A Florida woman claims a debt collector went far beyond the usual phone calls in an attempt to recoup $362 for an unpaid car loan by sending her messages on Facebook — and by telling family on the social networking site to have her call the agency.
Melanie Beacham, who is suing the debt collection agency Mark One LLC in a Florida court, said she never expected to hear from a collection agency on Facebook, which she used to talk to loved ones and post the occasional photo or funny status update.
“I was shocked when I found out these collectors used Facebook to contact my family because they knew exactly where I was,” Beacham, 34, told The Associated Press in an e-mail on Thursday. “I’m angry they caused me so much embarrassment with my family.”
Beacham’s attorney, Billy Howard of the Morgan and Morgan law firm in Tampa, said the debt collectors violated Beacham’s privacy and Florida’s consumer protection law, which prohibits collectors from harassing people. Beacham filed the lawsuit in August, though updated court papers were filed Thursday.
“It’s an invasion of privacy on steroids,” Howard said. “Normally, it takes a while for collection agencies to contact family members or friends, or co-workers, but on Facebook you have a very powerful harassment tool at your fingertips.”
The lawsuit also claims that Mark One contacted Beacham six to 10 times a day by phone, sent her a text message, contacted her neighbor and sent a courier to deliver a letter to her workplace. Beacham’s attorney has asked a judge to prohibit Mark One from contacting her or her family through Facebook or Twitter.
Beacham at one point took the license plate off her car, telling the debt collector in a text message to just take it away and stop contacting her, according to court documents.
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