An individual received a voice mail message from a debt
collection company. The message stated the name of the company and
that the call was from a debt collector, and asked that individual
to call back at a particular number. She filed a lawsuit alleging
that the voice mail was a harassing communication that violated the
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA"). In Hart
v. Credit Control, LLC, Case No. 16-17126 (decided September
22, 2017), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh
Circuit addressed two issues about the application of the FDCPA to
that voice mail message.
First, the Court looked at whether the voice mail was a
communication with the plaintiff covered by the Act. The debt
collector argued that the voice mail message was like a hang-up
call, noting that they never spoke directly to the plaintiff. The
Court disagreed. The voice mail attempted to communicate
information to the plaintiff. Under the FDCPA, that was a
communication. Opinion,
