Debt collector targeted by Attorney General

Attorney General Lori Swanson says debt collectors are welcome to do business in Minnesota, as long as they work within the law.

Those who cross the line will be sued, which is what Swanson did Tuesday to the Illinois based collection agency known as AFNI Inc.

"These poor citizens were coming forward saying 'I don't owe the money, you've got the wrong person' but the debt collector wasn't backing off," Swanson told KARE 11.

"They kept pursuing them, in some cases reporting them to credit bureaus thereby ruining their credit."

The suit cites several complaints her staff received from consumers about AFNI's collectors. The pattern Swanson's staff found was that the company continued to hound consumers even after being told the debt had been paid, was the result of documented identity theft or that they simply were trying to collect from the wrong person.

One of the victims named in Swanson's suit, Kenneth Gooden of Plymouth, said he received a call from AFNI last year demanding he pay $6,000 in debt from a Verizon cell phone account in New York in 1997.

"I told them I've never lived in state of New York where it was billed from," Gooden told KARE, "And number two I have never owned or a had a Verizon phone or an account with this company."

Gooden immediately suspected his identity had been stolen, and reported it to Plymouth police. They followed up and recommended he contact the Attorney General's office.

He also did something more people should do, Swanson said, he asked for AFNI's address and sent a certified letter denying the debt was his. After calls back and forth AFNI agreed to stop phoning him about it, but told him the unpaid debt is still in his name.

Swanson points out that debt collecting has risen dramaticly in the past six years, and the number of citizen complaints about unfair tactics by collection agencies has risen in proportion.

"Much of the problem comes from collection agencies buying old debt from other agencies, and going after people who already taken care of that debt."

Some consumers probably agree to pay the bill just to make the harassment stop.

As Gooden put it, "All they need is for someone to agree to make one payment to make it look like it's active debt again, and they use that to harass them."

Swanson said AFNI violated Minnesota's debt collection laws by continuing to pursue consumers without verifying the debt was indeed real.

"Once you write and ask for proof of the debt, the burden falls on the collector to prove that you truly owe that money," she explained, "If they can't verify that debt they're required by law to stop collection efforts."

The suit Swanson filed in Hennepin County District Court Tuesday insists that AFNI ignored that part of the law.

She maintains the company "attempted to get money from innocent Minnesotans" and disregarded letters from consumers contesting that debt. She also charged in the civil suit that AFNI failed to investigate the validity of the accounts the firm tried to collect in Minnesota.

Swanson offers consumers a new online pamphlet on how to do deal with debt collectors in the link above.

By John Croman, KARE 11 News

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