Ken Baker v. G. C. Services Corporation

Appellant G. C. Services Corp., a debt collection company, appeals from a district court judgment holding that appellant violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692 , by falsely threatening legal action and by failing to inform the debtor that he could dispute a portion of the debt. We affirm.

I.

Appellee Ken Baker was indebted on credit card accounts to Shell Oil Co. and to Chevron U. S. A., Inc. Both accounts were assigned to appellant G. C. Services Corporation for collection. Appellant attempted to collect the amounts owed by Baker by sending three letters and by making several phone calls. One letter stated that:

The letter also stated that:

These letters were preprinted form letters regularly used by appellant to solicit payments. Appellant stipulated that its normal procedure for collection of debts of this type is only additional telephone or mail solicitations, and that any legal action would be taken only by the original creditor and not by appellant. The parties stipulated that:

Baker filed suit for money damages, claiming violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692 (“the Act”). Both parties filed cross-motions for…