Daily Digest – March 28. Collector Sued for Responding to Alleged Refusal to Pay; Judge Grants MTD in FDCPA Case

COLLECTOR SUED FOR RESPONDING TO ALLEGED REFUSAL TO PAY WITH VERIFICATION LETTER

• There are a number of circumstances under which I will choose to spotlight a complaint. Today’s complaint is an example of the dilemma that many collectors face — does a consumer’s declaration that he or she refuses to pay the debt mean that the collector should cease and desist all collection efforts? One plaintiff thinks it does and has sued the collector for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act because it sent validation information twice to the plaintiff after receiving the notification.
• More details here.
• This series is sponsored by WebRecon

JUDGE GRANTS MTD IN FDCPA CASE OVER REFUSAL TO PAY SENT TO CREDITOR

• A District Court judge in California has granted a defendant’s motion to dismiss after it was sued for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by sending a verification letter after the plaintiff send the creditor a refusal to pay statement.
• More details here.

PRA GROUP NAMES NEW PRESIDENT, CEO

• Less than a week after being penalized $24 million by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, PRA Group announced last night that it was replacing Kevin Stevenson, the co-founder of the company, with Vikram Atal, who will be the company’s new president and chief executive.
• More details here.

LAW FIRM TO PAY $200K IN SETTLEMENT WITH NY AG OVER DATA BREACH

• A law firm that represents hospitals and healthcare organizations in litigation will pay $200,000 in an enforcement action with the Attorney General of New York after being accused of maintaining “poor data security measures” that resulted in a data breach which compromised the personal information of 114,000 patients of the firm’s clients. The firm was also accused of failing to adopt measures required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which was required when working with hospitals.
• More details here.

WORTH NOTING: A hospital and a collection agency refused to talk to the mother of a four-year-old about a debt, because it was the child’s name on the bill … Ken Griffey Jr. is still one of the highest-paid members of the Cincinnati Reds, even though he retired 13 years ago … The habits of leaders that people actually want to follow … Tips to help you seize every opportunity at the next conference you attend … A guide to help if you struggle to parallel park … The two words that can stop the Great Resignation in its tracks … A guide to help those who have problems parallel parking … The cities where the housing markets are cooling the most.

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