Has anyone here successfully sued for FDCPA violations?

I know there are many on this board touting suing for FDCPA violations, but it seems like a knee jerk reaction, and I'm wondering what the success rate actually is.

I am currently at a cross roads with GE Moneybank/Care Credit, and have had a consultation with a attorney. The next step is having him write a letter to dismiss the charges, and if they ignore it (which they probably will), sue for damages. There is about 15 calls that I can pull from my call records of these bastards calling me even after I told them it was my work line, and to stop calling.

I've already attempted to settle with them before this went into default, and they offered to take off about a third of the amount, but would not delete the account from my credit report, only saying they would mark it as 'settled in full'. I didn't take them up on it as I'm not going to get screwed for 29.9 % APR and ruin my credit.

Anyway, getting back to the original question, has anyone successfully done it? What proof was required, did you actually get 1k per violation? I'm wondering if I should attempt it, given that the attorney works for $200 per hour, and we're talking about a debt that is now 7k (half bogus APR charges, bogus because they jacked the rate to 29.9 % retroactively for 'late payments' that were never late).

Oh, and before anyone gets on their high horse, this was for a loan I cosigned on, for my mother who needed medical help.

Thanks for your input....

FDCPA, Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, FCRA, Mann Act, Sarbanes-Oxley. One of those means something relevant.

scrouds said: How much was the loan for, deadbead?

The amount of principle owed is $3,500, and the loan now currently stands at $7,200. Again, the APR jump was without merit, as payments were made on the date due every month. The company has stonewalled talking about this though.

And for the record, 'Deadbead' ? Really? WTF is a 'Deadbead'?

Somebody who doesn't pay a debt and then tries to figure out what deadbead means. Is a deadbead.

While I normally agree with the 'pay your bills' crowd, GE moneybank deserves it's own special place in hell. When customers call trying to work out ways to pay back debts and are stonewalled purely to generate more fees and interest income I stop siding with the business.

I know several people who have had just this type of issue with this bank. Yes, I know, they spent more than they could repay, but GE moneybank makes repayment unnecessarily difficult.

of course people have won. there is case law on point so obviously people have won
judging by the types of people in this forum i would imagine that some people on this forum have sued and won
if you have a lawyer, why aren't you asking him/her these questions. if you don't trust them to be truthful, find a different lawyer

how did "how likely is a win" not come up in your initial consultation?

If your case were as solid as you'd have us believe, one would think an attorney would take it on contingency obviating the fees. As for "deadbead," well, try to be a bit more tolerant. The grammatically correct use of "there is / there are" apparently confused you.

skycriesmary said: I've already attempted to settle with them before this went into default, and they offered to take off about a third of the amount, but would not delete the account from my credit report, only saying they would mark it as 'settled in full'. I didn't take them up on it as I'm not going to get screwed for 29.9 % APR and ruin my credit.

Your credit is already ruined if this has gone into default. Ditch the $200 an hour I'll write you a letter lawyer and talk to one from here: www.naca.net

I have successfully sued for a FDCPA and FCBA violation. I have all my paperwork from the case. It never went to trial because we settled (I got $), but I did retain a private attorney to do it.

I have sued successfully in court and won. In my first case, I got nervous so I settled out of court for 75% of what I was suing for. In hindsight I should have went to trial.

In my second case, I went to trial in small claims court. Big mistake. The small claims court judge had no idea what I was talking about. I lost unjustly.

In my last case, I went to federal court and had all the sympathy in the world from the judge and won not only statutory but punitive.

They will try and make it seem like you dont have a case and should settle. If you can get an amount you are happy with don't risk it and just settle otherwise sue in federal court and stick to your guns.

ZenNUTS said: Paging codename47.

Stop playing with your chihuahuas and report to FWF.

He is the headdeadbead

I appreciate most of the posts, and will answer the questions later tonight when I have more time. As far as proof that I told them to stop calling, I have none. I brought this up with the attorney, and he said that it was my word against theirs, and while it would be helpful, it's not a deal breaker, as it's not 'reasonable' for someone to record a request like that, at least not in the court's eyes.

skycriesmary said: What I do have is an excel sheet with all the calls, numbers, and dates of all the calls I received from them after I initially requested for the calls to stop coming to my work line.

As far as the proof mentioned earlier, I was told that we didn't necessarily need it, that the burden wasn't on me, but it would make the case easier.Unless you have recorded calls as proof that you told them to stop calling, you have nothing.

Get a digital recorder, maybe a Sony with a USB connector.
Get an Olympus TP7 telephone mic.
Use them to keep records of your calls.

jetsfan92588 said: be careful though, it may be illegal depending on where you and/or the caller resides

IIRC, it depends on where the person recording is located. You can get around this by simply telling them that you're recording them.

