Edward Sloan and Associates Hit with Class Action Over Allegedly ‘Harassing’ Debt Collection Robocalls

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A proposed class action claims Edward Sloan and Associates, Inc. has placed unlawful, “harassing” collection calls to alleged debtors without their prior consent to do so.

The case claims the calls violated both the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which governs the use of automatic dialing equipment to place calls, and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which regulates how debt collectors may interact with consumers.

According to the suit, Edward Sloan and Associates overstepped both federal statutes by placing automated debt collection calls to a Snyder, Texas resident without securing his prior express consent to do so and even after he demanded that the calls cease.

The plaintiff claims to have begun receiving calls from the defendant in June 2021 pursuant to an alleged medical bill associated with a hospital visit. According to the suit, the plaintiff, “[i]mmediately after the collection calls began,” answered a call while at work and, after confirming his address, requested that all further telephone calls cease.

Despite the plaintiff’s request, the defendant continued placing the “harassing collection calls,” which always began with “a lengthy period of dead air” before a representative was connected, the lawsuit alleges. Per the suit, whenever the plaintiff did not answer his phone, the defendant would leave the following prerecorded voicemail:

The case says Edward Sloan and Associates placed a total of at least 20 collection calls to the plaintiff’s cell phone after he requested that the calls cease.

According to the suit, it is a violation of the TCPA to place non-emergency calls using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice without the recipient’s prior express consent. Moreover, the FDCPA prohibits debt collectors from placing calls at what is known to be an inconvenient time. The complaint relays that any calls placed after the plaintiff requested not to receive telephone communications were placed at a time known to be inconvenient to the man. 

The case further claims the defendant violated the FDCPA and a provision of the Texas Finance Code by placing calls with the intent to harass the plaintiff. Per the case, the debt collector’s “systematic[] calling” of the plaintiff’s cell phone was both “harassing and abusive.”

The lawsuit goes on to claim that the defendant failed to meet the FDCPA’s requirement to send a validation notice to an alleged debtor within five days of its initial communication with the individual. According to the case, the plaintiff never received any written communication from the defendant regarding his apparent debt.

The lawsuit seeks to represent anyone in the U.S. who has an existing account with the defendant and to whose cell phone Edward Sloan and Associates or a third party acting on its behalf placed a phone call using an artificial or prerecorded voice in connection with an alleged debt within the last four years and until the date of class certification.

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