FDCPA Suit Takes Issue with Debt Collectors’ ‘Misleading’ Letter

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A Wisconsin consumer has filed suit against Financial Business and Consumer Solutions, Inc. and Jefferson Capital Systems, Inc. claiming the debt collectors failed to comply with provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. According to the suit, the defendants sent the plaintiff a collection letter that included an “outstanding balance” and offered her three settlement options. The complaint claims each option was confusing to the least sophisticated consumer in the following ways:

• the first option was labeled with a payment amount that was identified as both a “reduced amount” and the “full balance;”
• the second option lists a payment amount and a “remaining balance” that don’t add up to the plaintiff’s “outstanding balance;” and
• the third option offers three payments that equal one cent more than the listed settlement amount.

The suit argues that the plaintiff, after reading the settlement options, would be unsure as to how much she truly owed and could send payments she believed would settle the debt only to be contacted later for the rest of the balance plus added fees.

The case also takes issue with the letter’s allegedly false implication that the settlement offer would expire, as indicated by a statement that the defendants were “not obligated to renew this offer.”

Finally, the suit claims the letter contained more than one account number and mentioned that the debt had been “transferred” between different entities, leaving the plaintiff unsure as to the identity of her creditor.