HOUSTON (CN) – A Houston-based debt collector will pay the federal government $700,000 to settle claims that it repeatedly called people after agreeing to remove them from its call lists and disclosed their debts to third parties without permission.
GC Services Limited Partnership operates more than 30 call centers in the U.S. and one in the Philippines.
The government sued GC Services in Houston federal court on Tuesday, alleging numerous violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The company agreed to settle the same day.
GC Services collects federal student loans and on accounts issued by banks, telecoms, utility and retail companies, and business is good, according to the lawsuit.
“In 2014, defendant serviced a portfolio of over 2 million accounts. In 2014, defendant collected approximately $1.2 billion in gross collections from consumers and had gross revenues of approximately $133 million,” the complaint states.
The government sought an injunction to stop GC Services from leaving voice messages that disclose debts to third parties, continuing to call people who say they are not who it is looking for, and falsely telling people it will no longer contact them.
The Justice Department filed the lawsuit for the Federal Trade Commission.
In a stipulated order entered Tuesday, GC Services agreed to pay $700,000 by Feb. 21 and to stop the allegedly illegal practices. The company did not admit or deny the allegations against it.
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