Class Action Calls Out Cox Communications on FDCPA Violations

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Digital cable and telecom provider Cox Communications has been hit with a class action lawsuit claiming the company contravened the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) in its attempts to collect a debt over an unpaid cable bill. Filed in California, the suit asserts that Cox Communications sent the plaintiff a letter in an envelope that contained a transparent window through which her name, address and a barcode were visible. The plaintiff says her sensitive personal information was at risk because anyone who scanned this barcode with a smartphone could view her entire account number. “Courts have found that a barcode is not a benign or meaningless symbol but implicates a core concern of both the FDCPA and [Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act],” the complaint says, since the information contained therein “could be used to expose the Plaintiff’s financial predicament.”