Man’s Lawsuit Says Debt Collector Hounded Him Relentlessly

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A northern Minnesota man says a collection company that was after his brother for a $300 debt hounded him relentlessly, causing him to lose sleep and have health problems.

Harvey Duranseau is in court in Hennepin County this week asking a judge to make Portfolio Recovery Associates pay for its actions, maybe as much as $1 million.

The Big Falls man claims one of the debt collectors used sexually explicit and racist words on the phone when trying to recover the money from his brother, Thomas.  Duranseau claims that before the annoying phone calls, he rarely used bad words. But, in audiotapes made by the company, Duranseau freely uses sexual and racist slurs during heated conversations with a debt collector.

The company's attorney, Chris Madel, says collectors kept calling Duranseau because they believed he was Thomas.