Consumers Take Up Swords Vs. Collectors

When dealing with overly aggressive debt collectors, it's hard not to begin to feel a bit helpless.

According to collectionscreditrisk.com, however, consumers are increasingly fighting back via federal lawsuits. In 2010, suits filed under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act are proceeding at a record pace. If the current rate keeps up—3,262 such actions have been taken through April—the year-end total could reach 9,800, eclipsing 8,287 lawsuits filed in 2009.

In the last half of April, data from the courts showed, consumers sued 489 different collection agencies and creditors. There were an estimated 556 lawsuits filed in the period, including 483 FDCPA suits and 41 lawsuits alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Lawsuits were filed in 110 different U.S. District Court branches. The top three courts for lawsuit filings include the California Central District Court - Western Division, in Los Angeles (with 43 lawsuits), the New York Eastern District Court, in Brooklyn, (with 33 lawsuits) and the Minnesota District Court, (with 32 lawsuits).

For consumers looking for recourse in debt collection-related disputes, these are indeed interesting times. Just last month, the U.S. Supreme Court "made it easier for consumers to sue debt collectors for sending erroneous collection notices," according to The Wall Street Journal. The case before the court centered on the "actions of an Ohio law firm that initiated foreclosure proceedings on behalf of Countrywide Home Loans Inc."