EAST ST. LOUIS — A woman is suing a debt collector for allegedly engaging in unfair and unconscionable collection practices.
Virginia Y. Howell filed a complaint on Feb. 2 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against First National Collection Bureau Inc., alleging the debt collector violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges the defendant attempted to collect on a debt by sending a dunning letter directly to her home address and falsely representing the character, amount or legal status of the alleged debt.
As a result of the defendant's alleged unlawful attempts to collect a discharged debt, Howell claims she suffered damages, including but not limited to emotional distress and inconvenience.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks punitive damages, an order for the deletion of adverse credit reporting, costs, attorney fees and all other relief as the court deems just and appropriate.
She is represented by Ronald A. Buch of Law Offices of William A. Mueller LLC in Belleville.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois case number 3:17-cv-00102