According to consumers, Accredited and Norman Kalina have violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act in many ways in their efforts to collect alleged outstanding debts. The consumers claim that Accredited has used Kalina's name and law firm as a shill intended to intimidate consumers into paying their debts by representing that an attorney has reviewed their accounts. According to consumers, letters sent on Kalina's letterhead are not signed by the attorney, and the return address is in fact that of Accredited's offices, not Kalina's. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, any material misrepresentation made in an effort to collect a debt is strictly forbidden. Additionally, consumers allege that at no time did Accredited or Kalina inform them of their right under the act to dispute the validity of the debt under collection within 30 days of initial communication. Under the act, this information must be provided either in the initial communication, or within five days of the initial communication. Furthermore, the consumers claim that Accredited used intimidating and harassing tactics in an effort to collect alleged debts. The consumers allege that Accredited made repeated phone calls to them at their places of business and threatened to garnish their wages and to speak to their co-workers and supervisors. The consumers claim that these calls were made even after a specific request was made by consumers to cease these calls. Under the act, any use of intimidation, threats or coercion is strictly forbidden.
The consumers claim that the actions of Accredited satisfy this standard and entitle them to damages.