Debt collectors may not contact you if they know you’re represented by a lawyer.  Debt collectors may not contact your friends, family or neighbors if they know where you live.  Also, debt collectors may not harass you and your family over an alleged debt.  Debt buyer Commonwealth Financial Systems, Inc. and its debt collector, the Law Offices of Edwin A. Abrahamsen & Associates, P.C. did all of these things to Lisa Regan in violation of the FDCPA.

Lisa sued Commonwealth Financial Systems and Abrahamsen for their violations.  The debt collectors admitted that they communicated with Lisa and her father, but claimed they did so as a result of an unintentional “bona fide error” and asked the court to grant judgment in their favor.  In a recent opinion, the federal court denied the debt collectors' motion.  Regan v. Law Offices of Edwin A. Abrahamsen & Associates, P.C., 2009 WL 4396299 (E.D. Pa. Dec. 1, 2009).

Commonwealth Financial Systems and Abrahamsen offered the excuse that one of their employees inadvertently deleted the computer codes that listed Lisa’s address and indicated that she had a lawyer.  But the collection software inventor testified that these codes had no effect on Abrahamsen’s decision to communicate with Lisa and her father, and that the debt collectors failed to take advantage of a security feature of the software that protects the codes from being deleted.  Because of this, the court concluded: “having chosen to rely on the CLS software to prevent communications with represented consumers, [Abrahamsen] was obligated to use that software in an effective manner.”

If you’re being harassed by a debt collector, contact us – we can help.