One of the nation’s largest debt collection companies has agreed to pay $1.75 million to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission that the company used unethical practices to collect debts, the agency reported on Thursday.
The settlement, which is not an indication that the company broke the law or has been found guilty of wrongdoing, is the second largest civil penalty obtained by the FTC in a debt collection case.
The FTC alleged that Allied Interstate, Inc., a Minnesota-based company, repeatedly made debt collection calls to the wrong person, attempted to collect the wrong amount, or both. Collection efforts continued even after consumers told the company that they didn’t owe the debt or they had the wrong person.
The FTC also alleged that the debt collector made improper calls to consumers, harassing them with abusive language, calling many times a day for weeks or months, and sometimes hung up on consumers when calls were answered.
In addition, the complaint charges that Allied made repeat calls to third parties in an effort to locate a consumer, told the third parties about the alleged debts without the consumers’ consent or court permission, and threatened legal action against consumers it did not intend to take.
“Debt collectors had better make sure their information is accurate, or they could end up paying a big penalty,” said David Vladeck, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “There is no excuse for trying to collect debt from someone if you can’t confirm that they actually owe it.”
Source:
Federal Trade Commission
