Chicago Business Litigation Lawyer Blog
Debt collector letters to consumers can violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act otherwise known as the FDCPA if they confuse unsophisticated consumers and set time lines that contradict or over shadow the time lines provided in the FDC for validation of debts.
Under the FDCPA, a debt collector’s dunning letter to a debtor must contain:
(1) the amount of the debt; (2) the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed; (3) a statement that unless the consumer, within thirty days after receipt of the notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector; (4) a statement that if the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, the debt collector will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against the consumer and a copy of such verification or judgment will be mailed to the consumer by the debt collector; and (5) a statement that, upon the consumer’s written request within the thirty-day period, the debt collector will provide the consumer with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor. 15 U.S.C. § 692g(a).
The FDCPA also dictates that“[a]ny collection activities and communication during the 30-day period may not overshadow or be inconsistent with the disclosure of the consumer’s right to dispute the debt or request the name and address of the original creditor.” 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b).
The 7th Circuit in a new opinion has rejected a claim that a dunning letter from a debt collector for Capital One was overshadowed a consumer’s notice rights under the FDCP. In Zemeckis v. Global Credit Collection Corp., Capital One retained Global, a collection agency, which sent plaintiff, its debtor, a dunning letter with notice of her debt validation rights. Plaintiff claimed that the content as a whole over-shadowed the debt validation notice, violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. 1692g. The district court dismissed, stating that language like “act now” is only puffery and that placement of the notice on the back of the letter complies with the Act. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, upholding the district court’s rejection of a request to conduct a consumer survey to prove that the letter was confusing. However, the 7th Circuit recognized that in cases where it is not easily apparent that the dunning letter contains mere puffery consumer surveys are useful. It also recognized that placing deadlines with exact time frames such as one week to act or referencing set number of days to act that do not conform with the FDCPA timelines do violate the FDCPA.
You can see the entire 7th Circuit opinion in Zemeckis v Global Credit Collection Corp. by downloading the file here.
Our Chicago class action law firm pursues FDCPA cases for debt collector dunning letters that violate the law and attempt to confuse consumers by making it appear that the cannot seek validation of a debt within the time frame provided by the FDCPA. You can send us copies of such letters and we let you if they may violate the FDCPA and can give rise to a class-action lawsuit.
Our Aurora, Illinois consumer rights private law firm handles individual and class action predatory lending, unfair debt collection, lemon law and other consumer fraud cases that government agencies and public interest law firms such as the Illinois Attorney General may not pursue.
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Our Wheaton and Aurora consumer attorneys provide assistance in fair debt collection, consumer fraud and consumer rights cases including in Illinois and throughout the country. You can click here to see a description of the some of the many individual and class-action consumer cases our Chicago consumer lawyers have handled. A video of our lawsuit which helped ensure more fan friendly security at Wrigley Field can be found here. You can contact one of our Chicago consumer protection lawyers who can assist in consumer fraud, consumer rip-off, lemon law, unfair debt collection, predatory lending, wage claims, unpaid overtime and other consumer, or consumer class action cases by filling out the contact form at the side of this blog or by clicking here.