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DISCLAIMER: This article is based on a complaint. The defendant has not responded to the complaint to present its side of the case. The claims mentioned are accusations and should be considered as such until and unless proven otherwise.
Is a collector supposed to know that a consumer previously disputed a debt with another agency, or that the consumer even filed a lawsuit against that other agency for allegedly attempting to collect on a debt the plaintiff claims not to have owed? Is that enough for the plaintiff to sue another agency that attempts to collect on the same debt? A collector has removed a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act lawsuit to federal court after it was accused of failing to send a validation notice prior to furnishing information about the debt to the credit reporting agencies and for attempting to collect on a debt that the plaintiff allegedly did not owe.
A copy of the complaint, which was removed to the District Court for the Eastern District of New York, can be accessed using case number 23-cv-02577 or by clicking here.
The defendant began reporting information about the debt to the credit reporting agencies back in February. After claiming the defendant did not have any proof to collect on the debt, the plaintiff noted in the complaint that the debt was not only disputed previously with another collector, but that the plaintiff filed suit against that collector for attempting to collect a debt that the plaintiff claimed was not owed.
Lawsuits are public record and the original collector should have notified the creditor about the dispute and lawsuit, which should have kept the account from being placed with the defendant or ensured that the creditor notified the defendant about the dispute, according to the complaint.
The complaint also accuses the defendant of failing to provide a validation notice.
The defendant is accused of violating state law in New York, as well as Sections 1692d, 1692e, 1692f, and 1692g of the FDCPA.