The following states require all party consent. All the others do not.
California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Washington

codename47 said:
I don't know who you hired, but your atty sounds like a lazyass moron. Is there even a 3rd party collector involved? Lawyers always want to bill big bucks for friggin writing letters and talking on the phone. Tell him to earn his money and write a complaint and file it, THEN the letter writing can start.

They usually have to exhaust administrative remedies BEFORE filing suit. This means that they research the issue and independently verify the client's claims. If the client can provide proof of harm, that might suffice. It's not "fire first, ask questions later." Otherwise, they could face a rule 11 violation.

A good way to approach a FDCPA lawsuit (and do the legwork for your attorney) is to treat it like a negligence action. Define their duty (as the FDCPA statutorily requires), show evidence of their breach of duty, causation (their actions caused your damages), and damages.

Damages can include denial or loss of credit, out of pocket expenses associated with disputing the information only to find the information to remain on the credit report, emotional distress and mental anguish associated with having incorrect derogatory personal information transmitted about you (plaintiff) to other people both known and unknown, decreased credit score which may result in inability to obtain credit on future attempts.

While the remedy is statutorily set, it helps to have the negligence elements in place before you start.

IANAL

dudetheobscure said: If your case were as solid as you'd have us believe, one would think an attorney would take it on contingency obviating the fees. As for "deadbead," well, try to be a bit more tolerant. The grammatically correct use of "there is / there are" apparently confused you.

The attorney stated that if we do file against them, and it drags out past the initial deposit I put down, and we have a strong enough case at that time that we'll renegotiate for him to be paid when/if we win, i.e they would be liable for attorney fees if they lose.

Yes, Grammar has always been a shortcoming of mine. Making no apologies, and expect the heckling.

Oregon.

jetsfan92588 said:
i don't think there has been any ruling clearly stating the rule by the courts for every state, but in CA, the court ruled something to the effect of: companies located in other states could not record CA citizens without their consent: http://nixonpeabody.com/publications_detail3.asp?ID=1432I know of no creditor or collector who fails to notify you that the call may be recorded.

Once they have said that, all you need to do is say: "I agree".

They have then been informed that you are both aware that the call may be recorded.

No need to spell it out for them.

If a caller does fail to tell you the call may be recorded, just ask them: "Is this call recorded?"
99.9999% of them will say yes.
Hang up on the remainder

codename47 said: I know there are many on this board touting suing for FDCPA violations, but it seems like a knee jerk reaction, and I'm wondering what the success rate actually is.
I have, and I think it depends on how you define success. If you want a quick 1-3k plus a deletion, most compaines will fold upon the filing of a lawsuit. If you want 50k, you may be in for a fight. In no way is that a bad thing if you have evidence to back up your case.
What evidence do I need to back up my case? Proof of demanding that they stop calling? If so, I'm up the creek....

I am currently at a cross roads with GE Moneybank/Care Credit, and have had a consultation with a attorney. The next step is having him write a letter to dismiss the charges, and if they ignore it (which they probably will), sue for damages. There is about 15 calls that I can pull from my call records of these bastards calling me even after I told them it was my work line, and to stop calling.
I don't know who you hired, but your atty sounds like a lazyass moron. Is there even a 3rd party collector involved? Lawyers always want to bill big bucks for friggin writing letters and talking on the phone. Tell him to earn his money and write a complaint and file it, THEN the letter writing can start.

Can you prove that you told them it was your work line? Do you have that recorded? No I can't. I just can't believe that it's reasonable to expect someone who doesn't know they'll be in court regarding this to have any reason to *have* to record it. This gets back to what's reasonably expected of someone and burden of proof.
I've already attempted to settle with them before this went into default, and they offered to take off about a third of the amount, but would not delete the account from my credit report, only saying they would mark it as 'settled in full'. I didn't take them up on it as I'm not going to get screwed for 29.9 % APR and ruin my credit.
The fact that you tried to settle really doesn't matter.

Anyway, getting back to the original question, has anyone successfully done it? What proof was required, did you actually get 1k per violation? I'm wondering if I should attempt it, given that the attorney works for $200 per hour, and we're talking about a debt that is now 7k (half bogus APR charges, bogus because they jacked the rate to 29.9 % retroactively for 'late payments' that were never late).
It is 1k per defendant not violation. I'd attempt it, but I wouldn't pay someone 200 per hour to do it. I usually have people on tape, copies of all letters, documented violations, etc... which usually results in haggling over how much they need to pay me to make the problem go away. Getting the max statutory damages is not hard, as long as you have evidence and can establish your case.

They will try and make it seem like you dont have a case and should settle.
this is true

Odds are, if you file, you'll probably get a settlement offer pretty quickly. You think the $1500 your lawyer wants is a lot to go to trial? Their expenses to do so will be significantly higher. Certainly higher than writing off the debt and clearing the credit reports.

Recordings are good, but if this goes to a jury trial and you take the stand and testify to what happened, it's hard to think a jury isn't going to be sympathetic. Remember, they'd have to get someone to lie on the stand if what you're saying is true.

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