A debt collector in Illinois is being sued for allegedly making repeated debt collections calls, despite the fact that the debt was discharged through a bankruptcy case. According to a complaint that was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, the debt collector violated the Fair Debt Practices Act. Debt collections practices in Florida can be just as aggressive.
AFNI, or Anderson Financial Network, Inc. claims to be a stable company that is based in the Midwest. It was formed in 1936 and works with big name companies in insurance, telecommunications, health care, satellite, cable and more. These large businesses hire AFNI to make phone calls and use the internet to contact their customers. AFNI is best known as a debt collections agency.
The plaintiff claims that the company continued to call him even though he had revoked his consent and had his bankruptcy discharged. It is alleged that the defendant kept calling him, causing him emotional distress and out-of-pocket expenses, for which he seeks reimbursement. He laments that even filing for bankruptcy has apparently not absolved him of all of the financial obligations for which he filed; it’s claims it is as if he did it all for nothing.
The man is asking for a trial by jury and requests actual damages along with statutory damages, attorney costs and court fees. Many people in Florida are not aware that they have the right to sue anyone who continually harasses them about debt collections for a debt that has already been discharged in bankruptcy. An experienced bankruptcy lawyer can help a client understand their rights, seek reimbursement and end the harassment.
Source: madisonrecord.com, “Consumer alleges AFNI repeatedly called to collect discharged debt“, Michael Abella, March 6, 2017