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I’m pretty sure all my credit cards are breaking the law

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Devilman93

Active Member
So you owe money to the bank on a delinquent debt and these calls are by third party debt collectors hired by the bank to collect that debt? And is the debt owed a consumer (i.e. nonbusiness) debt? If that's the case and they are not truly bank employees then they must follow the rules in the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). For a summary of your rights under this act, see the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau page on it. In addition, the collector has the same responsibility under state tort law as any business to take reasonable steps to secure and protect the personal information you provide to it.


They cannot sell it to just anyone. The collector is also going to be subject to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) which imposes limitations on the uses of personal information obtained by firms in the financial services sector, including debt collectors, and requires certain financial services providers to have a privacy policy and to provide notices of that policy in some circumstances. In short, there are some significant regulations that do apply to the consumer debt collection industry.


If this is a third party collection agency collecting a consumer debt then it is at least as regulated as a collection call center run by the bank itself, and in most states it is actually more regulated then a bank call center would be. That's because most states don't regulate either one. There are a few states that apply the same rules the FDCPA imposes on third party collectors to the debt collection activity of the original creditor, but most states don't. So in most states, if it was the bank itself collecting, you'd not have the protection of the rules in the FDCPA.


How do you know the person got your name and SSN from the debt collector and not someplace else? If you can prove that the person got it from the debt collector then you may be able to sue the debt collector for negligence. And if you can show the bank was negligent in selecting the collector, i.e. that the bank knew or should have known that the collector had poor data security policies, you could include the bank in that lawsuit too. But if you have no proof then all you are doing is speculating that the collector is responsible.

Now, I would not give out any personal information to anyone, including a debt collector (perhaps most especially a debt collector) who cold calls me and asks for it. I would verify first that the caller is legitimate, preferably with some other source that I could trust. And I advise clients to do the same thing: verify that the person contacting you is actually who they say they are before giving up any sensitive personal information.
The ssn was just my personal example of how rampant information theft is. I don’t have plans to sue anyone for it at this point. What I’m saying is that people think they’re talking to their banks employees when in fact they are not and then giving them all the information they ask for under the guise of customer service.
 


Devilman93

Active Member
And if the bank doesn't make you an offer?
I find an attorney and start a class action lawsuit and use the federal regulators to fix any leaks. I’m not looking for a settlement, I’m trying to prevent anyone from being deceived and information stolen and potentially used to ruin their life.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
I find an attorney and start a class action lawsuit and use the federal regulators to fix any leaks. I’m not looking for a settlement, I’m trying to prevent anyone from being deceived and information stolen and potentially used to ruin their life.
You should jump right on that...
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
If they are contracted by the bank to act on their behalf, then they ARE the bank.

For the record, it's quite possible that the "call center" is owned by "the bank". I have a relative that works for the Citi call center that deals with credit cards.

Honestly, there's nothing that this forum is going to be able to help you with since you've already come to your (incorrect) conclusion that something illegal is occurring. Time for you to lawyer up!
 

PayrollHRGuy

Senior Member
I’m pretty sure this is how it happened. Hacking the call center or it might have been just how they justify selling their customers information
The link I posted had nothing to do with a call center or them selling data. Capital One's own servers were hacked.
 

Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
The ssn was just my personal example of how rampant information theft is. I don’t have plans to sue anyone for it at this point. What I’m saying is that people think they’re talking to their banks employees when in fact they are not and then giving them all the information they ask for under the guise of customer service.
So you have not suffered any losses from a call center and are not getting collection calls? If a collector violates the FDCPA you are entitled to the greater of up to $1,000 in statutory damages for each violation or your actual damages, plus attorney's fees. If these are not calls by collectors then under state law tort law you'd be entitled to just whatever your actual damages are assuming you can prove negligence.

You seem to be assuming that all banks operate the same way. They do not. They don't all use outside call centers and when they do not all those third party call centers operate the same way. It is not the case that all of them will tell you that they are bank employees rather than agents for the bank, for example.

Feel free to complain to the CFPB and FTC about your complaints about how you think banks utilize call centers. But I'm not seeing any basis for a class action here from what you've described so far.
 

Devilman93

Active Member
So you have not suffered any losses from a call center and are not getting collection calls? If a collector violates the FDCPA you are entitled to the greater of up to $1,000 in statutory damages for each violation or your actual damages, plus attorney's fees. If these are not calls by collectors then under state law tort law you'd be entitled to just whatever your actual damages are assuming you can prove negligence.

You seem to be assuming that all banks operate the same way. They do not. They don't all use outside call centers and when they do not all those third party call centers operate the same way. It is not the case that all of them will tell you that they are bank employees rather than agents for the bank, for example.

Feel free to complain to the CFPB and FTC about your complaints about how you think banks utilize call centers. But I'm not seeing any basis for a class action here from what you've described so far.
The collectors have violated fdcpa rules. I have filed complaints with the cfpb, fdic and treasury department. Today I have been called multiple times by the same banks and after speaking with them continues to call. I think that should qualify as harassment. It doesn’t matter how banks or call centers operate. The law is the way they are required to behave and .
 

Devilman93

Active Member
The collectors have violated fdcpa rules. I have filed complaints with the cfpb, fdic and treasury department. Today I have been called multiple times by the same banks and after speaking with them continues to call. I think that should qualify as harassment. It doesn’t matter how banks or call centers operate. The law is the way they are required to behave and .
You don’t seem to understand that laws are limits on behavior and that banks and businesses cannot just do whatever they want, it must fall under the law. I could care less about internal protocols. The law applies to them all. You don’t seem to grasp that concept.
 
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