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A California woman who was continually harassed by the National Credit Acceptance Corporation, a collection agency, over a credit card debt which wasn't hers was awarded approximately $350,000 in a case of mistaken identity. Like so many others in her situation, her fight against the collection agency took years to resolve and caused her a great deal of stress.

Rosenthal & FDCPA violations

This debt collection case alleges violations of the Rosenthal Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which generally prohibit debt collectors from harassing debtors.

Anastasiya Komarova, a Russian immigrant who moved to the United States in 1995 and worked as an esthetician in Sunnyvale, California began receiving harassing calls from the National Credit Acceptance Corporation in 2005 over an MBNA America Bank credit card with an unpaid balance of approximately $8,000. According to the lawsuit, debt collectors were persistent and rude, called every other day and threatened her by saying things such as, “A judge has already decided you're guilty”, “We know you can pay” and “We know about your savings account.”

Komarova told National's debt collectors, who refused to identify themselves, that she had no idea about the debt and asked National to send her additional information showing that the debt was hers. National only provided her with that information after it took the matter to arbitration (without her knowledge) and was awarded $11,214.33, which included interest and attorneys' fees. When she finally received documentation about the debt, she realized that the debt actually belonged to Anastasia Komarova. Her name was spelled Anastasiya (with a “y”) Komarova.

$350,000 damages award

Komarova filed a lawsuit against National for violating the Rosenthal Act and the FDCPA among others. She was awarded approximately $350,000 in damages – of which $75,000 constituted punitive damages and $68,000 constituted damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Debt collection agencies are certainly allowed to collect debts. However, they have to follow the rules established by federal and state laws or they can be held responsible for their actions. In this case, a simple misspelled name caused an innocent woman years of torment. If you've been harassed by debt collector, contact a debtor's right attorney to discuss your situation and evaluate your options. You do not have to go through what Komarova went through.