This class action brings suit against Ally Financial, Inc. under the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA), alleging that Ally, in its capacity as a debt collector, communicated with alleged consumer debtors outside of the hours permitted under the law.
The FCCPA Class for this action is (1) all persons with Florida addresses (2) who Ally Financial or someone acting on Ally Financial’s behalf (3) sent an email communication to (4) between 9:00 pm and 8:00 am (5) in connection with the collection of a consumer debt.
The plaintiff in this case, Heriberto Valiente, allegedly owed a debt he incurred for personal, family, or household purposes.
The FCCPA limits the hours during which debt collectors can send communications to consumer debtors. The complaint quotes it as defining a “communication” as “the conveying of information regarding a debt directly or indirectly to any person through any medium.”
According to the complaint, “Section 559.72(17) of the FCCPA prohibits persons from communicating with a debtor between the hours of 9:00 pm and 8:00 am in the debtor’s time zone without the prior consent of the debtor.” Nevertheless, on January 20, 2022, Ally sent Valiente an email communication attempting to collection the debt he allegedly owed.
The email was from noreply@alert.ally.com and it concerned Ally’s collection of Valiente’s alleged consumer debt.
The complaint quotes it as saying, “Your payment due date is approaching. … As a reminder, your payment due date is 1/27/2022, for account ending in 4947. Log in at ally.com/auto or on the Ally Auto app to make a one-time payment or set up recurring payments. Sign up to get this alert by text if you haven’t already. Just log in at ally.com/auto, go to Alerts, and either select the link under Contact Information or check the Text box within the Payments section. Note that we’ll still send this alert via email regardless of whether you sign up to receive it by text.”
This communication, the complaint alleges, was sent to Valiente at 4:16 am in his time zone.
The sole count for this class action is violation of the FCCPA. The complaint asks for a declaration that Ally’s sending of the email at 4:16 am violates the law and requests that the court enjoin Ally from sending communications at this hour in the future. It also asks for statutory damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, and expert fees, as well as “[a]ny other relief that this Court deems appropriate under the circumstances.”
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Loans
Most Recent Case Event
Ally Financial Hours Permitted for Communications FCCPA Complaint
July 1, 2022
This class action brings suit against Ally Financial, Inc. under the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA), alleging that Ally, in its capacity as a debt collector, communicated with alleged consumer debtors outside of the hours permitted under the law.
Ally Financial Hours Permitted for Communications FCCPA ComplaintCase Event History
Ally Financial Hours Permitted for Communications FCCPA Complaint
July 1, 2022
This class action brings suit against Ally Financial, Inc. under the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA), alleging that Ally, in its capacity as a debt collector, communicated with alleged consumer debtors outside of the hours permitted under the law.
Ally Financial Hours Permitted for Communications FCCPA Complaint