Illinois Resident Alleges Debt Collector Tried to Collect a Discharged Debt

An Illinois woman recently filed a lawsuit against Ditech Financial, alleging that the debt collection company unlawfully attempt to collect previously discharged debt from her.

The plaintiff, Jeanne C., alleges that she got a mortgage in January 2007. Unfortunately, she ended up defaulting on the loan, and the debt was acquired by Ditech Financial (formerly known as Green Tree Servicing).

Jeanne says she filed a bankruptcy petition in February 2015. The Bankruptcy Noticing Center (BNC) informed all necessary parties about the petition, and noted that Jeanne retained counsel and that debt collection communications should be directed to the counsel, rather than to Jeanne herself.

Sometime thereafter, Jeanne’s debt was discharged. She says the discharged debt notice specifically stated that “This order means that no one may make an attempt to collect a discharged debt from the debtors personally.”

However, Jeanne claims she received a debt collection letter from Ditech dated May 14, 2018, in an attempt to collect the already discharged debt–even though Ditech was aware of the bankruptcy filing and discharge. she claims.

Jeanne turned to litigation in response. The Illinois woman alleges in her lawsuit that she was inconvenienced and harassed by the attempts at collection of her discharged debt, in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) as well as Illnois debt collection laws.

Jeanne filed her lawsuit on July 13, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern Division of the Northern District of Illinois.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a set of debt collection regulations meant to help protect consumers from being taken advantage of, harassed, or threatened by a debt collection agency. The FDCPA was first enacted by Congress in 1978.

In recent years, collection agencies have become more and more aggressive, and many of these companies may work for major banks, credit card companies, and student loan companies, as well as debt buyers. In some cases, the companies may use illegal debt collection practices to collect on what’s owed them—or even an invalid or previously discharged debt.

Indeed, millions of Americans may have been targeted with illegal and abusive debt collection practices, but most are not armed with the information necessary to know there are laws in place protecting them from such abuses.

Laws at both the federal and state level protect Americans from abusive debt collection practices. Debt collectors are not allowed to send confusing collection letters, make threats, harass, add fees, make robo-calls, or communicate with third parties about a debt, among others.

Under the FDCPA, if a debt collector is found to have violated these regulations, the consumer may be entitled to statutory damages of $1,000, plus any actual damages.

Filing an FDCPA Lawsuit

This investigation is seeking claimants across the nation, especially residents of Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. If you have suffered from abusive debt collection practices like confusing letters, harassment, or others, you may be able to file a lawsuit under federal or state debt collection laws.

The Discharged Debt Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-cv-04799, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern Division of the Northern District of Illinois.

Join a Free Unfair Collection Practices Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you’ve been hit with 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.