Hunter Warfield of New England Accused of Debt Collection Abuses by Wisconsin Consumer

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A Wisconsin consumer has filed suit against Hunter Warfield of New England, Inc. over claims that the company sent her a collection notice that misstated the creditor of her charged-off retail credit card account.

The case alleges that the October 2018 letter misleadingly named Midwest Lifestyles, LLC as the plaintiff’s creditor when, in truth, the obligation was owed to Hy Cite Finance. This lawsuit points out that this error was supposedly evidenced by a previous collection notice the plaintiff received in 2015 that made no reference to Midwest Lifestyles.

According to the suit, the letter went on to state:

“Because of interest at the rate of 5.0%, late fees, or other charges that may vary from day to day, the amount due on the day you pay may be greater than the amount shown above.”

Imposing fees on a charged-off account is prohibited by Wisconsin law, the complaint explains, alleging that the defendant does not apply fees “to accounts such as Plaintiff’s in the ordinary course of business.”

Lastly, the case claims the letter included an additional misrepresentation concerning potential credit reporting consequences for the plaintiff:

“You are hereby notified that a negative credit report reflecting on your credit record may be submitted to a credit reporting agency if you fail to fulfill the terms of your credit obligations.”

The suit asserts that the notice deceived the plaintiff in that it suggested a negative credit report could be avoided if she were to make a payment when, in fact, the debt had already been submitted to credit reporting agencies by the original creditor.