The Washington State Attorney General (‘AG”) accused Rent-A-Center of using unfair and deceptive collection practices.  The AG announced yesterday that Rent-A-Center had settled the allegations.  Rent-A-Center denies any wrongdoing.  A link to the AG press release is here -

http://www.atg.wa.gov/pressrelease.aspx?&id=23480

Under the settlement, Rent-A-Center cannot:

• Speak to a customer more than six times per week to discuss an overdue account.
• Engage in violence.
• Trespass, including entering a customer’s home or yard other than as necessary to reach the primary entrance.
• Call or visit a customer at home or work after receiving legal notice that the customer has filed bankruptcy, unless authorization is obtained from the court or bankruptcy trustee.
• Impersonate others or fail to properly identify themselves when making collection calls.
• Discuss a customer’s account with anyone else, other than a spouse.
• Threaten legal action, unless permitted under the Rent-a-Center Legal Action Guidelines or state law.
• Leave a recorded message for a customer that includes anything other than the caller’s name, contact information and a courteous request that the customer return the call.
• Call or visit a customer’s workplace after having been told not to do so.
• Use profanity or any language meant to abuse, ridicule or degrade the customer.
• Attempt to harass a customer to take action by repeatedly calling, leaving messages, knocking on doors or ringing doorbells.
• Ask someone, other than a spouse, to make a payment on behalf of a customer.
• Obtain payment through a customer’s bank, credit card or other account without authorization.

Here is a link to the consent decree -

http://www.atg.wa.gov/uploadedFiles/Home/News/Press_Releases/2010/RAC%20signed%20CONSENT%20DECREE.PDF

Last year, our firm obtained a summary judgment against H&P Capital, Inc. for attempting to collect an alleged consumer debt from a Texas resident without obtaining and filing with the Texas Secretary of State the bond required by the Texas Debt Collection Act.  It is our understanding that H&P Capital, Inc. will at times tell consumers that it is “HPC.”  A summary judgment is a judgment that a court signs without the need for a trial on the issue addressed by the summary judgment.  In other words, there is no genuine issue as to any material fact (as to the issue addressed by the summary judgment motion), and the party filing the motion is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law against the party responding to the motion.  Here is a copy of the summary judgment against H&P Capital, Inc. -

Order Granting Plaintiff’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment

Here is a “certificate of no record” we secured from the Texas Secretary of State (in December, 2009) -

Certificate of No Record

The Texas Debt Collection Act prohibits a debt collector from using or threatening violence or other criminal means to collect a debt.  This is an obvious prohibition:  a person cannot commit, or threaten to commit, criminal acts in order to obtain money from another person.  Aside from being obvious, it might appear that the Act prohibits conduct that might never occur.  Surely debt collectors don’t commit crimes just to collect debts.  We have actually seen the following in cases we have handled:

• Threat to “shank” someone
• Threat to cut someone
• Assault
• Threat of assault
• Unlawfully obtaining telephone call records

If you have been threatened with bodily injury by a debt collector, contact the police immediately.  You might need to be persistent.  Some police departments will tell you that you are calling about a civil matter, and that there is nothing that the police can do.  However, when someone threatens to harm you, the threat might be a commission of a crime.

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The West Virginia State Attorney General announced that he has settled alleged unfair collection practices cases against Allied Interstate, Jefferson Capital Systems, and Wilhelm, West, Kacey & Associates.  The allegations against each company vary.  An article about the settlements is here -

http://wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=75396

The Texas Debt Collection Act requires certain types of debt collectors to secure and file with the Texas Secretary of State a judgment bond.  The bond must be in favor of a person damaged by a violation of the Texas Debt Collection Act and in favor of the State of Texas.  The bond amount is $10,000.00.  Only third-party debt collectors (as defined by the Act) and credit bureaus must obtain such a bond.  If a collection agency does not obtain and file an appropriate bond, it is in violation of the Act.  Here is a link to a site at which you can search for a particular collection agency to determine whether it has filed a bond -

 http://direct.sos.state.tx.us/debtcollectors/DCSearch.asp

A news site is reporting that Rent-A-Center settled a lawsuit which contained allegations that one or more Rent-A-Center employees kicked in a consumer’s door related to attempts to collect past-due payment(s).  The news site alleges that the plaintiff alleged that a 21-month old girl, standing behind the door, was injured.  “The defendants maintain their denial of liability and the settlement was a compromise to avoid the expense of trial, said their attorney Ralph Dublikar.”  Here is a link to the story -

http://www.cantonrep.com/stark/canton/x1522837707/Local-Rent-A-Center-settles-lawsuit-over-employees-actions

We filed suit in El Paso last week against Buddy’s Furniture, a local deputy constable, and an apparent Buddy’s manager, related to alleged improper attempts to collect a debt.  Our client, a young man who had done business with Buddy’s, alleged in part that a fully-uniformed deputy constable appeared at his place of employment and threatened to arrest him if he did not make a payment on his account.  T. Dean Malone (Dallas) and Scott Vogelmeier (El Paso) are acting as co-counsel in the suit.  Here is a link to an El Paso television story in which Mr. Vogelmeier appears -

 http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/22481499/detail.html

We have heard thousands of stories over the years about abusive debt collectors.  There are plenty of debt collectors who comply with the law.  However, for those who don’t, they tend to use the same tactics.  I ran across a news story (link below) which had all the elements of harassment that I have seen many times.

http://www.statesboro.biz/News/432/FreedomRoad-Financial-of-Reno-Nevada-Behind-Harrassing-Debt-Collection-Phones-Calls-866-354-5387.aspx

The Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) generally does not apply to the actions of original creditors.  However, Texas residents are protected not only by the FDCPA, but also by the Texas Debt Collection Act.  Almost all provisions in the Texas Debt Collection Act (“TDCA”) apply not only to original creditors, but anyone collecting a consumer debt.  A “debt collector” under the TDCA is “a person who directly or indirectly engages in debt collection and includes a person who sells or offers to sell forms represented to be a collection system, device, or scheme intended to be used to collect consumer debts.”  As you can see, the definition is quite broad.  Even so, our firm has not seen many cases in which a collection agency or creditor has engaged in abusive and harassing tactics based on forms provided by a third party.  Usually, abuse is in the form of numerous calls to a consumer’s friends, neighbors, and co-workers by the creditor or debt collector.

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We are currently representing several Texas consumers in cases against Conn’s related to collection calls.  If you have knowledge about tactics used by Conn’s when collecting debts by telephone in Texas, please contact attorney Dean Malone or Michael O’Connor at (214) 670-9989.