RMS Accused of Discouraging Lawful Debt Disputes

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The Receivable Management Services Corporation (RMS) is on the receiving end of a proposed class action lawsuit filed by a Wisconsin consumer who claims the debt collector misled him regarding his right to dispute an alleged debt. According to the complaint, the defendant sent the man a collection letter instructing him to “REFER TO A CLAIM NUMBER IN ALL COMMUNICATIONS,” which the suit argues imposed additional requirements beyond what’s outlined by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) to dispute a debt.

Moreover, the letter supposedly contained the following statement:

“If you have not yet been contacted by an RMS representative, you will be receiving a call to bring this matter to a resolution.”

The suit argues that this language discouraged the plaintiff from exercising his FDCPA debt dispute rights because it “indicate[d] to the unsophisticated consumer that disputing a debt in writing would be futile” and that the consumer should wait to be contacted by RMS. It further implied, according to the complaint, that the consumer need not dispute the debt in writing and could do so over the phone when, under the FDCPA, “disputes must actually be made in writing.”