I have successfully filed against two debt collection companies. Enhanced Recovery Corporation and Peak Financial Services, LLC. ERC settled the day before the hearing, then paid the $1000. Peak Financial hired a local attorney and then filed a motion to dismiss in Small Claims. The judge laughed at the attorney and said there was no such thing as a "Motion to Dismiss" in small claims. I proceeded to give my testimony after establishing jurisdiction of the small claims court. The defendants attorney only attempted to pick on small inaccuracies in my filing, which the judge promptly ignored, or corrected. After hearing what I said, the judge stated that I had indeed established that the small claims court had jurisdiction and authority to enforce the federal law, announced that Peak Financial had indeed violated the FDCPA and pronounced judgment in my favor for the $1000 plus court costs. The attorney had a red face afterwards and asked for my phone number. I told him his client already had my phone number and that is why we were there in the first place. I told him they didn't need to call me, but to just mail a check for the total amount due. Bottom line...you CAN win! But you have to have every detail in order. Make sure your dates/times are correct. Mention each violation in detail and give the specific section of the FDCPA it violates. Your homework pays!
In small claims, there aren't really many rules at all. The judge basically decides things in his wisdom. Certainly he's frustrated to be operating in a place without set rules. Keep in mind that they are still free to appeal, assuming that the time limit for that isn't up, and Dumb Bob does believe that it is de novo. Of course it's probably crazy for them to do this since the cost will be high and you seem to have the violations properly documented.
Good show! That ought to teach them a lesson. So how much is the debt they are trying to collect? I do hope you realize you now owe the IRS about a third of that $1,000 for taxes. How much did it cost you to file the case and did you get your court costs back in the process? Did you get your attorney fees paid or did you even ask for attorney fees?
How did you show that small claims had authority? EDIT: My home state has a state law that is basically identical to the FDCPA. I always assumed that the purpose of this was so that a consumer could sue a CA under state law, where they could bring it to small claims (or, failing that for any reason, at least stand a fighting chance in the common court). But if you're specifically filing under the FDCPA or FCRA, I thought you would either have to file in federal court, or the defendant had a right to remand it to federal court.
As I read the FDCPA, the statute says (emphasis mine) So if the amount in dispute falls below the small-claims limit and you are looking for only monetary compensation, small-claims would seem like a legitimate venue. You should first try to get a read on the court, if you can. Some small claims courts are seemingly in the back pocket of the debt collectors who go there and file suits by the hundreds (as was described in the Boston Globe a while back). While I'm sure there are others who are sick of seeing them and welcome a well presented FDCPA suit, if only for the novelty, if not the justice. In any case, way to go!
