West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw filed a lawsuit
against Cavalry Portfolio Services and its affiliated companies, Cavalry Investments, Cavalry SPV, and Cavalry SPV II. According to the lawsuit, the affiliates bought up credit card debt that had been charged off by the original creditors, and then filed a huge number of lawsuits against West Virginians.

According to McGraw, “Debt purchasers like the Cavalry companies have flooded the West Virginia courts with suits against financially unsophisticated consumers that often end in default judgments, garnishment of wages, and liens on homes – even without actual proof of the debt. In this case, Cavalry has refused to become licensed as a collection agency and failed to disclose its business activities in response to our subpoena.”

McGraw also filed suit against Seattle Service Bureau, better known as National Service Bureau, for being unlicensed and for violating state law by adding fees to debts they’re attempting to collect.

McGraw’s actions underline the importance of filing complaints with state attorneys general. Although a state attorney general doesn’t represent individual consumers, their offices look at complaints for patterns of abuse, and then may bring legal action against unscrupulous debt collectors.

If you want to file a complaint with your state attorney general, you can find his or her contact information by clicking here, and then clicking on your state.