FDCPA Violation.

Byline: Derek Hawkins

7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Danelle Duncan v. Asset Recovery Specialists, Inc. et al.

Case No.: 17-2598

Officials: FLAUM, EASTERBROOK, and SCUDDER, Circuit Judges.

Focus: FDCPA Violation

When Danelle Duncan fell behind on her car payments, Asset Recovery Specialists repossessed the vehicle on behalf of the lender, Wells Fargo Bank. Duncan had left some personal items in the car, however, and when she sought to retrieve the property she alleged that Asset Recovery demanded a $100 payment from hera demand she considered to constitute impermissible debt collection in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. 1692f. At summary judgment, the factual record before the district court proved Duncan wrong: the $100 charge was not a demand for loan repayment by Duncan, but rather an administrative property-retrieval fee that Wells Fargo had agreed to pay. Having partaken in no impermissible debt collection, Asset Recovery...