PATRICK L. MEEHAN

United States Attorney

By: 

Assistant United States Attorney

615 Chestnut St., Suite 1250

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106

(215) 861-8200

 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

 

 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Case No.

 

Plaintiff, CONSENT DECREE

v. 

 

NCO GROUP, INC., 

a Pennsylvania corporation, 

NCO FINANCIAL SYSTEMS, INC., 

a Pennsylvania corporation, and 

NCO PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT, INC., 

a Delaware corporation, 

 

 Defendants. 

 /

WHEREAS: Plaintiff, the United States of America, has commenced this action by filing the

complaint herein; defendants have waived service of the summons and complaint; the parties have

been represented by the attorneys whose names appear hereafter; and the parties have agreed to

settlement of this action upon the following terms and conditions, without adjudication of any issue

of fact or law and without defendants admitting liability for any of the matters alleged in the

complaint;

THEREFORE, on the joint motion of plaintiff and defendants, it is hereby ORDERED,

ADJUDGED, and DECREED as follows:
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FINDINGS

1. This Court has jurisdiction of the subject matter and of the parties.

2. The complaint states a claim upon which relief may be granted against the defendants

under §§ 5(a)(1), 5(m)(l)(A), 13(b), and 16(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTC Act”),

15 U.S.C. §§ 45(a)(1), 45(m)(1)(A), 53(b), and 56(a), and Section 621 of the Fair Credit Reporting

Act (“FCRA”), 15 U.S.C. § 1681s.

3. For purposes of this Consent Decree:

a. “Defendants” shall mean NCO Group, Inc., NCO Financial Systems,

Inc., and NCO Portfolio Management, Inc., unless otherwise

specified; 

b. “Delinquency date” shall mean the month and year of the

commencement of the delinquency that preceded the reporting of an

account to a consumer reporting agency as set forth in Section

623(a)(5) of the FCRA; and 

c. the definitions set forth in the FCRA, 15 U.S.C. § 1681, shall apply.

 MONETARY SETTLEMENT

4. Defendant NCO Financial Systems, Inc., its successors and assigns, shall pay to the

plaintiff a civil penalty pursuant to Section 621(a)(2) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §

1681s(a)(2), in the amount of $1,500,000.00.

5. Defendant NCO Financial Systems, Inc., shall make the payment required by

Paragraph 4 on or before the fifth day following entry of this Consent Decree by electronic fund

transfer in accordance with the instructions to be provided by the Office of Consumer Litigation,

Civil Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., 20530, on or before the date

of entry of this Consent Decree.
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6. In the event of any default in payment, which default continues for ten (10) days

beyond the due date of payment, the entire unpaid penalty, together with interest, as computed

pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1691 from the date of default to the date of payment, shall immediately

become due and payable.

 INJUNCTION

7. Defendants, their successors and assigns, and their officers, agents, servants,

employees and representatives, and all persons in active concert or participation with any one or

more of them who receive actual notice of the Consent Decree by personal service or otherwise, are

hereby enjoined from violating, directly or through any corporation, subsidiary, division or other

device, Section 623(a)(5) of the FCRA, 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a)(5), by reporting a delinquency date

later than the month and year of the commencement of the delinquency required to be reported by

Section 623(a)(5).

8. Defendants, their successors and assigns, shall within ninety (90) days of the date of

entry of this Consent Decree implement a program, and maintain the program in place for five (5)

years, to monitor all complaints received by defendants, either directly or by referral, regarding the

alleged inaccuracy of any information reported by defendants to a consumer reporting agency, so

that errors in reporting delinquency dates may be detected and corrected promptly. If this program

reveals delinquency date reporting errors, defendants shall cease reporting the identified account or

accounts to any consumer reporting agency until any errors are corrected.

9. Defendants, their successors and assigns, shall for a period of five (5) years from the

date of entry of this order, within ten (10) days of any written demand from the Federal Trade

Commission, make available to the Commission:

a. for inspection and copying, any written or recorded complaints received by

defendants relating to the reporting of collection accounts to consumer reporting
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agencies;

b. not more than twice a year, a copy of the most recent computer tapes of collection

accounts submitted by defendants to consumer reporting agencies.

10. Nothing in this order shall prohibit or excuse defendants from reporting any date of

delinquency in compliance with any amendment to Section 623(a)(5) of the FCRA, or an

interpretation of such amendment by the Commission.

11. Defendants, their successors and assigns, shall, within one hundred eighty (180) days

of the date of the entry of this Consent Decree, and each year thereafter for five (5) years on the day

that this consent decree was entered, file with the Federal Trade Commission a written report setting

forth in detail the manner and form of their compliance with this Consent Decree. 

 12. For purposes of this Consent Decree, defendants shall, unless otherwise directed by

the Commission’s authorized representatives, mail all written reports, notifications, and other

correspondence to the Commission to:

Associate Director for Financial Practices

Federal Trade Commission

600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20580

13. For purposes of compliance reporting, if undersigned counsel no longer represents

defendants, plaintiff and the Federal Trade Commission are authorized to communicate directly with

defendants.

14. For a period of five (5) years from the date of entry of this Consent Decree,

defendants and their successors and assigns shall notify the Federal Trade Commission in writing

at least thirty (30) days prior to any change in the structure of any defendant, including, but not

limited to, any change which results in the emergence of a successor corporation or which may

affect defendants’ obligations under this Consent Decree.

CONTINUING JURISDICTION
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15. This Court shall retain jurisdiction of this matter for the purposes of enabling either

of the parties to this Consent Decree to apply to the Court at any time for such further orders or

directives as may be necessary or appropriate for the interpretation or modification of this 

Consent Decree, for the enforcement of compliance with the Consent Decree, or for the punishment

of violations thereof.

SO ORDERED, this day of , 2004.

 

United States District Judge

The parties, by their respective counsel, hereby consent to the terms and conditions of the Consent

Decree as set forth above and consent to the entry thereof. Defendants waive any rights that may

arise under the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412, amended by Pub. L. 104-121, 110

Stat. 847, 863-64 (1996).

FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:

PETER D. KEISLER PATRICK L. MEEHAN

Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division United States Attorney

U.S. Department of Justice Eastern District of Pennsylvania

EUGENE M. THIROLF 

Director

Office of Consumer Litigation Assistant United States Attorney

 615 Chestnut St., Suite 1250

 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106

ELIZABETH STEIN (215) 861-8200

Attorney, Office of Consumer Litigation

Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice

Washington, D.C. 20530

(202) 307-0486

FOR THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION:

 

Joel Winston, Esq.

Associate Director for Financial Practices
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Peggy Twohig, Esq.

Assistant Director for Financial Practices

 

William Haynes, Esq.

 

Anne McCormick, Esq.

Federal Trade Commission

600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20580

FOR DEFENDANTS NCO GROUP, INC.,

 NCO FINANCIAL SYSTEMS, INC., and

 NCO PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT, INC.:

 

By: Joshua Gindin, Esq.

Executive Vice President and General Counsel

 

Glenn A. Mitchell, Esq.

 

Andrew M. Beato, Esq.

Stein, Mitchell & Mezines

1100 Connecticut Ave. N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20036