Indiana Man Alleges FDCPA Violations over Disputed Debt

An Indiana man accuses Portfolio Recovery Services of taking illegal actions to collect a disputed debt.

The disputed debt reportedly regards a personal or household expense, in which Portfolio Recovery had allegedly violated federal and Indiana debt collection laws.

Plaintiff Robert S. had reportedly taken steps to dispute the debt when Portfolio Recovery first contacted him about it and continued to do so when asked to cease all contact. According to the FDCPA lawsuit, the disputed debt had been purchased by Portfolio Recovery, who started the collecting process soon after.

The FDCPA lawsuit states that Portfolio Recovery had conducted several illegal debt collecting practices against Robert, including contacting TransUnion credit reporting agency on Sept. 14, 2017.

On this date, Portfolio Recovery representatives had told TransUnion that Robert owed a debt to their client. On the same day, Robert’s legal counsel had reportedly sent a letter to Portfolio Recovery that pointed out this action violated the FDCPA.

In addition to the FDCPA violation, the letter pointed out that Robert was not required to provide a sufficient reason to classify the debt as a disputed debt, just that he needed to clearly state that he is disputing the debt.

The FDCPA lawsuit states that Portfolio Recovery had received the notice, based on fax machine records. However, even though the company had received this notice, Portfolio Recovery reportedly continued to contact Robert over the disputed debt.

According to the claim, TransUnion had verified the disputed debt on Oct. 27, 2017, with Robert receiving notice of this on Nov. 9, 2017. Robert has continued his legal action through this FDCPA lawsuit, seeking damages for violations against the FDCPA and Indiana debt collection laws.

Overview of FDCPA Debt Collection Policy

The act of debt collecting is generally legal, but debt collectors must conduct themselves according to federal and state laws.

The FDCPA is the federal standard that all debt collectors must follow, which was enacted by Congress in 1978 to combat against aggressive debt collectors. Under the FDCPA, a debt collector cannot use any harassment or other abusive tactics to persuade consumers to pay debts including but not limited to:

• Sending confusing or ambiguously worded debt collection letters
• Communicate with third parties regarding the consumer’s debts
• Adding fees or collection charges to the debt
• Repeatedly making calls with automated dialing systems
• Call too often or at inconvenient times of the day
• Trying to collect expired debts

In addition to the FDCPA, some states have additional debt collection policies like New York, Wisconsin, and Indiana that debt collectors must follow. For example, Indiana debt collection law states that a debt is unenforceable and debt collectors cannot use criminal means to harm the debtor or their property.

Robert alleges Portfolio Recovery failed to follow FDCPA policy and Indiana debt collection laws when contacting TransUnion about Robert’s debt, which prompted him to file legal action. Robert is seeking damages for all FDCPA violations and all other relevant damages, with each violation potentially costing Portfolio Recovery $1,000 per penalty.

This FDCPA Lawsuit is Case 1:18-cv-02136-TWP-DLP, in the U.S. District Court of Southern Indiana, Indianapolis Division.

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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.