CHICAGO — An Illinois man is suing FMA Alliance, Ltd. alleging that the company violated federal debt collection law by working with a third-party vendor to mail collection letters to debtors.
Hassan Shabbir filed a lawsuit Oct. 25 in Cook County Circuit Court against FMA Alliance Ltd., citing unlawful disclosure of personal information to an unauthorized third party.
Shabbir represents a class of more than 40 members who allegedly received communications from FMA Alliance, which allegedly included personal information that was shared with a third party.
On Sept. 8, Shabbir claimed he received a letter in the mail containing information about a credit card debt. FMA Alliance allegedly sent the personal information of Shabbir and other members of the class, which included names, addresses, and details of the debts, to a third-party letter vendor in Concord, California, to mail the letter.
According to the claim, the letter vendor populated the personal information into a letter template, which was then mailed to Shabbir. Shabbir alleges that he never consented to have his information shared with the vendor. He alleged this meant FMA Alliance violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).
Shabbir is seeking unspecified statutory damages and attorney fees, among other relief.
Attorney Daniel Edelman of Edelman, Combs, Latturner, & Goodwin, of Chicago, is representing Shabbir and the class.
Cook County Circuit Court case number 2021CH05433