What are the elements of a collection defense law claim?
Collection defense law claims involve certain elements that must be proven in order to be successful. Generally, the elements necessary to succeed on a collection defense law claim are: 1. The debtor must be a Washington resident. 2. The creditor must be attempting to collect a debt through a collection agency. 3. The collector must have used deceptive, false, misleading, or unfair means to collect the debt. 4. The collector must have violated either the Washington State Collection Agency Act or the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. 5. The debtor must have suffered actual harm or damage as a result of the collector’s actions. Additionally, the debtor must be able to show that the collector’s actions actually caused the harm or damage. For example, if the creditor called the debtor at work repeatedly and the debtor was fired as a result, the debtor may be able to make a successful collection defense law claim. However, if the debtor was fired for a totally unrelated reason, then the debtor would likely not be able to make a successful claim. In order to succeed on a collection defense law claim in Washington, the debtor must be able to prove each of these elements. If the debtor is unable to prove any one of the elements, then the claim will likely be unsuccessful.
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