April 12, 2010

By: Shaun Ertischek, Esq.

Consumers are increasingly pursuing debt collectors for violating their rights under the federal statute called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).  This law prohibits debt collectors from engaging in abusive, deceptive and unfair practices while attempting to collect debts.  Under the law, consumer can seek statutory damages of up to $1,000.00 as well as any actual damages, costs, and attorneys’ fees for any violation.

There were 5,188 FDCPA lawsuit filed in 2008 and 8,287 FDCPA lawsuits filed in 2009.  This growing trend continues as recent reports indicate that approximately 960 cases were filed in March of 2010.  This is the highest number of cases ever filed in a single month.  There have been over 2,500 cases filed since the start of the year, and there are expected to be over 10,000 cases filed in 2010.