Nationwide Credit Faces New York Woman’s Debt Collection Practices Lawsuit

Nationwide Credit is facing a debt collection practices lawsuit alleging a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) after a New York woman received a collection letter from the defendant that failed to clearly state the amount of her alleged debt.

Plaintiff Fathima D., according to the debt collection practices lawsuit, received a letter alleging an account balance of $1,646.27. She says the letter failed to notify her whether the account balance would increase due to fees or interest.

The debt collection practices lawsuit argues that the letter violated the FDCPA by failing to provide Fathima an accurate amount of the debt she owed.

What is the FDCPA?

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), passed in 1978, is a set of debt collection laws enacted to protect consumers from unfair debt collection practices and harassment. It is a federal law that limits the actions and behaviors of third-party debt collectors who attempt to collect on consumer debts for other parties and entities.

The FDCPA does not protect debtors from the collection of personal debt, such as from the owner of the local hardware store. For example, if a call is made to a debtor from a local hardware store, the store is not defined as a debt collector under the terms of the FDCPA. However, the FDCPA strictly protects debtors against third-party debt collectors, such as debt collection agencies.

The FDCPA has several regulations that debt collectors must abide by. Strictly speaking, the law governs not only the behavior of a debt collector, but the number of times and hours in which a debt collector can contact a debtor. The time of day in which a debt collector may contact a debtor can only be between the hours of 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM, unless, a debtor and collector arrange for a call to occur outside of this time-frame.

Other restrictions regulated by the FDCPA govern where the collector can attempt to reach the debtor. A collector can attempt to reach a debtor at home and work. However, once a debtor objects to contact either verbally or in writing, contact must be stopped and a collector must never call again. In requesting calls to be restricted to home, a debtor must make that request in writing.

Additionally, telephone calls made by a collector in a threatening, demanding and harassing manner is also prohibited. The collector is expected to limit their contact to information about their debts and how that debt may be paid or settled.

Banned Practices by the New York FDCPA

New York laws governing debt collection are in fact more in depth that federal laws. More recently, the New York FDCPA expanded upon federal laws  modified in 2015.

Updated New York FDCPA rules and restrictions curtail the behavior and actions of debt collectors. Some of the restrictions and rules cover communicating with third parties about a debt; harassment; making threats; calling too often; sending confusing letters; collecting on old debts; making robocalls; calling at inconvenient times of the day; and adding collection charges or adding fees to a debt.

The Debt Collection Practices Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-06677-DRH-AKT, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Join a Free New York Unfair Debt Collection Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

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.