$9 million lawsuit settlement limits debt-collection phone calls

Eighteen counties, including Riverside and Los Angeles, have reached a $9 million settlement with a debt-collection company that requires it to change its calling practices.

Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin, in a news release Wednesday, Oct. 31, announced that his office will receive $1.6 million in penalties and $150,000 for its costs.

The lawsuit was filed in 2016 against Allied Interstate LLC and its parent company, iQor Holdings Inc., in 2016. The settlement requires Allied to obey state and federal laws regarding debt-collection calls and orders it to immediately stop:

• using robo-dialing technology to call consumers’ cell phones without the consumers’ consent;

• making calls at an unreasonable frequency that could constitute harassment;

• calling phone numbers that the call recipients have identified as wrong numbers; and

• calling numbers when the recipients request to stop getting calls.

Allied and iQor also must provide training about the calling rules for employees, keep records of calls and complaints and conduct an annual third-party audit to ensure compliance, the district attorney’s news release said.