CHARLESTON — A man claims Pioneer Appalachia Federal Credit Union is wrongfully threatening illegal fees on consumers.
Pioneer filed a debt collection lawsuit against Jeremy Vance for an alleged debt, which included an affidavit signed under oath by an employee of Pioneer that threatened attorney fee collection and threatened collection costs against the consumer, according to a complaint filed in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Vance claims the threat to pay collection fees and attorney fees is in direct violation of both West Virginia code and the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act.
"In addition to the affidavit threatening illegal attorney fees and collection costs, Pioneer's agreements with its customers also threaten these illegal fees and costs," the complaint states. "Customers of Pioneer are continually threatened with illegal fees and costs, and in fear of their debts being increased by these illegal threats of significant fees."
Vance claims many consumers simply pay Pioneer in order to avoid the illegal fees and to avoid harassment, but that the credit union derives profit from collecting monies through its aggressive collection practices with illegal fees.
Pioneer's failure to comply with fundamental due process requirements constitutes a violation of West Virginia code, according to the suit.
"When using courts to collect alleged debts in West Virginia, Pioneer routinely files a boiler-plate complaint demanding judgment for an amount that is not itemized by principal, interest or payment history, which causes confusion for consumers and deprives consumers of important debt collection rights," the complaint states.
Vance claims that Pioneer knows or should know that an overwhelming majority of West Virginia consumers will not answer the collection complaints and that it will obtain default judgments against the consumers.
The defendant's actions are unjust enrichment and negligent, according to the suit.
Vance is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. He is represented by Troy N. Giatras and Matthew Stonestreet of The Giatras Law Firm in Charleston.
The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 23-C-137
