Posted on 12/14/2014 7:54:57 AM PST by Brother Cracker
A Federal judge has ordered the Bank of America to pay a Florida couple $1 million for a slew of automated calls that occurred over a four-year period. According to the order, the relentless calls violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and as such the bank must pay the couple $1,500 for every prerecorded message received.
In a statement, Joyce and Nelson Coniglio said they were harassed by telephone calls repeatedly after telling the bank on multiple occasions to stop. The calls started after the Coniglio’s began having problems with their mortgage payments.
The couple’s son, Jason, said that the Bank of America called constantly. His mother received phone calls on her cellphone during dinner, his father’s cell phone was called time after time, and then after arriving home after being out, there would be additional messages on the answering machine.
A spokesperson for the Bank of America said the calls were not meant as harassment but rather an attempt to keep the couple from going into foreclosure. However, after the judge reviewed the case and saw that in four years the couple had received a minimum of 700 calls and had been advised to stop calling, it was obvious that both Acts had been violated.
The Florida couple is in their late 60’s and after getting behind in their mortgage payments back in 2009, the massive phone call campaign began. The couple also confirmed that it was common for them to receive up to five calls in a single day.
They added that the calls were not only harassing but actually abusive and showed clear patterns of outrageous behavior. In addition to the calls, the couple received demanding letters for collection that included misleading and false information. Along with telling the Bank of America to stop calling they sent several cease-and-desist letters but to no avail.
Finally reaching a breaking point, the couple filed a formal complaint last July in Federal court. Because the Bank of America failed to meet the mandated deadline set by the court, the couple won their claim by default. In addition, non-action from the bank resulted in the normal cost of $500 per call being increased to $1,500 per call.
As expected, the Bank of America asked the Federal judge to reconsider but with such strong evidence against them, all pleas were rejected. One of the couple’s attorneys, Billy Howard, said the decision of the court was an epic win not just for his clients but consumers throughout the United States.
When approached for comment, Dan Frahm, senior vice president at the Bank of America said they were simply trying to help the couple. Following the Coniglio’s case, three other couples are taking action.
In one case, an older couple from California received more than 2,000 calls, an Indiana family 600 calls, and a family from Arkansas 350 times, all from the Bank of America.
It would be interesting to know whether this couple ever paid any of their mortgage payments after they started getting the calls. “trouble paying....” is kind of nebulous to me.
Did their loan go into collections? Did they have to move out? Are they still in the home?
To Serve Man.
3... 2...1... WE'RE DEBT FREE!
Some times up to 5 calls a day...”to help them”. Yeah right! I wonder how helpful the bank’s executive would find 5 calls a day if they were on the receiving end!
I believe that people should honor their contractual obligations and pay their bills/loans. But, BofA's actions were way over the line.
Was it worth $1M? Probably not. But, many of the debt collection agencies are complete scumbags. The penalty for abusive behavior has to be punitive, or they will just consider it to be a cost of doing business.
I've dealt with a few of them, when they thought I was either the creditor or related to the creditor. I tried to be reasonable and resolve their error, but I think they just enjoyed being abusive. I eventually had to threaten to file harassment charges against one to shut them up.
Oh, I agree that 700 calls was abusive. I’m just wondering why BoA went to such lengths. My first impulse is to think the two weren’t paying at all.
COOL! Pay off your house by stop paying the mortgage!
I don’t know their address, but they look like Palm Beach Parasites to me - and they still have to pay the mortgage!
Deadbeats of the world unite!
Aggrevation is too mild a word for what these goons do. I use a wheelchair around the house and I keep getting calls from a collection agency trying to collect on the debts of my cousin who is still in a nursing home after a severe accident in May of this year. Somehow these bastards got my home number as a contact for my cousin (I had been his means of transportation to and from doctor’s appointments, etc.). They are starting to call at really odd hours now. I just laugh into the phone and hang up. But this couple’s success gives me an idea! Surely word has circulated in that community of this success by those being harassed ...
Now...if our Missouri AG can just find “Rachelle from Credit Card Services.”
They already are uniting in action. Haven’t you followed any of the ‘demonstrations over Ferguson or NY? Pay closer attention ...
“Following the Coniglio’s case, three other couples are taking action.”
I bet BOA pays attention this time.
Looks like this was a good decision. If BofA was told to stop callng and did not - as it seems was the case - they should pay.
Maybe she can get her teeth fixed now
VERY interesting backstory.
COOL! Pay off your house by stop paying the mortgage!
= = = = = = = = = =
That is ‘your’ Government in action...
After the ‘mortgage scam’ with the (?)Progressive Interest Rates (or whatever the scheme was) the Govt offered ‘assistance’ to those ‘dumb enough’ to get caught up in the plan with the kicker being ‘If you were current or 1 behind, just keep going on your own’....If you were 3 behind or going into foreclosure, line up for money’ I do agree by NOT letting them go into foreclosure probably saved the ‘owner’ from stripping and trashing.
My daughter and SIL got ‘hooked’ into a refi thinking they could over come the ‘end result’...made it but struggled..
I am definitely NOT the one for financial advice (HA HA) but could see the Red Herring this ‘floating mortgage’ was going to bring....especially when ‘they’ started dumping and selling mortgages......
I have a phone that I seldom use (local only) just a backup from cell/computer phone and must have been a real ‘sweetheart’ that had the original #...
What with answering machine/tape/caller ID, I answer NO phone if you aren’t in the system. Get a lot of calls to that ‘secret’, unused # with no msg on recorder so must be robocalls or whatever....
Why does ANYONE answer their phone when someone calls, other than numbers they know?!?
When our land line rings, we pay no attention. The ring is just ambient noise. We wouldn’t even have it, if not for net access.
If a number calls my cell phone that I’m not familiar with, I let it go to voice mail. If they leave a message that indicates they aren’t anyone I want to talk to, I just add their number to my phone block list. I’ll never know whether or not they call again.
Of course, looking at the result of this ruling, maybe I should ALLOW myself to get “harassed”. lol
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