Credence Resource Management Hit with Multi-Count FDCPA Suit

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Credence Resource Management LLC is facing a proposed class action in Wisconsin that claims the defendant violated several provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The plaintiff in the case says his creditor mailed him an account statement that listed his balance and a “due by” date of November 8, 2017, noting that his account “may be sent for further collections” if it wasn’t paid off by the due date.

A few days later, the case alleges, the defendant sent the plaintiff a collection letter demanding payment of the same debt and informing the man of his rights to dispute “any portion thereof” or request validation. The suit argues that upon receiving the letter, the unsophisticated consumer “would feel pressed to dispute the account as quickly as possible,” and would be more likely to call the defendant than send a written dispute that may not be received and processed before the account’s due date.

“Even assuming the consumer can effectively communicate the dispute by telephone,” the complaint continues, “the FDCPA assigns lesser rights to debtors who dispute their debts orally than debtors who dispute their debts in writing.” The suit claims the defendant’s letter was deceptive and attempted to trick the plaintiff out of exercising his FDCPA rights.

Furthermore, the case claims the man received two more debt collection letters from Credence Resource Management warning him that he should “remit the balance due since there is a potential overshadowing challenge.” The complaint alleges that the unsophisticated consumer “would have no idea” what this statement meant and could assume that the defendant intended to sue him or “ramp up collection efforts.” According to the suit, the defendant “had no authority” to sue the plaintiff and did not intend to pursue more aggressive collection methods, making its statements in the letters “false, deceptive, misleading, and confusing.”