We defend collection lawsuits daily. We sue collectors and lawyers for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
But even I'm surprised that JP Morgan Chase is ensnared in this case that includes 47 Attorney Generals accusing Chase of still systematically creating flawed or "robosigned" affidavits for court filings, as well as selling "faulty or false debts to third-party collectors, including accounts with unlawfully obtained judgments, inaccurate balances, and paid-off balances."
Chase downplays the accusations as covering a "small percentage of credit card customers who defaulted on their credit card debt."
As part of a settlement, Chase will refund customers who were sued between January 1, 2009 and June 30, 2014 for amounts paid above what the consumer owed when the debt was referred for litigation, plus 25% of the excess amount paid.
Chase also promises to reform some of its collection practices as part of the deal. Some of those promises include:
- Prohibiting its debt buyers from reselling Chase debts to other debt buyers;
- Confirming its debts before it sells them to debt buyers;
- Providing account-level documentation to debt buyers that confirm the debts' accuracy and enforceability.
Chase will also pay a $30 million civil penalty to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a $30 million civil penalty paid to the Office of the Comptroller, and another $106 million in payments to individual states.
This settlement tells me that thousands of flawed judgments are still bouncing around the New York City court system. Contact us right away if you've been sued by Chase, or any debt buyer enforcing a debt related to a Chase account.