Did the debt collector violate the Fdcpa?

Mostly all letters from collectors say that.

An email?????

Per fdcpa, Email CANNOT be used by a 3rd party debt collector as a method to inform or collect a debt. Is this a 3rd party or the original creditor?

Where does it say in the fdcpa that they cannot email? I've seen where it says they cannot send a postcard, but I don't see anything about email . . . .

Let me look it up...I recall that email was not okay to use as a dunning method.

I don't think it violated the law. That is actually what they are requried to state in any communication.

Okay...yea, the mini-miranda is fine. AND I cant read....heres what I recall seeing but mis-read. :(

Although the fdcpa does not specifically use the term "email" in its verbiage. It's safe to assume that collectors using email to contact you is not illegal. However, it is also safe to assume that bill collectors and debt collection agencies must still follow the FDCPA rules for contacting you. Just like phone calls at work, emails at work must stop if the collector is told the employer prohibits such contact. Keep in mind that it's possible for an email to violate FDCPA notification rules if the employer has a published policy that says email is not confidential and can/or will be viewed by authorized employees.

That's the same thing I posted above! We were both looking at the same site! :D

LOL!!! :lol:

*sigh*...When I skimmed this the other day, I thought it said no to email. My bad!

A little off subject but it is a violation of the fdcpa for a collector to alter their caller ID to read anything other then their name or a generic term such as "unavailable" or just a phone number. In other words if a collector calls and your caller ID says Prize Clearinghouse or Aunt Polly that is a deceptive practice and a violation. I was going to make a separate post about this tomorrow. It is not an uncommon practice.

I would be tempted to challenge the email provision that it is not illegal according to the fdcpa. The reason? Especially if the email address is a work email, all email sent to you at work is open to be viewed by your employer without your consent! May seem wrong, but if you read the fine print in most company handbooks regarding email usage, or go ask your companies counsel, it is in fact okay for a company to read your email. This is because under intellectual properties laws, any emails sent to you at work on a work account is the property of the company, because they were sent to you using company resources.

So, in a way, if someone in your company can read that email, it is no longer private, and is no different than if they sent a postcard.

Like I said....just my opinion, and the argument I would use to challenge this.

That certainly is food for thought. It is true that your email at work is the property of the company and therfore not private. Disclosing debt information to anyone other than the debtor is a violation of the fdcpa. I tend to agree with Subigirl. Lets see what others think! Good point!

It says in the quote I posted above that:



So yes, that would be correct.

Which of course, most companies are putting in such provisions in their published policy. They have to in order to cover their own tails! Lawsuits are starting to require that companies turn over email records. I know with my previous company, they had one lawsuit that had our IT and legal departments busy for months digging through backups of our email servers to retrieve emails that had since been deleted by the original recipients. I also have known of folks who were fired based on information from their work email and/or internet usage....which is also tracked and logged by employers these days! In one case, it was found by the employer that the person was using company computer resources to run a personal side business!

You find out all kinds of stuff when you work in legal and/or IT (and I've worked in both)...stuff that would make you think twice about what you do at work. I don't even give out my work phone number! I tell people to call my personal cell phone, and will not take calls during work unless it is from my kids and their school (as this may be an emergency). I usually let it go to phone mail, and then call the person back on my break or during lunch.

I hear ya sub! That's why i also don't get online to much at work besides the point that i'd never get my work done! I really don't want anyone looking into my personal online time!!!
We had a coach at a local Catholic high school here who recieved an email at work and not only did he d/l it but he saved it and it was NOT appropriate so was fired!
:(
Ang

I would like to add that the CA has no real way of determining this except asking the debtor, and if the debtor doesn't know or gives them the wrong answer it could become a liability to the CA (especially depending on certain state/federal laws. As such it become (in my opinion) a fdcpa violation liability and should not be acceptable.

So, what if the CA types in the wrong email address and it goes to the wrong person? That happens a lot around my office with the same names but someone might have a middle inital in the email address. Would it be just an "oops" for the CA or a violation?

Well volleyballmom, that would be at the discretion of the court to determine that. Although technically they would be in violation because they disclosed to a third party

Yep, all very valid points against use of email for anything "official". For vollyballmom's point, one also has to keep in mind that many companies have a "catch all" account where emails go to that don't quite match. They can then go through this account, and route the mail accordingly, or upon the request of someone who is looking for something specifically, because the mail never reach their email box. For example, if the sender typed abjones(at)company.com, but the actual address was ajones(at)company.com, it could go to this catch all box. If a CA made this mistake, it could end up a violation, because it went to the catch all, which sure isn't private!

Which brings back my point, it's kinda up in the air as it may be considered a incidental disclosure (which a CA's attorney will definitely argue to this point) it would really be up to a magistrate (if it is filed in a lawsuit) to determine if it is indeed a incidental disclosure or a fdcpa violation.

Subi-A bit different for me, my company(a bank) does not have a catch all account....the email will simply be returned. But we hav e many people with the same name. So if they are trying to send it to Sally Jones and ther are 20, they would need to indicate "sally.jones1@abc.com" and so forth. My boss used to get other peoples emails all of the time.

But to your point, its a high risk way of dunning people with a huge margin of error.

Legislation has not gotten to the technological fields yet. It will though. Also, as Frogpatch asked, it is illegal for a collection company to conceal their real name on caller ID, meaning they can not pretend they are a plumbing company or a utility company. They either have to block their number or use their real, registered name.

is it illegal or a violation for a confidential letter left by a debt collector for a debtor to have red ink on it

no...read the FDCPA. That will tell you everything you need to know