Imagine walking outside to find your car gone. Not towed for parking. Not repossessed because you missed a car payment. Taken by a debt collector over some old bill, with your purse and ID still inside, and held until you pay up.
According to the Massachusetts Attorney General, that is what an Avon debt collection operation did to people across the state, and in some cases without even a valid license to collect debts in the first place. Call it what it looks like from the driveway: the law says these cars were off limits, and they took them anyway.
On September 14, 2026, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced a consent judgment with Judgment Acquisitions Unlimited, Champion Funding, Inc., and their owner, Andrew Metcalf. The companies are now banned from Massachusetts for good, and roughly $52 million in alleged debts held against more than 6,000 Massachusetts residents is effectively wiped out.
If you owed money to either company, you may not owe it anymore. And if they took your car, you should know exactly how far outside the rules they allegedly went.
This Wasn’t Repossession. It Was Leverage.
Most people know what a repossession is. You stop paying your car loan, and the lender takes back the car. That is not what happened here.
According to the AG, these companies bought up old debts and then went after the debtors’ vehicles, even though the cars had nothing to do with the debt. The goal was leverage. Take someone’s car, and they will scrape together whatever it takes to get it back.
The AG says the companies did this even when the law protected the car from seizure. Under G.L. c. 235, § 34, a car you need for personal transportation or to keep a job is exempt from being taken to pay a judgment if its wholesale value is $7,500 or less. That cap rises to $15,000 if the owner is 60 or older or has a disability. Take that car, and you don’t just cost someone a car. You can cost them their job.
What the Lawsuit Described
The AG’s complaint, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, lays out some specific examples. These are allegations, but they paint a clear picture:
- A disabled man’s only car. In December 2021, the companies allegedly seized a 2010 Subaru Forester with 140,000 miles, worth about $5,000. The owner has a disability and lived only on SSI. Even after he told Metcalf that, the complaint says Metcalf kept demanding payment and refused to give the car back. The car was exempt either way.
- A car with her purse and ID inside. In January 2022, a constable working for the companies allegedly took a woman’s car with her purse, wallet, and identification still in it. She missed work and lost wages, then paid $1,500 plus $980 in towing and storage to get it back.
- A truck they could never have sold at a profit. In October 2020, the companies allegedly seized a 2014 Dodge Ram worth about $18,045 while the owner still owed $17,750.74 on the truck loan. The lender gets paid first at auction, so there was nothing in it for the collector except pressure. The complaint says Metcalf told the owner the opposite: that his company would be paid first.
- Cars that weren’t even the debtor’s. On at least two occasions, the companies allegedly took a car belonging to the debtor’s family member, then kept demanding payment from the debtor instead of returning it.
More Than Just Car Seizures
The complaint also accused the companies of:
- Collecting without a license. Metcalf’s debt collector license lapsed three times, most recently from January 1 to February 23, 2022. The AG says the companies kept seizing cars during those 53 days, from at least 19 people.
- Padding small claims with their own “interest.” In Massachusetts, the court clerk calculates prejudgment interest. The complaint says the companies added their own interest figures to small claims filings, sometimes above both the contract rate and the 12% statutory rate. In one example, a $450.59 dental bill became a $910.14 claim.
- Suing in the wrong name. The AG says the companies misrepresented which entity actually owned the debts, a key fact a consumer needs to fight a collection suit.
- Practicing law without a license. Metcalf is not a lawyer, but the complaint says he signed and filed court papers on behalf of his companies outside small claims court.
The AG sued in February 2024 under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act (G.L. c. 93A) and the state’s debt collection law, and won two preliminary injunctions stopping the practices while the case moved forward. This settlement ends that lawsuit.
What the Settlement Does
Under the consent judgment, Metcalf and his companies:
- Can’t collect on Massachusetts debts. They are barred from buying, selling, transferring, assigning, or collecting any debt allegedly owed by a Massachusetts consumer. That is where the roughly $52 million in relief comes from. These debts can’t be passed off to another collector either.
- Are out of Massachusetts permanently. They can never apply for a Massachusetts debt collector license, and they can’t run collection activity from inside the state, even on debts owed by people who live elsewhere.
- Face a $650,000 penalty if they break the deal. The penalty is suspended based on their claim that they can’t pay. If they violate the settlement, or if that claim turns out to be false, the money comes due to the Commonwealth.
What This Means for You
If you had a debt with Judgment Acquisitions Unlimited or Champion Funding, these companies should not be contacting you, suing you, or taking your property over it anymore. If they do, that is a violation of a court judgment, and you should talk to a lawyer and report it to the AG’s office.
If your car or other property was taken, or you paid money under pressure, it’s worth having an attorney look at what happened. The settlement cuts off future collection, but your own situation may raise other questions.
Know Your Rights With Debt Collectors
This case is extreme, but aggressive collection isn’t rare. A few things every Massachusetts resident should know:
- Collectors have to be licensed. Anyone collecting debts from Massachusetts consumers generally needs a license from the state. You can ask a collector for their license number.
- Some property is protected. Massachusetts law shields certain property from being taken to pay a debt, including a car you need for transportation or work worth up to $7,500 wholesale ($15,000 if you are 60 or older or have a disability), necessary household items, and part of your wages.
- Harassment and deception are illegal. Under state and federal law, collectors can’t threaten you, lie about what you owe, or use unfair tactics to squeeze out payment.
- You can fight back. A collector who breaks the law can be on the hook for damages and your attorney’s fees.
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