Credit and Debt Settlement on NCOF Unfair Debt Collection
Alaska and 18 other states made a unanimous decision of settling debt and collecting issues with NCO Financial Systems INC or NCOF. The decision has been made as a response to NCOF’s allegedly unfair debt collection practices, deceptive services and other allegations against the debt collecting company.
Credit and Debt Issues Settled with NCOF
As a result of the settlement, the State of Alaska will expect NCOF to comply with the agreements – debt collection practice must comply with Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, and all applicable state laws; informing consumers about their debt collection rights as mandated by federal and state laws; NCOF will have to monitor training and performance of representatives, independent contractors and personnel in terms of handling consumer complaints and debt disputes (compliance reports must be submitted to the states every 6mos for the next 18 mos).
A part of the agreement also states that NCOF will have to pay the states an amount of $575,000 for consumer protection enforcement and education efforts – $26,562 of which will be shared to the State of Alaska.
NCOF will set aside a total of $950,000, or $50,000 for each of the 19 participating states, to refund consumers who have valid claims that meet one of the following criteria: Consumer paid NCOF a third party debt that the consumer did not owe; Consumer overpaid interest on a third party debt that was not supported by the underlying agreement between the debtor and the original holder of the debt or as otherwise permitted by law; or Consumer paid more on a third party debt than the amount NCOF agreed to settle the account.
Consumer restitution will be available for 3 years once the agreement date takes effect. Should you file a complaint or a claim for restitution, you will have to fill out a consumer complaint form with the Consumer Protection Unit of the Alaska Attorney General’s Office before February 2015.
“Valid complaints will be submitted to NCOF, and NCOF will provide payments to eligible consumers,” says the Attorney Generals Office.
Contact details are as follows: 269-5200, or outside of Anchorage, 1-888-576-2529, or by sending an email to consumerprotection@alaska.gov.
Short URL: http://thealaskanews.com/?p=12327
