Consumer Bankrutpcy Attorneys and Consumer Advocates around the United States are rejoicing today as one of the debt collectors gets what they deserve. The Federal Trade Commission settled a debt collector harassment charge against LTD Financial Services for $1,300,000.00. The interesting thing about this case is that the charges were brought against the company and key company officials, not to mention that it was the largest cash settlement ever obtained against a debt collector.
Of course, as part of the settlement, the company denied any wrongdoing. This is a standard provision in any release. It allows the company to save face and continue operating with the hope of saving its reputation. One of the allegations against LTD Financial Services was that its debt collector used profanity and racial slurs in their attempts to collect debts. Although the Chairman of LTD stated that he can’t imagine instances of racial slurs, consumers produced tapes containing the remarks. Additionally, LTD also was in possession of recordings which contained the racial slurs.
This case came about after thousands of consumers filed complaints with the Federal Trade Commission. What bothers me is that it took thousands of consumers to get the FTC to do something. Why wasn’t the number in the hundreds? or fifty complaints? LTD officials were concerned because they felt like they were chosen for investigation. Are you kidding me; Does anyone really believe that you were picked at random after thousands of complaints. Give me a break.
Although LTD’s complaint rate with the FTC was dropping, they have now decided to enhance training. Imagine that.
This case sets a precedent for consumers in Florida because a debt collector may think twice about using racial slurs and profanity when attempting to collect a debt in Florida. More importantly, it gives guys like me more ammunition against the debt collectors in the Bankruptcy Court.
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