Nyby v. Convergent Outsourcing

Nyby vs. Convergent Outsourcing (U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, Case No. 2:15-cv-00886)

Update: A settlement was reached in the case of Nyby vs. Convergent Outsourcing. On August 3, 2017, the District Court granted FINAL APPROVAL of the settlement.

In a class action complaint, Lemberg Law is representing Erik Nyby, who is suing Convergent Outsourcing for alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The complaint alleges that Convergent Outsourcing sent a misleading and deceptive collection letter on a time-barred debt, in violation of the FDCPA.

The lawsuit states that Convergent Outsourcing, a debt collection agency, sent Mr. Nyby a collection letter for the time-barred debt that said that their “client has advised us that they are willing to settle your account for 20% of your total balance due,” and characterized the offer as an “advantage.” The letter then offered three “convenient ways to pay,” characterizing a single payment as “a 80% discount,” and three payments as “a 60% discount.” The letter did not disclose that Mr. Nyby was under no legal obligation to pay, nor that by paying even a portion of the debt he would restart the clock on the entire debt.

The complaint argues that Convergent Outsourcing’s offer of a “discount” implied that Mr. Nyby was legally obligated to pay the debt, when the statute of limitations had expired. It also argued that the letter’s offer of a “discount” was misleading, unfair, and deceptive because taking advantage of the offer would increase Mr. Nyby’s debt.

The proposed class of people represented is U.S. consumers who were sent a substantially similar letter by or on behalf of Convergent Outsourcing between February 6, 2014 and February 6, 2015, when the letter was not returned as undeliverable.