Lawsuit: DCI Credit Services Threatened Consumers into Paying Unauthorized Collection Fee

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DCI Credit Services, Inc. is on the receiving end of a proposed class action lawsuit filed by a North Dakota couple who claim the defendant unlawfully threatened them into paying an unauthorized debt collection fee. According to the suit, the plaintiffs called the defendant in order to set up a payment plan for a medical debt but were informed that they must provide the debt collector with their bank account information or pay a $10.00 fee with each credit card payment.

The plaintiffs stated they were not comfortable with providing their bank account information to set up ACH payments, the suit says. The defendant then proceeded to threaten them by “listing off [the plaintiffs’] social security numbers, places of employment (both former and current), address, and dates of birth,” the lawsuit continues, assuring them that the company “would take any and all action” to collect the debt.

The plaintiffs, “unsettled” by the defendant’s alleged threats, decided to make a one-time payment on the debt to avoid the negative consequences mentioned in their communications with DCI, the complaint says. The defendant’s online payment system did not allow them to make a single payment, according to the suit, so the plaintiffs provided the debt collector with their credit card information over the phone and were charged a $10.00 fee in addition to their $25.00 payment.

The suit argues that the defendant’s representations and threats were illegal under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and that the company was not authorized to collect the additional fee.