HOUSTON – A Richmond consumer claims a national debt collection company unlawfully threatened her with a lawsuit.
Linda Silva filed a complaint on Aug. 28 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas against Phoenix Financial Services LLC alleging that the debt collector violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that between September 2016 and June, she received calls on her cellular telephone from defendant attempting to collect an alleged debt. The suit states she demanded that the defendant stop making the calls in February, but the defendant allegedly threatened her with a lawsuit if she did not pay the alleged debt. She alleges this suit was never filed and was an attempt to coerce a payment from her.
The plaintiff holds Phoenix Financial Services LLC responsible because the defendant allegedly made calls while plaintiff was busy, threatened her to file a lawsuit if she did not pay her alleged debt and failed to send the required written notice within five days after the initial communication.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks statutory damages of $1,000, litigation expenses and such other appropriate relief. She is represented by Amy L. Bennecoff Ginsburg of Kimmel & Silverman PC in Ambler, Pennsylvania.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas case number 4:17-cv-02642