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Denver-based debt collector to return $475K to Washington consumers

Elise Amendola/AP

FILE - In this June 15, 2018 file photo, twenty dollar bills are counted in North Andover, Mass. Amid the pandemic-fueled recession, your job description and responsibilities may have changed. Whether you’ve taken on more tasks after employees were laid off or your household income has taken a hit, there are plenty of reasons to negotiate your salary even in tough times. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

By: The Associated Press

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SEATTLE (AP) — A Denver-based collection agency must return about $475,000 it collected improperly from up to 5,000 Washington consumers after state Attorney General Bob Ferguson prevailed in a lawsuit alleging unlawful debt-collection practices.

The Seattle Times reports Ferguson's office says Machol & Johannes must also forgive as much as $250,000 in fees and costs for hundreds of people, and pay $414,000 to the attorney general’s office to cover the costs of the investigation.

Ferguson filed the lawsuit in King County Superior Court in 2020 after a judge notified his office that the company had filed improper wage-garnishment applications.

Machol & Johannes did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Denver-based debt collector to return $475K to Washington consumers

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