A class-action lawsuit has been filed against a debt collector in Florida alleging it violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by calling the plaintiff more than 40 times after he allegedly revoked consent to be contacted and for mis-stating the amount that was owed during calls before consent was revoked.
A copy of the complaint in the case of Nieves v. Nationwide Recovery Systems, filed in the District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, can be accessed by clicking here.
The plaintiff incurred a medical debt that was placed with the defendant for collection. The plaintiff alleges that every time he spoke with the defendant, the amount that was owed would change. In one call, according to the complaint, the balance was $100; in another, it was $800.
At some point, the plaintiff requested that the defendant stop calling him. But, according to the complaint, the defendant still made 40 additional pre-recorded calls to the plaintiff’s cell phone without his consent.
The plaintiff is seeking to define a class of other plaintiffs who received calls from the defendant on their cell phones using an artificial or pre-recorded voice without providing consent to receive such calls. The class would apply to the alleged TCPA violations made by the plaintiff. The violations of the FDCPA would apply to the plaintiff on his own, according to the complaint.
Along with the TCPA and FDCPA allegations, the plaintiff is also accusing the defendant of violating the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act by engaging in harassing behavior.