Can I sue a collection agency for giving my personal account information to someone without my permission?

Question

This is actually my mom's debt that I feel was wrong for a debt collector to have done. I received a call from this collector of any attorney's office who was trying to reach my mother. He explained that he was a 3rd party collector who purchased the debt from the original debtor to collect themselves.

He gave me her previous and current home address; 2 of her credit card numbers (full 16 digits); and he literally read off her credit report (other debts; amounts owed; vehicle information). The other important detail is that he gave me exact numbers of the total amount she owes and what arrangements can be made to pay off the debt (no arrang. accptd) After this conversation, not a week later, I received a letter in the mail directed to my mother saying that "per their agreement" a settlement was accepted to make 2 payments (one per month) to pay off the debt. SHE NEVER EVEN SPOKE TO THIS GUY NOR DOES HE HAVE HER NUMBER OR AN ACTUAL ADDRESS OF WHERE SHE LIVES! Any suggestions?

Answer 1

YOU cannot sue the collector for violating your mothers rights, your mother is the one who would have to sue.

If "you" (not your mother) send the collector a cease & desist and they call you again "for collection purposes", then you can sue them (as long as you build a strong trail).

The FDCPA on communications with a 3rd party:

§ 805. Communication in connection with debt collection [15 USC 1692c]

(b) COMMUNICATION WITH THIRD PARTIES. Except as provided in section 804, without the prior consent of the consumer given directly to the debt collector, or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, or as reasonably necessary to effectuate a postjudgment judicial remedy, a debt collector may not communicate, in connection with the collection of any debt, with any person other than a consumer, his attorney, a consumer reporting agency if otherwise permitted by law, the creditor, the attorney of the creditor, or the attorney of the debt collector.



Suing should never be done without creating a strong papertrail of the violations.
If your mom decides to sue them for speaking to you about her account, even though you would have to provide a certified affidavit of the truth of that call, the collector could claim bona fide error in making the call and could possibly walk, leaving your mom to pay court costs.
Unless you have strong proof (taped the call, if your state allows it) that you informed the collector in that call that you are not your mom, she doesn't live there, etc. she needs to build a stronger case.

If they have made more than one phone call to you to discuss her accounts, and you told them in every call that you are not her, etc, then they wouldn't have a strong bona fide error defense


You say that the collector told you her current address, then you go on to say the collector doesn't have her her current address - which is it?


She might send them a debt validation letter - starting the letter with: This is in response to the telephone call and following letter you had sent to my son. (or something to that effect)

You, or she, might click on my profile and go to the last link listed. Do some reading in the credit forum. You will also be able to find sample letter templates and learn the collecting SOL for her state. It is a totally free site to use and also to ask any questions that you or she may have.

Answer 2

Probably, but it seems that he is pretending that he did speak to her, not you. Telling her the information would not have been illegal.

The main problem here is keeping him from trying to enforce the agreement that he is pretended to have made.

If the amount of money that is involved is large, get a lawyer.

Sending a letter by U.S. mail saying that there is an agreement, when there is not, could be mail fraud or some other type of crime. Even though it probably will not accomplish anything, file a complaint with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and call the local police. Having this on record will at least be useful later in court.

Another problem is that you opened a letter addressed to your mother, which is illegal. Assuming that she does not want to press charges against you and you did not tell him that you opened it, I would not worry about this. To be safe, I would not tell him who opened it.

If he is really with a law firm, which is unlikely, then file a complaint with whatever entity in your state disciplines law firms (usually the bar association). This may or may not do any good.

Answer 3

You need actual legal help on this question, contact the attorney general in your state to find out what limits are put on collections.

Make a copy of the letter and return it via registered mail, return receipt requested, Indicating that no agreement was reached and that you are contacted your state's attorney general.

Sometime collection agencies get away with things because consumers do not know their rights.

It is possible that your mother listed you as nearest living relative not living with you on the applications which would allow the collection agency to contact you.

Answer 4

yes they can. Its an information readily available to tellers in case depositors would like to inquire qbout them. If what you're asking is If they can still access their database about your transactions, the answer is still yes specially if you're account had a transaction that day. They are given access to this information because: 1. That information is part of the data that they use in their regular routine, such as customer inquiry, deposits and withdrawals, check clearings, etc..; 2. They need access to it since they perform balance reconciliation on a daily basis after banking hours. In all these instances, the computer system will log anybody who has access the information. If your concern is if its legal for them to access and look at your banking transactions, the answer is yes. What is illegal, I believe, is when they misuse this information, like sharing it with other people without your permission or a court order or making use of this information for personal gain.

Answer 5

Get a lawyer. All he needs to do is write a couple of letters asking them to substantiate their claims calculating interest(which they may have a hard time doing). If he charges less than what is allegedly owed then its worth it.

Answer 6

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