Report: Woman seeks class-action against Target over debt-collection methods

New York City -- A western Pennsylvania woman filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against Target Corp. and its law firm over the chain's debt-collection practices, the Associated Press reported. The woman claims false affidavits were used to go after customers who allegedly owed money to a subsidiary bank that issues the store's credit cards.



The lawsuit filed by Vicki Higgins' seeks class-action status on behalf of thousands of Target customers who have repaid Target National Bank debts, paid legal fees, lost lawsuits or had their credit scores damaged as a result of debt collections using the allegedly false affidavits. It seeks unspecified damages and a court order to stop the debt-collection practices alleged by Higgins.



Jessica Carlson, a spokeswoman for Minneapolis-based Target, said the company had not been served with the lawsuit and had no comment, according to the Associated Press.



The lawsuit said Target National Bank sued Higgins over an alleged credit-card debt in April 2009, then dropped the case five months later. The lawsuit doesn't say how much Higgins allegedly owed, and her attorney, Jeffrey Suher, did not immediately return a call for comment, the report said.