A plaintiff in Florida has filed a class-action lawsuit against a collection law firm and a debt buyer for allegedly violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by implying in two collection letters that a legal action had been taken against the plaintiff when no such suit had been filed.
A copy of the complaint, which includes the letters in question, in the case of James v. Federated Law Group, PLLC, and Absolute Resolutions Investments, LLC can be accessed by clicking here.
The plaintiff incurred a debt of $18,809.51 to WebBank, which was sold to Absolute Resolutions Investments, and subsequently placed with Federal Law Group for collections.
In its first collection letter sent to the plaintiff on August 14, the defendant allegedly included the language: “The current creditor, Absolute Resolutions Investments, LLC, has hired my firm to pursue the matter in court (Case# , but I would prefer to work with you to resolve the matter and put this account where it belongs – in the past.”
In a second collection letter, sent on September 13, the defendant allegedly included the following caption: Absolute Resolutions Investments, LLC v. Tonya James.
By referencing a case number and mentioning that the matter was being pursued in court in the first letter and by framing the caption of the second letter to make it appear as though it was referencing a lawsuit filed against the plaintiff, the defendant is accused of violating Sections 1692e, 1692e(2), 1692e(5) and 1692e(10) of the FDCPA, which prohibit the use any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt.
The plaintiff is seeking to include anyone else in Florida who received similar letters in the class-action suit.
