Woman wins $83 million in lawsuit against debt collector

[space otter]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/credit/woman-wins-dollar83-million-in-lawsuit-against-debt-collector/ar-BBjXI0E


Anita Hamilton

5 hrs ago






Woman wins $83 million in lawsuit against debt collector


Missouri jury ordered a debt buyer to pay nearly $83 million to a Kansas City woman it pursued for a $1,000 credit card bill she didn't owe, NPR affiliate KCUR reports. The jury found Portfolio Recovery Associates LLC guilty of violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, for which it will pay $250,000 in damages, as well as maliciously prosecuting the woman, Maria Guadalupe Mejia, over the debt that did not belong to her. For the malicious prosecution, the jury awarded Mejia $82,990,000 in punitive damages.

PRA Group Inc., which owns Portfolio Recovery Associates, sent an email statement to Credit.com:

"This outlandish verdict defies all common sense," wrote spokesman Michael McKeon. "We hope and expect the judge will set aside this inappropriate award, and we plan to file motions to make that request formally in the near term. Any fair reading of the facts of this case makes plain that a verdict of this size is not justice by any means, and cannot stand."

Portfolio Recovery, one of the nation's largest debt buyers, sued Mejia in February 2013 over the credit card debt, though the actual debtor turned out to be a man in Kansas City, Kansas, with a name similar to Mejia's. The company pursued Mejia for the debt for 15 months after she first received notice of the lawsuit. In a written statement to KCUR, Mejia said, "The lawsuit terrified me."

Fear is a common consumer response to debt collectors, whether the debt is legitimate or not. The first thing consumers should do when they hear from a debt collector is ask the collector to validate the debt in writing — it's crucial to know your debt collection rights as a consumer, so you don't end up paying a debt you don't owe or letting the collection account unnecessarily damage your credit standing.

If you're unsure of how to approach a debt collection situation, you may want to consult a consumer law attorney, who may review your case for free, to help you understand whether the collector is violating your rights.

[Shasta56]

What's outlandish about a debt collector getting more than a slap on the wrist for illegal practices?   

Shasta

[zorgon]

Portfollio Recovery are one of the worst. However 83 million for ONE person is insane. It should have been a class action suit and spread it out to all the other people that have been harrassed

Sure it is great that they got nailed... it may shut them down... but why is only one person getting compensation

Most of the calls I get daily are from collectors (for my wife) and telemarketers  I posted a thread about the bogus claim calls...  I use an answering machine to screen calls 99% are from machines from guys like Portfolio.

They can do NOTHING   IF YOU DON'T TALK TO THEM. They try to get you to 'fess up' by fear. But your obligation is to the ORIGINAL debtor not a third party that you never signed with. In most cases the original debtor has WRITTEN OFF your debt on their accounts and even if you wanted to pay now, the account is no longer available...

Those written off debts are sold to these third party vultures. IF you contact them and verbally agree that you owe that, you are screwed   Just ignore them. Anyone that has a legitimate claim will send a notice via snail mail

My wife never really believed me that was true until she worked for Professional Recovery Service here in Vegas.  She told me after that not only was I correct but even more so. They have all sorts of laws they cannot cross and the scrupulous ones don't. Here in Vegas (not sure if this is federal) they cannot call before 8:oo am or after 8:oo Pm

So yeah  I want MY share LOL for wasting phone machine space

Disclaimer: I am not passing this info on so you can go out and purposely rack up credit then default   That is between you and your conscience

[zorgon]

Wow this is interesting!! Guess what I just got in the mail?

A class action settlement for a recovery company law suit ( 5.7 billion) This was sent to Medieval Merchants.

Seems the vultures are out since that Portfolio settlement. This one is simply gathering names as the settlement is in appeal  but hey  I am sending it in


Not sure if you know but there are many services online that list current class action lawsuits and are looking for claiments.

Dr Joe Renick pointed it out and you can make a lot of money  but be careful not to make fraudulent claims  They can (rarely though) be checked and require proof.

But most of us use products and services and never know if there is a class action suit going on until it is over and in the news

Open Class Action Lawsuit Settlements

http://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/open-lawsuit-settlements/


Consumer Action - Class Action Database

Consumer Action maintains this listing of notable class actions so that interested consumers can learn more, join a pending action or make a claim. You can sort the listing three ways—actions or settlements that are (1) open to claims, (2) pending or (3) closed—or use the calendar to search for upcoming claims deadlines. We invite information about pending and ongoing class actions. Email editor@consumer-action.org.

http://www.consumer-action.org/lawsuits/

[Shasta56]

Federal law prohibits collection calls before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m.

Shasta