An Orange County woman claims that a repo company snatched the wrong RV rig.
Kayla Busby accused Priority Recovery Inc., New Windsor, of violating the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and state repossession law, in a March 11 complaint filed in U.S. District Court, White Plains.
Priority Recovery subjected her to “improper and deceptive collection activity,” Busby claims, and caused her to “suffer monetary damages, anger, anxiety, emotional distress and embarrassment.”
Priority Recovery is based at Empire Auto Body on Walnut Street. John Macioce incorporated the business in 2012, according to a state registration record, and as recently as 2022 it was managed by Tony Macioce, according to a court record in an unrelated case.
Busby says she owns a 2021 Heartland Pioneer RV that was financed with a loan from M&T Bank. Other than the bank loan, the RV title was clear.
RV Trader lists 2021 Heartland Pioneers for sale from $11,000 to $30,000, depending on model, mileage and condition.
Busby also owns a RV that is not described in the lawsuit. That vehicle was financed with a loan from BMO Financial Corp.
She admits that she had fallen behind on the BMO loan payments.
Last November, she went to a storage lot in Montgomery where she had parked the Heartland RV. It was gone.
She contacted police and reported it as stolen. Later, the complaint states, she discovered that BMO meant to repossess the other RV.
Busby claims that Priority Recovery unlawfully seized the Heartland RV, held it for more than a month, and returned it with extensive damages. The complaint does not describe the damages or repair costs.
In doing so, Priority Recovery allegedly violated federal law that prohibits “unfair or unconscionable means to collect or attempt to collect any debt.”
Busby also accused Priority Recovery of unlawful repossession, under state law, and interfering with her ownership of the RV.
She is demanding unspecified compensation for actual damages and punitive damages.
Priority Recovery did not reply to an email asking for its side of the story.
