Lobel Financial Corporation

Lobel Financial Corporation (Lobel) is a consumer finance company that specializes in purchasing and servicing automobile contracts and loans.  The company was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Anaheim, California.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has received 183 consumer complaints against Lobel for unfair, abusive, and deceptive collection practices. The CFPB is a government agency charged with protecting consumers from such practices. Consumers accuse Lobel of performing the following unlawful collection practices:

• Attempting to collect a debt that is not owed by the consumer;
• Making false or misleading statements;
• Improperly discussing the consumer’s debt with a third party
• Threatening to take legal action if payment is not made; and
• Refusing to validate or provide proof of a debt.

One consumer filed a complaint with the CFBP after Lobel continued to contact the consumer despite being repeatedly informed that they were contacting the wrong person. Not only did Lobel contact the wrong person, but Lobel also disclosed the actual debtor’s account information.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (RDCPA) regulate debt collectors’ communications with third parties. A debt collector is only permitted to contact a third party when the debt collector reasonably believes that person would have information regarding the consumer’s location or telephone number. More importantly, debt collectors are only permitted to contact a third party once. When a debt collector mistakenly contacts somebody other than the intended consumer, then the debt collector has effectively contacted a third party and is not permitted to continue to contact you.

Additionally, the debt collector cannot inform any third party, other than a consumer’s spouse or attorney, that the consumer owes a debt. Thus, when a debt collector contacts the wrong person and discloses personal account information about a debt owed by another consumer, the debt collector has violated both federal and state law.  

Creditors and debt collectors should be held accountable for these unethical and unlawful practices. If you are being harassed or subjected to any of these, deceptive, or abusive debt collection practices, it is time to hold Lobel accountable. Please contact our office for a free, no obligation consultation at 1-800-219-3577.