Debt collection agency sued for FDCPA violations

The national debt collection agency H&P Capital is being sued by a Sherman, Texas, couple for statutory damages, court costs and attorneys fees for allegedly violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, according to the Southeast Texas Record. The agency is accused of threatening Ernest and Keila Scruggs with arrest or imprisonment for not paying their debt. H&P Capital is also accused of violating the FDCPA by threatening to file a lawsuit despite the fact that it did not intend to do so, as well as using deceptive means to collect a debt. Additionally, the agency representative who placed the collection calls to failed to identify himself as a debt collector. This case underscores the importance of ensuring that all practices for collecting debts that are carried out by an agency measure up to federal standards. Under the FDCPA, debt collectors are not permitted to make false threats. Additionally, they are prevented from misrepresenting themselves and their purpose, placing repeated phone calls to debtors, revealing the existence of debt to a third party such as family members and employers, using profanities and calling early in the morning or late at night.