MIAMI – A Broward County woman is suing a Miami-based debt collector, alleging it violated state and federal laws in attempting to collect an alleged debt she did not owe.
Plaintiff Cristelli Berry filed her lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Dec. 23. The named defendant is Hayt Hayt & Landau PL.
Berry, in her six-page complaint, alleges the debt collector violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, and the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act, or FCCPA.
The FDCPA, according to the filing, prohibits the use of “false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt.”
Pursuant to the FCCPA, in collecting consumer debts, no person shall: “[c]laim, attempt, or threaten to enforce a debt when such person knows that the debt is not legitimate, or assert the existence of some other legal right when such person knows that the right does not exist.”
In this case, in September, the defendant began attempting to collect an alleged debt from Berry by sending what her filing describes as a “collection communication.”
A collection communication refers to any attempt by a debt collector to contact a person about a debt, including calls, letters, emails, texts, or social media messages.
Such communication is strictly regulated by law.
Collectors must provide validation details – the amount or creditor name – early on and cannot contact a person at inconvenient times or places, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The CFPB is a government agency that makes sure banks, lenders, and other financial companies treat individuals fairly.
Berry argues in her lawsuit that she does not owe the debt.
“The Consumer Debt is an obligation allegedly had by Plaintiff to pay money arising from a transaction between the creditor of the Consumer Debt and someone other than Plaintiff (the ‘Subject Service’),” the complaint states.
“Upon information and belief, the Subject Service was primarily for personal, family, or household purposes.”
Since the alleged debt was not hers, Berry contends the defendant’s communication was “an improper attempt” to collect the debt.
She seeks statutory damages; an injunction prohibiting the defendant from engaging in further collection activities directed at her; and attorney’s fees.
The Law Offices of Jibrael S. Hindi in Wilton Manors, Florida, is representing Berry in the lawsuit.