12News in Arizona recently profiled Anne Munoz who had been wrongly sued by Portfolio Recovery Associates, one of the nation's biggest debt collectors and a frequent filer of lawsuits in Franklin County, Ohio.
Ms. Munoz was not responsible for the alleged debt in her case. The case against her was one of mistaken identity and was easily provable; she had never lived anywhere near the state in which the alleged transaction took place, and she was able to identify another Anne Munoz who had been previously been sued by Portfolio Recovery Associates for the same debt. She was able to win the case against her, and she potentially has counterclaims against Portfolio Recovery Associates for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
The piece from 12News also highlights many issues within the debt collection industry. One in particular is that many defendants never respond to debt collection lawsuits, either because they think that there is no point or that they can't afford an attorney. Successfully defending against debt collection lawsuits is often very easy with an attorney's assistance, and hiring an attorney can save you a significant amount when compared to losing by default, being assessed court costs, and having to pay post-judgment interest to the debt collector.
If you've been sued by a debt collector, please reach out to my office for assistance. You can read the entire piece from 12News at this link.
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