Bankruptcy In Florida: Debt Collector Gets Harassed ap
As a Board Certified Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney, I meet with people considering filing for Bankruptcy each and every day. It seems that creditor harassment and bankruptcy go hand in hand. Today, I heard that a debt collector in Texas has agreed to pay $1,300,000.00 in damages in civil penalties to settle claims against it by the Federal Trade Commission. Isn't that fantastic. A debt collector is being harassed by the Federal Trade Commission.
The name of the company is LTD Financial Services and from the information that I have been able to read, it seems like these guys and gals were the bad eggs of the debt collection business. Of course, the company admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement. Usually, this means that they did not want to go to a jury trial where evidence would be out in the public domain. In other words, they are agreeing to settle because they don't want a lengthy court battle. I say that's hog wash. They do not want the public to know how bad they harassed people. Remember, I sue debt collectors for my clients, and I know what they are capable of. The bottom line is money. It always is. According to the information that I have, the debt collectors would use racial slurs and profanity in their attempts to collect a debt. Can you imagine that??????
According to the FTC, this is a precedent setting case because it was the largest cash settlement and the first case where the FTC named company officials as well as the company. One of the company officials is Leonard Pruzansky, Chairman. He said that the company monitors their debt collection calls and he cannot imagine instances where racial slurs would be used. Yea Right. I have been an attorney for many years and have sued many many companies. Not one of them decided to settle for 1.3 million dollars when they thought they had a chance of winning.
It appears that the Federal Trade Commission is going to be pursuing debt collectors who break the rules, now that they have set a precedent and will be receiving a big check.
