For those who suffer abuse and privacy violations from debt collectors, a recent case should give a sense of hope and justice.
In this case, which is currently in progress in Washington courts, the plaintiffs have recently been granted their petition for class status. This is a truly encouraging development that will allow the case to move forward as a class action lawsuit.
The case, Rodriguez v. Experian, is a suit against a collections agency, Alliance One, for impermissibly obtaining credit reports on debtors in violation of the Fair Credit Report Act (“FCRA”). Specifically, Plaintiff alleges that Alliance One had a policy of obtaining credit reports for consumers on whom they were collecting parking ticket judgments. Plaintiff alleges that type of debt (arising from parking ticket judgments) does not allow for an unauthorized credit pull to be done by debt collectors, and that obtaining credit information on Plaintiff and other class members for this purpose is an “impermissible” purpose, which violates the FCRA, and violates Plaintiff and the class members’ right to privacy. Plaintiff alleges that the conduct of Alliance One was willful, and that they knowingly violated this law, to the detriment of consumers. In short, Plaintiff’s suit seeks damages for Plaintiff and class members on the basis that Alliance One knowingly and willfully obtained credit information from Experian in a way that violated the law and the consumer debtors’ privacy.
The lawsuit will commence as a class action suit, consolidating everyone’s claim into one unified claim, which gives the claim better chances of success in the courtroom.
At the Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman, we are proud that our own Meghan George was lead on this result.
We will keep you updated as to the progress of this case as we fight for the protection of debtors throughout the country.
