Lawsuit alleges Allied Interstate charged hidden fees after settlement offers have been accepted
Third party debt collector Allied Interstate of Columbus, Ohio, allegedly failed to inform credit-card holders who defaulted on payments and then accepted settlement offers, that interest on the debt would continue to accrue, according to the suit, Luna v. Allied Interstate filed in early October.
Class representative Justina Luna of Bound Brook (IDENTIFY THE NAME OF THE STATE) alleges she received a collection letter on or around September 10, 2012, claiming from her an amount due and payable. The letter was silent as to other charges such as interest.
Nine months later, another letter arrived, claiming a debt totaling $272 with an offer to settle for $177. This June 25, 2013 letter was the first time Allied notified the reader that “the creditor continues to assess interest on the debt and you may owe an additional amount after we receive your payment.” There was no offer to reduce the debt in the second letter as the first one had.
According to the suit, failing to state interest would continue to accrue on the unpaid principal was a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) prohibition on false or misleading representations.
Consumers are often unaware what protections the law provides from aggressive debt collectors.
According to the FDCPA a debt collector cannot:
- Fail to properly identify the origin of the contact as being from a debt collector attempting to collect a debt.
- Use vulgar or obscene language when speaking with you
- Use threats of violence or criminal action to harm you, your property, or your reputation
- Give debtor information out to third parties
- Call repeatedly
- Call at ‘inconvenient times or places,’ especially once you have notified them to stop
- Misrepresent themselves as attorneys or representatives of the government
- Misrepresent documents sent to you as legal papers when they are not
- Fail to inform you within 5 days of initial contact, the total amount you owe, who it is owed to, the time available to dispute the debt and that any information they are given will be used to collect.
The Victoria’s Secret complaint seeks recovery for New Jersey consumers who received the offending collection letter from Allied. It seeks statutory damages, attorney fees and litigation costs, and any other relief ordered by the court.
Bibliography
Toutant, Charles. “Victoria’s Secret Debt Collector Allegedly Used Illegal Tactics.” njlj.com. 13 September 2013.
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