On April 3, 2023, Troutman Pepper issued a blog post that said, in part: “According to the CFPB, entities cannot take unreasonable advantage of circumstances where people lack sufficient bargaining power to protect their interests.

• The policy statement describes such circumstances as when consumers do not elect to enter into a relationship with an entity, such as with consumer reporting companies, debt collectors, and third-party loan servicers.” Italics added.

It is clear that I, a layperson who was severely impacted financially from the COVID pandemic and has documented severe anxiety and physical maladies, do not have sufficient bargaining power to protect my interests against a company that pays high salaries to its management and nets over a hundred million dollars profit per year, has an in house legal department 300+ strong and hires various prestigious outside counsel, such as Rose Law Firm and Troutman Pepper.

Yet, PRA [Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of PRA Group, Inc.] used its inordinate bargaining power to try to force settlement of my claims against it for $1,000 and $5,000 with no attorney fees and no punitive damages through an offer of judgment.

At the same time, PRA negotiated and settled claims of similar conduct toward hundreds of thousands of other victims with the CFPB, agreeing to pay the CFPB’s attorney fees and punitive damages of $12,000,000.

This is basically the opening to my complaint that I must file with the CFPB.

Sincerely,

Laura Hammett