Client Services Facing Lawsuit Over Allegedly Deceptive Collection Practices

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Client Services, Inc. is on the receiving end of a proposed class action alleging the debt collector sent a letter to a consumer that failed to identify the woman’s creditor and misrepresented the legal status of her alleged debt.

The suit focuses on an October 2017 collection notice sent to the plaintiff. Though the subject of the letter allegedly mentioned “CHASE BANK USA, N.A.,” the case claims the letter does not “specifically identify a particular creditor.”

According to the complaint, the letter indicated a debt balance of $2,212.73, which Chase had supposedly charged off. The suit claims the notice went on to state:

“We are offering you a settlement amount of $443.00, to settle this CHASE BANK USA, N.A. account for less than the balance due.*

*If we settle this debt with you for less than the full outstanding balance, Chase may offer you less favorable terms in the future for some Chase products or services, or may deny your application.”

The suit charges that the letter “attempted to influence [the] Plaintiff’s thought process” by implying that paying the debt in full would be more beneficial than accepting a settlement offer.

“On information and belief, this above quoted statement is false, misleading and/or deceptive because Chase would not have offered Plaintiff more favorable terms if she paid off her entire debt,” the complaint argues.

Further, the case alleges that by placing the “warning” of losing out on future Chase services above two legally required statements, the defendant falsely implied that the warning itself was also a legal disclosure.

The suit argues that the defendant’s alleged deceptions were meant to persuade the plaintiff to pay the debt in full rather than accepting a settlement offer and thereby produce a higher profit for the debt collector.

“Because the quoted language would plausibly lead class members to pay the full amount of the debt owed, the quoted language would benefit Defendant to the extent that Defendant would earn higher commissions if debtors paid the full amount owed.” the complaint reads.