A bill collector lawsuit has been filed against a debt collector who allegedly sent vulgar texts to a consumer. The woman who raised concerns and filed the bill collector lawsuit says that she was a few days late on her house payment when the mortgage company called to follow up on when they would receive their payment.
She says that that phone conversation was tense, but later that day she received a string of vulgar text messages. The texts referred to her with obscene names and said that her bill had been late twice.
At that time, the plaintiff who filed the bill collector lawsuit, contacted the mortgage company over the phone and at that time, they denied any wrongdoing on the part of their employee. A federal harassment suit was ultimately filed against the lender, based on federal and Florida laws that make it illegal for debt collectors to harass borrowers on personal cell phones.
When a debt collector contacts a debtor repeatedly, he or she may engage in a number of different behaviors, all of which could be classified as illegal. When this occurs, the debtor might take things into their own hands by filing a lawsuit.
The next step in the bill collector lawsuit, according to the attorney who was hired to represent the plaintiff, is to subpoena phone records to determine whether or not the text came from the employee’s phone directly or from a company phone.
Recovering Compensation for Illegal Contact from Collectors
The plaintiff who filed the bill collector lawsuit says that it was her intention to file as a victim of debt collection harassment in order to recover between $500 and $1,500 per text or phone call and she said that it was her goal to hold the text message sender accountable because of the vulgar and illegal behavior..
Even when people do owe money to a debt collector, they may be eligible to file a bill collector lawsuit if the lender steps over the line and violates state or federal laws.
In recent years, consumers have become increasingly protected by these laws designed to avoid instances of harassment or illegal behavior..
Many consumers are not aware that they have rights to file a lawsuit or hold these companies accountable for each instance in which they violate state or federal law.
Some of the specific laws related to borrower harassment include when and how a bill collector can contact the person who owes the debt and what can be said.
Any bill collector who threatens a borrower or pretends to be an employee of the police or similar authority could be violating state or federal law.
The Bill Collector Lawsuit is Case No. 0:18-CV-60698-BB, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
If you believe you have grounds to file a bill collector lawsuit, schedule a consultation with an experienced attorney at McDonald Worley today.
Disclaimer: McDonald Worley is not representing the plaintiff in this lawsuit.