TrueAccord, LVNV Funding Sued Over Collection Letter’s Apparent Misrepresentations

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TrueAccord Corp and LVNV Funding LLC find themselves facing a lawsuit filed by a Wisconsin consumer over a debt collection letter the man claims was deceptive. TrueAccord reportedly mailed the plaintiff a collection notice on behalf of LVNV in April of this year that the suit says didn’t contain disclosures mandated by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). In particular, the case alleges the letter indicated that “[t]here may be more important information continued on a second page” yet no second page was included in the communication.

Moreover, the lawsuit alleges the defendants neglected to mention anywhere in the letter that the plaintiff had the right to dispute his purported debt. The letter instructed the plaintiff to “take a moment to review your options,” and then encouraged the man to “Make a full payment…” or “Set up a payment plan…,” the suit continues. Nowhere in the letter did the defendants mention the plaintiff’s option to dispute his debt, nor did they provide the required validation notice informing him of how to properly submit a dispute, the case argues.

“Failing to provide the validation notice prevents the consumer from disputing the debt, and triggering his right to require that the debt collector cease collection activities,” the complaint explains.

On top of that, the case adds the letter indicated that the plaintiff owed $0.00 in “fees” and “administrative costs” while assuring him that “TrueAccord does not charge fees or interest to the consumer related to our collection efforts.” The lawsuit claims that despite this assurance, the defendants’ mention of possible added fees falsely implied that the plaintiff’s creditor, LVNV, may still add additional charges to his account when it was not actually authorized to do so. From the complaint:

The unsophisticated consumer, considering the ‘balance breakdown’ alongside the statement that TrueAccord does not charge fees or interest would understand these representations to mean that LVNV may, and would, impose these charges unless the consumer pays the account in full while TrueAccord is collecting it.”