U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Santander Debt Collection Case
As many consumers in the Oak Park area know, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is designed to protect debtors against unfair, abusive, and fraudulent debt collection practices. When debt collectors violate the law , consumers who have been harmed may be able to file a claim against the debt collection company. As a recent article in Reuters points out, companies that buy old debt, typically for “pennies on the dollar,” often attempt to collect those debts from consumers even if the statute of limitations has run out. Now, as the article points out, a proposed class action lawsuit against Santander Consumer USA, Inc. will now be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. The case asks the question of when a debt buyer will be considered a debt collector for the purposes of federal law. Are Debt Buyers Considered to be “Debt Collectors” Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act? The case, Henson v. Santander Consumer USA, Inc. , addresses the issue of “whethe...