Thompson v Bart E. Carroll (Indiana debt collector)
Indiana Debt Collector Charged with Unfair Collection Practices
On September 21, 2005, the court granted final approval of a settlement in a class action that had been filed against Indiana attorney Bart E. Carroll arising from his actions as a debt collector. The action was on behalf of all persons from whom Mr. Carroll attempted to collect a debt at any time since October 8, 2002, but to whom he did not provide a debt validation notice either in the initial contact or within five days of that contact. The action alleged that Mr. Carroll had repeatedly violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) in his efforts to collect outstanding debts from consumers. The action sought statutory damages under the FDCPA as well as all costs and fees.
Under the FDCPA, once a debt collector contacts an individual in an effort to collect upon an outstanding debt, a "debt validation" notice must be issued within five days. Failure to do so within a year equates to statutory grounds for filing an action against anyone attempting to collect a debt. In this matter, Mr. Carroll allegedly violated the FDCPA by not providing the class members with a validation notice in the initial contact, within five days of initial contact or within one year of the date of filing the complaint in this case. Class members allege that Mr. Carroll has systematically failed to conform with the FDCPA.
