Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Pennsylvania
Is it legal for a collection recovery service to charge a 6% interest plus fees every month on an account they purchase?
1 Answer from Attorneys
You leave out a lot of facts. Has this gone to judgment? If it has, the interest is the legal statutory rate of interest in PA and it is not a made up fee that the debt collector is charging you. Otherwise, the collector cannot charge you a fee unless it is authorized by the contract that you signed with the original creditor. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act says under 15 U.S.C. Section 1692(f):
A debt collector may not use unfair or unconscionable means to
collect or attempt to collect any debt. Without limiting the
general application of the foregoing, the following conduct is a
violation of this section: (1) The collection of any amount (including any interest, fee,
charge, or expense incidental to the principal obligation) unless
such amount is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the
debt or permitted by law.
Feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss this matter further.
Rachel Hunter
Attorney at Law
(678)-687-9693
Admitted in GA, PA & NC