After allegedly attempting to collect money for a debt that had been discharged, a debt collector working on behalf of Macy’s Department stores is being sued. According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, in Florida and all other states, once a debt has been discharged in bankruptcy, a debt collector can no longer attempt to collect on it. According to the suit that was filed on Feb. 17, the defendant did just that.
The claim is that Central Control, LLC continued to try and collect a Macy’s debt from the plaintiff, even though the debt had been discharged in a bankruptcy case. The woman’s petition for bankruptcy was filed on July 21, 2015, but she claims that she kept receiving collection letters from the defendant that demanded payment. The woman owed the defendant nearly $6,500, but the same amount was included in her bankruptcy discharge.
The woman alleges that the defendant knew of her bankruptcy. She asserts that she communicated with both the debt collector and Macy’s to notify them about the bankruptcy petition, making it clear to them that they could not continue to attempt to collect the debt. She is seeking a trial by jury and asking for actual damages, as well as statutory damages, court costs, lawyer’s fees, and any other amount that the court feels is appropriate in this case. Her claim was made to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
Once a Florida resident has filed a petition for bankruptcy, and their creditor(s) is/are formally notified of the petition, the creditor can no longer attempt to collect the debt. Anyone who is dealing with creditor harassment from a debt collector can seek the advice of a bankruptcy lawyer to help put an end to the stressful situation. In cases where a debt collector refuses to stop harassing an individual, a lawsuit could be an appropriate alternative.
Source: madisonrecord.com, “Woman sues debt collector over Macy’s debt“, Noddy A. Fernandez, March 14, 2017