On March 5, 2025, the Washington Attorney General announced that he had filed a complaint in the King County Superior Court against a licensed debt collection agency based in King County, Washington.
In his complaint, the Attorney General alleges that the collection agency violated the Washington Collection Agency Act and the state Consumer Protection Act through its medical debt collection practices. Specifically, the Attorney General alleges that the Agency sent over 400,000 collection notices related to medical debt between July 2019 and December 2024, that failed to include mandatory disclosures required under Washington law, including disclosures informing consumers of their rights and ability to request certain information about the debt. The Attorney General further alleges that the collection agency’s practices resulted in the unlawful collection of over $35 million from Washingtonians and that the company improperly imposed interest and fees on accounts that lacked adequate documentation.
The Attorney General is seeking several forms of relief, including: 1) a permanent injunction preventing the collection agency from engaging in unlawful collection practices; 2) an order prohibiting the collection agency from assessing additional interest or fees on accounts affected by the alleged violations; 3) restitution; 4) civil penalties for each violation of the Consumer Protection Act, up to $7,500 per violation; and 5) recovery of the state’s costs and attorneys’ fees.
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