Washington AG announces settlement with debt collection agency

State Issues Washington State Attorney General Enforcement Debt Collection

On June 8, the Washington attorney general announced a settlement with a Colorado-based collection agency for alleged unlawful debt collection practices in violation of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act and Collection Agency Act, including assessing fees and costs on consumers even when no funds were captured in the garnishment, operating without a license for over a year, and failing to provide legally required garnishment exemptions to state residents. Under the terms of the consent decree, the debt collection agency must pay back approximately $475,000 in restitution to as many as 5,000 state residents and forgive up to $250,000 in fees and costs to resolve the lawsuit. The debt collection agency must also pay $414,000 to the AG’s office for the cost of the investigation and to fund the ongoing work of the office’s Consumer Protection Division. In addition to paying the fines, the agency is also required to: (i) discontinue assessing fees on consumers from whom the company has not collected funds; (ii) provide legally required garnishment exemptions to consumers; and (iii) incorporate legally required evidence when submitting garnishment judgment applications to the court.