[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"BlogPosting","datePublished":"2024-01-04","dateModified":"2024-05-07","about":"Debt","wordCount":283,"url":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/court-allows-evidence-at-trial-that-debt-collect\/","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/court-allows-evidence-at-trial-that-debt-collect\/","name":"Court Allows Evidence at Trial That Debt Collectors Ignored a Dispute Letter and Made a False Report to a Credit Reporting Agency","headline":"Court Allows Evidence at Trial That Debt Collectors Ignored a Dispute Letter and Made a False Report to a Credit Reporting Agency","articleBody":"The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) prohibits debt collectors from making false claims about a debt, leading a federal judge to rule that two debt collection companies violated that law and would have to stand trial to determine the damages owed as a result of their failure to acknowledge a debtor\u2019s dispute.Under the FDCPA, a debtor may dispute the validity of a debt, and if the debtor does so, the debt collector must notify anyone to whom it communicates information about the debt that the debt is disputed. In\u00a0Thomas v. LVNV Funding, the debtor sent a dispute letter near the end of the period when the debt collectors (LVNV Funding and Resurgent Capital Services) filed reports with credit reporting agencies. The dispute was received on February 1, 2021, but not \u201cprocessed\u201d until after a monthly report was sent to a credit reporting agency; as a result, the monthly report failed to note that the debtor disputed the amount of the debt.The federal court noted that the debt collector\u2019s policies were set up to \u201ctolerate\u00a0the risk of violating\u201d federal law,\u201d and found that the debt collectors had violated the FDCPA. The court went on to later hold that the debtor could introduce evidence of those policies and procedures at trial to help determine what damages were owed.Proving a violation of debt collection laws can help a debtor eliminate a debt and recover damages for out-of-pocket costs and emotional distress. LawtonCates recovers hundreds of thousands of dollars from debt collectors every year.If you or someone you know are having credit or debt collection problems,\u00a0contact LawtonCates to set up a free consultation with our consumer protection lawyers.","description":"The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) prohibits debt collectors from making false claims about a debt, leading a federal judge to rule that two debt collection companies violated that law and would have to stand trial to determine the damages owed as a result of their failure to acknowledge a debtor\u2019s dispute. Under the FDCPA, a debtor may dispute the validity of a debt, and if the debtor does so, the debt collector must notify anyone to whom it communicates information about the debt that the debt is disputed. In\u00a0Thomas v. LVNV Funding, the debtor sent a dispute [\u2026]","author":{"@type":"Person","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2f34718d3c46ee2833d3ccf83f7221a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96,"@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2f34718d3c46ee2833d3ccf83f7221a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"url":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/author\/lawtoncates\/","name":"LawtonCates","identifier":7,"@id":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/author\/lawtoncates\/#Person"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lawtoncates-logo.png","height":73,"width":438,"@id":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lawtoncates-logo.png"},"name":"LawtonCates, S.C.","@id":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/court-allows-evidence-at-trial-that-debt-collect\/#Organization1"},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"http:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/court-allows-evidence-at-trial-that-debt-collect.jpeg","height":447,"width":1062,"@id":"http:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/court-allows-evidence-at-trial-that-debt-collect.jpeg"},"@id":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/court-allows-evidence-at-trial-that-debt-collect\/#BlogPosting"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Court Allows Evidence at Trial That Debt Collectors Ignored a Dispute Letter and Made a False Report to a Credit Reporting Agency","item":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/court-allows-evidence-at-trial-that-debt-collect\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]