Debt Collector Returns $2.7 Million to Victims

Just last week, the FTC mailed checks returning money to more than 5,200 people, thanks to the FTC’s settlement with Rincon Debt Management. People who lost money are getting back the full amount of the fraudulent fees they were charged – an average of $525 – which adds up to more than $2.7 million.

A few years ago, at the FTC’s request, a court shut down the debt collection business, Rincon Management Services LLC, and banned the owners from doing debt collection ever again. The company’s employees had used illegal and abusive practices, threatening people – in both English and Spanish – with arrest and lawsuits if they didn’t pay. They even added fraudulent charges onto people’s debt. This settlement, which required Rincon to repay those fraudulent charges, is part of the FTC’s ongoing enforcement actions to stop abusive and illegal debt collection practices.

If you get a check, you have 60 days to cash it. Questions about this refund? Check with the FTC’s refund administrator, Analytics at (844) 330-6742, or go online.

If you’re ever contacted by a debt collector, know your rights. And if you think a collector has violated those rights, tell the FTC.