Three Homeowner/Condo Assoc. Debt Collectors Hit with FDCPA Lawsuit

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Three companies who collect debts on behalf of homeowner and condominium associations are facing a proposed class action alleging they committed violations of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). A Virginia consumer claims Small Community Specialists, L.L.C. (which does business as Select Community Services and/or Associa) and Community Management Corporation and Associations, Inc. (which also do business as Associa) attempted to extract collection costs, late fees and attorneys’ fees that exceed what is allowable under Virginia law.

The plaintiff’s allegations stem from January 2015 when a payment he reportedly submitted for his townhome was inadvertently $15 short, ostensibly because he simply forgot to update his automatic payment preferences to reflect a change in monthly assessments. In February 2015, the case says the plaintiff received a “Past Due, Friendly Reminder” notice from his townhome’s then-management company, FirstService Residential, for $35.49. The plaintiff promptly made payment for this amount, the lawsuit reads, “believing it was an honest mistake on his part, and he did not feel it was worth the effort” to attempt to have the late fee waived. According to the lawsuit, FirstService agreed payment of $35.49 would fully satisfy its past-due claim.

Months later, in August 2015, the plaintiff received a certified letter from FirstService claiming he now owed $252.45, the case says. The plaintiff subsequently sent a letter disputing the charges, for which the case says he received another letter in October of that year claiming he now owed $363.94. An attorney got involved in December 2015, when the plaintiff’s balance allegedly hit $608.94. This saga continued for months, during which the plaintiff claims FirstService Residential never responded to multiple dispute letters. 

In late June 2016, the plaintiff claims he learned FirstService had blocked all payments against his account. In July 2016, the defendants took over management of the plaintiff’s townhome community and immediately assumed and continued collection of his allegedly delinquent account. Bookending the plaintiff's situation, he received a "Notice of Intent to Accelerate Assessments and File Lien" notice from the defendants in October 2016 demanding payment of $883.94, the lawsuit says.