Eltman, Eltman & Cooper is a high volume debt collection law firm whose main office is located at 140 Broadway, New York, New York 10005.

Eltman, Eltman & Cooper has been sued repeatedly by consumers for its unfair and deceptive debt collection practices.  For example:

• Eltman, Eltman & Cooper was accused by the New York Attorney General and the Administrator for the New York State Courts of using process servers who intentionally failed to properly serve New York consumers with a Summons and Complaint.  See Pfau v. Forster & Garbus, et al. In many of these cases, the process server claimed to be at several locations at once.  This practice, known as “sewer service” is a classic unfair debt collection practice that denies a debtor his or her day in court.  The Attorney General settled its claims against Eltman, Eltman & Cooper in late 2010.
• In 2007, Eltman, Eltman & Cooper filed 5,823 cases in New York City alone.  See Report by MFY Legal Services, Inc., Consumer Rights Project, “Justice Disserved,” June 2008.  Of the almost six thousand cases filed by Eltman, Eltman & Cooper, the individual consumer debtor appeared in court in only 7.80 percent of those cases.  This low appearance rate allowed Eltman, Eltman & Cooper to secure default judgments in the vast majority of those cases.
• Eltman, Eltman & Cooper was recently sanctioned for “multiple acts of frivolous conduct” in a debt collection lawsuit.  The Court held that Eltman, Eltman & Cooper’s attorney had been “uncooperative and abusive” to the consumer, and had continued to harass her even after the Court had dismissed the case.  The Court ordered Eltman, Eltman & Cooper to pay $14,800 for its improper conduct.
• A New York federal court recently approved a class action settlement with Eltman, Eltman & Cooper after consumers reported that this collection firm engaged in deceptive and misleading conduct in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).  See Reade-Alvarez v. Eltman, Eltman, & Cooper, P.C., 2006 WL 3681138 (E.D.N.Y. 2006).  The address and phone number of the law office of Eltman, Eltman & Cooper (“EEC”) was also the address and phone number of Erin Capital Management, LLC (“ECM”), a debt collection agency.  ECM was charged with illegally engaging in the unauthorized practice of law by sending collection letters to consumers on EEC letterhead.  This practice is false and misleading to consumers because it implies that the letters were mailed only after meaningful attorney review, when in fact, none of the EEC lawyers had reviewed the letters.
• Schlanger & Schlanger has successfully litigated for consumers alleging unfair and deceptive debt collection practices against Eltman, Eltman & Cooper.  Recently, Schlanger & Schlanger filed a lawsuit against Eltman in the Southern District of New York alleging that Eltman made deceptive statements regarding the wage garnishment process in order to intimidate a consumer into an unfavorable settlement, in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and New York’s consumer protection statute, General Business Law § 349.  Leach v. Eltman, Eltman & Cooper, P.C., 10-CV-7492 (S.D.N.Y. 2010).  Schlanger & Schlanger is also co-counsel in a lawsuit brought in federal court in California against Eltman.  The lawsuit alleges that the consumer was wrongfully sued in Brooklyn; that Eltman falsely claimed to have obtained a judgment in California against the consumer; and that Eltman’s letters and oral statements regarding the wage garnishment process were deceptive, giving the false impression that failure to settle the claim would necessarily and imminently lead to Eltman contacting the consumer’s employer.  Hernandez v. Erin Capital Management, LLC and Eltman, Eltman & Cooper, P.C., 10-CV-1695 (C.D.C.A. 2010).

Don’t be a victim of unfair collection practices, debt collection abuse or collection harassment.  If you are being treated unfairly by Eltman, Eltman & Cooper, contact the consumer lawyers at Schlanger & Schlanger, LLP at 1-800-685-2580 or by filling out our consumer questionnaire.