October 24, 2013

Texas man sues after debt collector calls during visit to bathroom

For one Collin County man, the irritation of getting a cell phone call at an inopportune time apparently wasn't as bad as ending up missing it.

David E. Mack, who just missed two calls - one while he was in the bathroom and a second while he was on another phone getting ready for a conference call - decided to go to court when he learned the missed rings were from a debt collection agency.

Mack filed suit Sept. 19 against First Financial Asset Management, Inc., in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Sherman.

Sherman is about 65 miles northeast of Dallas.

Mack alleges in his complaint that the Atlanta-based collection agency made calls to his cell phone with an automatic dialing system and failed to disclose who was calling, the complaint states.

On March 6, Mack said he got a call from First Financial Asset Management on his cell phone at 7:53 a.m., when he was in the bathroom. Despite rushing, he didn't make it to the phone in time.

"The call interrupted the plaintiff's personal activities in the bathroom and was harassing and abusive to the plaintiff because the calling party hung up before he was able to answer," the complaint states.

Five days later, on March 11, Mack got another call from the same number. This one came at 7:47 p.m., when he was on another phone preparing for a multi-party conference call, the complaint states.

Once again, he was unable to get to the wireless phone in time to answer it before the caller hung up, which he found harassing, abusive and disruptive, the complaint states.

On March 13, he called the number to see who was calling him and got a recorded message from First Financial Asset Management. According to the complaint, Mack was put on hold and eventually hung up without speaking to anyone.

Making the calls without Mack's consent was a violation of the Texas Business Code and the U.S. Constitution, the complaint states.

He is seeking damages of $1,000 for the constitutional violation and $2,000 for the violation of the Texas Business Code, as well as any attorney fees and costs.

www.chron.com

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