Can a collection agency who purchased collection rights to a charged off debt legally sue in the name of original creditor?
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Can a collection agency who purchased collection rights to a charged off debt legally sue in the name of original creditor?
A collection agency has filed a complaint naming my credit card company as plaintiff. I called the company to check the status of the alleged account and they report they no longer have access to account and to call the agency. It appears that collection agency filed suit in name of original creditor to avoid the difficulty in proving the validity of a debt that’s no longer owned by original creditor. Can the case be dismissed due to the plaintiff not being a real party of interest? Accounts are sometimes assigned or purchased with rights to sue in the name of creditor. Even if this is true, wouldn’t there still be grounds for dismissal?
Asked on November 3, 2012 under Bankruptcy Law, Massachusetts
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
Under the laws of all state sin this country a lawsuit has to be filed and pursued in the name of the real property in interest. In the matter that you have written about, the debt collection company cannot bring the lawsuit in the name of the credit card company. Rather, it needs to sue in its own name as an assignee of the debt assuming such happened.
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