Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Washington
Washington State and Oregon State Collection Agencies Protocol
The collection agency is licensed in both Washington and Oregon State:
Question: Is it legal for a collection agency to only contact and notify a debtor one (1) time via a phone call that a debt is owed and need to reply within 30 days to a collection or the collection agency will file a small claims lawsuit against them? Doesn't a collection agency have to notify you in writing of a debt owed? Or is just one phone call and no notification in writing of a debt considered proper protocol or sufficient notification and then you can be served with a lawsuit?
I have been served with a small claims lawsuit by this collection agency. After I was served the lawsuit, I verbally contacted the agency requesting they send me copies of any correspondence they sent to me regarding this debt and all they sent me was a computer print out of the debt I owed. I want to write and send a certified letter requesting copies of any correspondence from them, but I am very unsure if I have any legal grounds to request correspondence copies. I've also tried to contact the FTC, but I just get caught in the "prompts" and get nowhere. Thank you in advance if anyone can help answering my question as I am due in court soon.
1 Answer from Attorneys
If a collection agency never called you or wrote to you and just sued you, that is permissible. There is no law that says they have to call or write you repeatedly or even once before suing you. Lawsuits are always an option when one defaults on a debt.
The most agencies call and write incessantly is because this is generally cheaper than filing lawsuits. For whatever reason they think they have a solid case and that you have the means to pay should they prevail in court. Your best bet at this point is to challenge the evidence that you owe a debt to anyone. (I am assuming that you are not sure why you are being sued.)
In order to prevail in court, the collection agency has to prove that you voluntarily incurred the debt. For example, if this is a credit card debt, they need to show things like your application (if you deny you ever signed up for the card), the statements, your signature on receipts, etc. If they provide no evidence, they cannot prevail just by saying you owe a debt.
On the other hand, if you know exactly what this is about, your best bet is to call the agency and try to make financial arrangements that need to be put in writing, to allow for a dismissal of the lawsuit (so there is no judgment on your record) and you need to negotiate a settlement and maybe even a payment schedule.
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