When pulling up information on a CA which my sister received communications from, I noticed that they are listed with the state as being a fictitious name for another company. Would that be a violation of the FDCPA since a fictitious name is 807(14)? "The use of any business, company, or organization name other than the true name of the debt collector's business, company, or organization."
No. A fictitious name simply means that they are conducting business under a name different than the name of their head company (i.e. companies owned by a LLC or Corporation) or it means they are a sole proprietor or a partnership and are conducting business under a name that does not contain the owner(s) names. A fictitious name is required when a company conducts business in a county using a name different than the name of the owner(s) (in the case of a sole proprietor or partnership) or using a name different than the name of the Corporation that owns the business. 807(14) refers to using a fake name like Joe's Law Firm when the company that actually owns the debt (or was assigned the debt) is ABC Collections. They can't use a different name than what their true name is as means to intimidate or to avoid a lawsuit. If a collection company was ABC Collections but was sending you correspondences using XYZ Collections, you would be unable to sue XYZ Collections if you wanted since no such company would exist. They must use the name that they have registered in the county where they are conducting business. If they are registered with the county as having registered a fictitious name, that right there is proof that they ARE conducting business under their true name. I would be worried if they contacted you and you COULD NOT find any information on the company. The fact that you did find information on them means they are properly registered and are conducting business under their true name (the name that is registered with the county).
Sunhawk is correct. Ficticious names are common place, I used one and registered it with the county prior to forming my LLC.
Is it also a violation if they are reporting under the name of a subscriber that no longer exists? Ex. Harvest Group appeas on the credit report while MSA answers the phone.
Is it also a violation if they are reporting under the name of a subscriber that no longer exists? Ex. Harvest Group appeas on the credit report while MSA answers the phone.
Is it also a violation if they are reporting under the name of a subscriber that no longer exists? Ex. Harvest Group appeas on the credit report while MSA answers the phone. Thanks
I would not think so unless you dispute it and it remains under the same title after being verified. However, I would not go by who answers the phone but rather what the collection notices say. If they say ABC Collections and ABC Collections is reporting, I think that would be fine even if XYZ Collections picks up the phone (somtimes a single collection company may have various names registered but all conduct business from the same location and use the same employees). However, that may be for the courts to decide.
