Unfair Debt Collection Letter Prompts Consumer to File Class Action

A Wisconsin consumer recently filed a FDCPA class action lawsuit alleging that she was wrongfully sued for her debt without proper notice, constituting unfair debt collection practices.

Plaintiff Susan J. recently filed an FDCPA class action lawsuit against Dobberstein Law Firm LLC, alleging that the firm wrongfully sued her for her debt without giver her proper warning.

In January 2018, Susan allegedly received an unfair debt collection letter from Dobberstein regarding a debt she owed to another party. The debt in question was an auto loan from Mariner Finance LLC which she used to purchase a car.

The letter Susan received allegedly stated her owed balance as $3762.71. Susan claims that, on the letter, there was no mention that the debt was accruing interest.

Susan references an opinion from a case from the 7^th Circuit Court which laid out “safe harbor” language debt collectors must use to make it clear that outstanding debts are collecting interest on a daily basis and that the amount due may be greater. In this case, the judge allegedly ruled that “the debt collector must use the safe harbor language … in cases where the debt collector is attempting to collect the listed balance plus the interest running on it or other charges.”

Susan claims that Wisconsin courts have recently upheld this decision and unfair debt collection letters without the aforementioned language were found to be potentially misleading. “Because [Defendant’s] letter failed to inform the [Plaintiffs] that interest was running on the amount owed, I find there is a triable issue of fact as to whether the collection letter is confusing or unclear on its face,” one judge ruled.

The unfair debt collection class action lawsuit claims that the letter Susan received can be consider misleading based on legal precedent, giving her legal grounds to bring her claims against Dobberstein. Susan brings claims under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), arguing that she is a victim of unfair debt collection practices by receiving an deceptive or confusing letter.

“Failure to disclose that the account was accruing interest is ambiguous as to the amount and character of the debt,” the unfair debt collection class action lawsuit states. “Because there is a triable issue as to whether failure to disclose that the account was accruing interest is misleading as to the amount of the debt, it is necessarily confusing and ambiguous, and therefore violates [the FDCPA] as a matter of law.”

The class action lawsuit also includes claims under the Wisconsin Consumer Act (WCA) which was enacted to “protect consumers against unfair, deceptive, and unconscionable business practices and to encourage development of fair and economically sound practices in consumer transactions.”

Susan seeks to represent a Class of individuals in Wisconsin who receiving unfair debt collection letters from Dobberstein Law Firm LLC between June 1, 2017 and June 1, 2018. The class action seeks actual damages, statutory damages, injunctive relief, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

The Wisconsin FDCPA Class Action Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-00839-NJ in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

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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.