€22k for harassment by debt collector

A High Court judge has ordered a debt collector to pay €22,500 damages to a Dublin woman over his “deplorable conduct” towards her in seeking to collect a disputed debt for a building contractor.

Mr Justice Gerard Hogan found Deirdre Sullivan, of Clontarf, was harassed by debt collector Patrick McCartan, Greenbank Solutions, Rathgannon, Warrenpoint, Co Down, and she was entitled to damages.

Mr McCartan “outrageously violated” Ms Sullivan’s constitutional rights by engaging in “deplorable conduct” and behaviour which cannot be tolerated “in a civilised society”, the judge said. He said Mr McCartan’s conduct was “persistent, premeditated, unyielding, and oppressive”.

He ruled Mr McCartan should pay her €15,000 general damages and €7,500 exemplary damages.

Mr Justice Hogan previously ruled Ms Sullivan was entitled to a permanent injunction preventing Mr McCartan contacting, watching or besetting her, but had left over a decision on damages.

Ms Sullivan had brought proceedings against Mr McCartan as well as Gerard Boylan and Gerard Boylan Building Contractors Ltd, Dundalk, Co Louth, which had hired Mr McCartan.

The case arose after she had engaged Mr Boylan and his company to carry out building works at her property, which concluded in May 2012. She paid them €84,000 but a dispute arose over whether certain works were carried out.

The contractors hired Mr McCartan to recover a further €20,000 which they claimed Ms Sullivan owed.

She said that from Aug 2012 she received a series of text, emails, and phonecalls from Mr McCartan demanding the €20,000.

In one email, he said he would be outside her home and would “start knocking on doors” and telling her neighbours until the money was paid. When she arrived home, she found a North-registered van with “licensed debt collectors” prominently displayed in front of her house.

A later text from Mr McCartan read: “Madam, solicitors are money grabbing hoods without the mask. Do not threaten me with an uneducated [solicitor] as most were fraud in the good times. You have till Monday to put €20k in my account or else.”

Mr McCartan’s behaviour amounted to prima facie breaches of sections of the non-fatal offences against the person act, the judge said. The demands were made to alarm and humiliate Ms Sullivan and breached her constitutional right to protection of the person.