Texarkana woman sues collection agency over harassing calls

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A Texarkana woman filed a suit in federal court last week accusing a debt collection company of calling her cell phone nearly 300 times from April to August last year.

Kathie Barber claims she told a representative of Encore Receivable Management, which is a subsidiary of Convergys Corporation, to stop calling her during a conversation March 29, 2015, according to a civil complaint filed Jan. 11 in the Texarkana Division of the Eastern District of Texas by Jeffrey Lohman of Corona, Calif., on Barber’s behalf. Barber alleges she told an Encore bill collector to stop calling a second time April 7, but that the calls kept coming.

Barber’s suit alleges Encore representatives called her 10 times in April after she told them to cease the calls, 57 times in May, more than 86 times in June, more than 109 times in July, and more than 33 calls in August. In all, Barber alleges the company contacted her at least 295 times after she explicitly asked for the calls to halt.

Barber’s complaint alleges violations of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, violations of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and violations of the Texas Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Barber is seeking damages for each claimed violation of the law, court costs and attorney fees. The suit also seeks a declaration from the court that Encore violated the law. Encore and Convergys have not yet responded to Barber’s complaint. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap.

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