A debt collector who threatens to sue but doesn’t follow through may be in violation of the Fair Debt Collections and Practices Act, according to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. The assertion, if not acted on through a court action, could be construed as “false and misleading statements”, which is prohibited in the act.
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I wonder if the below (section 1692e) also applies to creditors who call their debtors’ NEIGHBORS, asking them to get a message to the debtor as they have money coming to them???? I had a creditor contact my office TWO times, asking if we knew our neighbor and would we get a message to them that they had come into some money. I filed a complaint with the Attorney General.
Section 1692e of the act provides: “A debt collector may not use any false, deceptive or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt.” Subsection 5 then sets out conduct that would violate the prohibition on false and misleading representations, including “a threat to take any action that cannot legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken.”