longer had the account and that Francisca would need to contact the original creditor in disputing a debt.

According to the FDCPA lawsuit, Vital Recovery Services allegedly violated the FDCPA “when its agent unfairly stated she could not take the plaintiff’s request for a dispute even though they were still currently reporting on her credit report because they no longer had the account in their office.”

Francisca alleges Vital Recovery Services further violated the FDCPA by communicating to national credit bureaus information that they had allegedly known to be false or should have known to be false. According to the FDCPA, violations of the FDCPA include that the company at fault communicate false information.

Additionally, Vital Recovery Services also violated the FDCPA when the company’s representative failed to “update plaintiffs credit report that the plaintiff requested her account to be disputed.”

Federal Reserve on FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act became effective in March 1978. According to a compliance handbook published by the Federal Reserve, “it was designed to eliminate abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices. It also protects reputable debt collectors from unfair competition and encourages consistent state action to protect consumers from abuses in debt collection.”

There are many specific prohibited practices, according to FDCPA. A debt collector, according to the Act, may not harass a consumer in disputing a debt or collecting on a debt. According to the Federal Reserve, collectors must honor debtor’s demands to cease communicating with them, except to let the debtor know that the collection effort is being stopped, that certain remedies may be pursued, and that mailed notices by the debtor are official when received by the collector.

Francisca’s FDCPA Lawsuit is Case No. 1:17-cv-05918-PKC-RML, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

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If you live in New York and a lender or debt collector engaged in unfair debt collection practices, you may have a legal claim and could be owed compensation for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

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DISCLAIMER: Debt collection itself is not illegal. However, debt collection firms collecting on consumer debts must adhere to the FDCPA. Even though debt attorneys are investigating these companies, their debt collection practices may be legal.