It is short on details, but another Regulation F lawsuit has been filed, this time in California, and, for the first time, it’s accusing a collector of violating the rule’s prohibitions on call frequency.
A copy of the complaint in the case of Santander v. General Revenue Corp. can be accessed by clicking here.
The plaintiff is accusing the defendant of violating the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The defendant is accused of “regularly” placing calls to the plaintiff via his cell phone to attempt to collect on an alleged debt. The plaintiff has “repeatedly requested” for the defendant to stop contacting him. Despite the alleged requests, the defendant has “continued and continues to call Plaintiff four or more times per day in an attempt to collect a debt,” according to the complaint.
The plaintiff is accusing the defendant of violating Section 1006.14 of Regulation F that prohibits collectors from making more than seven attempts to contact a plaintiff in a seven-day period. The defendant is also accused of contacting the plaintiff’s family members on “numerous occasions” without any lawful basis to do so, according to the complaint.
The complaint accuses the defendant of violating Section 1692c(b) of the FDCPA by contacting someone other than the consumer regarding the debt, Section 1692d by engaging in conduct which is meant to harass, oppress, or abuse a consumer, and Section 1692f by engaging in conduct that is unfair or unconscionable.
There have been a handful of lawsuits filed against companies in the accounts receivable management industry alleging violations of Regulation F, following its enactment on November 30, 2021. To date, the suits have focused on text messages that were sent by collectors to consumers. This appears to be the first suit alleging a violation of the rule’s 7-in-7 provision.