Americollect Sued Over Allegedly Misleading Letters Indicating Multiple Debt Balances

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Americollect, Inc. is accused of violating federal and state debt collection law by sending two Milwaukee consumers “misleading” collection letters that allegedly indicated multiple debt balances.

The letters, according to the complaint, were sent in March 2018 and June 2018, respectively, and referenced debts purportedly owed for medical services received by the plaintiffs. One plaintiff claims that prior to receiving Americollect’s letter, she sent a partial payment via check to the defendant for $52.00. The letter allegedly listed a “PREVIOUS BALANCE ON ALL ACCOUNTS” totaling $3,580.83 and a “BALANCE REMAINING ON ALL ACCOUNTS” of $3,528.83. The suit says the letter also stated:

“If payment is made by check, this receipt is not valid until the check clears the bank.”

The case argues the letter “misstates the actual balance” because it indicated her remaining balance but also warned that the amount listed “is not valid until the check clears the bank.” The plaintiff says she was “misled, deceived, and confused” as to how much she truly owed after making her partial payment.

The other plaintiff claims he received a similar letter from the collection agency that provided an itemized list of three medical services received and reflecting each of their account balances, two of which were zero dollars. The suit argues the indicated zero balances made it “unclear…whether these ‘debts’ have been paid in full, referred back to the creditor or some other debt collector, or potentially even written off as past the statute of limitations.”