Consumers Can Sue Debt Collector, Federal Court Rules
Source: Public Citizen news release, February 7, 2008
In a win for consumers, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that a private California debt collector can be sued for its overly aggressive tactics, even though the company is working on the behalf of local prosecutors.
The company, American Corrective Counseling Services Inc. (ACCS), is a so-called "check diversion" company, meaning that it uses its contract with local prosecutors to send out letters on official stationary threatening consumers who have written bad checks with criminal prosecution or jail unless they pay collection fees.