Pub. 10 2019 Issue 4

www.wvbankers.org 18 West Virginia Banker How Consumers Are Using the West Virginia Collection Agency Act to File Class Actions By Nicholas P. Mooney II, Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC A s a result of recent amendments to the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act 1 (WVCCPA), con- sumers in West Virginia have begun using the West Virginia Collection Agency Act 2 (WVCAA) as a basis to file class-action lawsuits against creditors and collectors. The WVCCPA has been one of the primary statutes under which consumers have filed lawsuits in West Virginia for decades related to consumer loans, credit sales, leases, collection activity and other things. In 2015, it was amended to make vague provisions more explicit, reduce the amount of statutory penalties a consumer can recover in a lawsuit, and reduce the time period in which consumers are allowed to file certain types of lawsuits. Consumers now have shifted their strategies on the types of lawsuits they file. They have begun filing lawsuits against creditors and collectors based on the WVCAA. The WVCAA