Alabama Consumer Claims Atlantic Credit & Finance, Midland Funding Demanded Payment During Validation Period

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An Alabama consumer is accusing Atlantic Credit & Finance, Inc. and Midland Funding, LLC of unlawfully threatening to sue her over a debt before the expiration of her 30-day validation period in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

The proposed class action alleges the defendants sent the consumer an initial collection notice on October 3, 2017 regarding an obligation purportedly owed to Synchrony Bank. The letter contained proper notice of the plaintiff’s “validation rights,” which provided the woman 30 days to dispute the debt or request verification, the case says. The suit claims, however, that the defendants rendered the initial notice ineffective by sending the plaintiff a second letter on October 13 and during her validation period. The second letter, which was labeled a “pre-legal notification,” threatened to sue the plaintiff and demanded payment by October 31, 2017 –before the expiration of the consumer’s 30-day validation period, the case alleges.

“Defendants’ conflicting collection demands left Plaintiff confused about her statutory rights to dispute the debt and seek validation,” the complaint reads, “as well as whether she had the full 30 days to dispute the debt and demand validation, all of which is material information that would play a role in a consumer’s decision of what to do about the collection of the debt at issue.”

As such, the suit argues that the defendants violated the FDCPA by ineffectively conveying the plaintiff’s validation rights and using “unfair or unconscionable means” to collect a debt.