Lawsuit Filed Against A Debt Collector For Recording Calls Without Giving Notice

NCO Financial Systems is facing a class action lawsuit alleging that they illegally recorded cellphone conversations in which personal finance and other sensitive information was discussed without obtaining permission from the person they were speaking with. Erel v. NCO Financial Systems Inc., Case No. 13-cv-00317

Plaintiff, Mert Erel was contacted by NCO in July, 2012 concerning an alleged debt the company was attempting to collect from him. After speaking with the NCO representative for a period of time about “private financial information,” including his home address and social security number, he asked if the conversation was being recorded. The NCO representative allegedly replied that NCO records all calls it makes to consumers. “Plaintiff was shocked to discover that such a confidential communication was being monitored, recorded and/or eavesdropped by defendant without plaintiff’s knowledge or consent,” the lawsuit states.

California makes it a crime to record or eavesdrop on any confidential communication, including a private conversation or telephone call, without the consent of all parties to the conversation. Penal Code § 632. The statute applies to “confidential communications” — i.e., conversations in which one of the parties has an objectively reasonable expectation that no one is listening in or overhearing the conversation.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, (TCPA) class action lawsuit seeks to represent all California consumers who, within the past year, have received calls to their cellphones from NCO which were recorded without their consent.

If you have been contacted by a debt collector that has violated the law, please give my office, The Law Offices of Paul Mankin a call today at 877-449-8898 for a free consultation.