The state Office of Consumer Protection has resolved charges a debt collector engaged in unfair business practices with a $4.3 million settlement.
Nelson, Hirsch & Associates agreed to cease operations as part of the settlement, the office said. The company was accused of threatening consumers with arrest if they did not pay, collecting more than the amount owed and calling repeatedly, up to 50 times a day. Nelson, Hirsch agreed to pay a $26,000 civil penalty and forgo collection of 5,809 consumer accounts worth $4.3 million, the office said.
“We are sending a strong and clear message that this kind of abuse and harassment of consumers, and the egregious disregard for the law that these practices typify will not be tolerated,” says John Sours, administrator of the Governor’s Office of Consumer Protection.
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