Consumer complaint received 2025-07-10 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Credit card debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action — Sued you without properly notifying you of lawsuit
Company: ZWICKER & ASSOCIATES
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
XXXX : Zwicker & Associates, XXXX. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Building XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, FL XXXX Summary of Complaint : I am submitting this formal complaint against Zwicker & Associates, P.C., for multiple violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ), including misleading and abusive conduct, as well as malicious litigation practices, during their representation of XXXXXXXX XXXX in arbitration and related court proceedings. 

Zwicker & Associates initially contacted me as a debt collector, identifying themselves as such and including their company name and the alleged amount owed in every correspondence. I responded with a cease-and-desist notice, invoking my rights under 15 U.S.C. 1692c ( c ). Despite that, Zwicker ignored the notice and escalated their conduct by initiating litigation, violating both 15 U.S.C. 1692c ( c ) and 1692e ( misleading and abusive communication ). 

Following the initiation of arbitration under XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX, Zwicker continued its unlawful campaign. Attorney XXXX XXXX, acting on behalf of XXXX, attempted to cancel arbitration after the initial case was dismissed, despite the case being contractually subject to arbitration. 

I filed IRS Form XXXX upon identifying a charge-off of the alleged account on my credit report. This constitutes a discharge under XXXX CFR XXXX. XXXX later issued a XXXX, reinforcing the relinquishment of their rights in the alleged debt. 

Despite all of this, XXXX XXXX a different attorney, XXXX XXXX XXXX a second litigation for the same alleged debt in a separate court ( XXXX XXXX XXXX Case No. XXXX, filed XX/XX/year> ), while arbitration is still active. This is a deliberate abuse of process. I brought this to XXXX XXXX attention directly, yet no corrective action was taken. 

I have submitted notice to the XXXX arbitration XXXX, reporting that XXXX and Zwicker are attempting to undermine arbitration by pursuing parallel litigation Zwicker is now actively attempting to serve me in this duplicate case. To further illustrate the contradiction, I received a check from XXXX after the XXXX filingsan act incompatible with the existence of a legally enforceable debt. 

Violations Breakdown Each of the following violations appears in Zwickers mailed communications after the cease-and-desist notice : 1. Debt Collector Disclosures ( post-cease contact ) : 7 instances {$7000.00} 2. Misrepresentation of Amount Owed : 6 instances {$6000.00} 3. FDCPA Logo Usage ( for intimidation ) : 5 instances {$5000.00} 4. Filing Litigation During Active Arbitration : 1 count {$5000.00} 5. Failure to Validate Debt ( 15 U.S.C. 1692g ) : 3 counts {$3000.00} 6. Cease-and-Desist Violations ( continued contact ) : 2 counts {$2000.00} 7. Post-Cease Mail Harassment : 4 mailings {$4000.00} 8. Attorney Substitution in Duplicate Filing : 1 coordinated act {$5000.00} Total Relief Requested : {$37000.00} in statutory damages. 

KEY POINTS 1. Ongoing Arbitration : The matter is being actively arbitrated with XXXX under the above case number, with all claims subject to that forum. 
2. Duplicate Lawsuit Filed : Zwicker filed a new case on behalf of XXXXXXXX XXXX in a different jurisdiction while the arbitration is still pending. 
3. No Proper Service : I have not been formally served in the second lawsuit, but service attempts persist. 
4. 1099-C Filed by Consumer : I filed IRS Form 1099-C upon identifying a charge-off of the alleged account on my credit report. This constitutes a discharge under 26 CFR 1.6050P-1. 
5. 1099-A Later Filed by XXXX : After my filing, XXXX responded by issuing a XXXX for the same account, creating conflicting tax treatment and evidencing improper accounting. 
6. Cease-and-Desist Violated : Despite my formal request to cease collection activity and validate the alleged debt, Zwicker responded with billing statements and escalated to litigation, directly violating 15 U.S.C. 1692c ( c ) and 1692e. 
XXXX. Evidence of Payment : Despite asserting that I owe XXXX, I received a check from XXXX Bank ( attached ). If this were a valid debt, XXXX would not have returned money to me. 
XXXX. Damaging Credit Reporting : XXXX has failed to update the credit reporting to reflect " Paid as Agreed '' or XXXX, violating 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ). 
XXXX. Notification to XXXX : These developments have been brought to the attention of the arbitration case manager, and the matter is under XXXX 's review

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation