ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -

A debt collection agency is being charged with doing more than just poking a friend on Facebook.

A Florida woman has filed suit against MarkOne in a Florida court claiming the company went far beyond the usual phone calls in an attempt to recoup $362 for an unpaid vehicle loan. The company allegedly contacted the woman’s family through the immensely popular social networking website. While the collector did not mention the debt specifically or why he was looking for the woman, according to a report, the person did ask family and friends to have the debtor call and provided a phone number.

In response to the lawsuit, a Facebook spokesperson told Credit and Collection News:

"There are state and federal laws and FTC regulations that govern the actions of debt collectors. The collector in the St. Petersburg case likely violates a number of these laws and regulations and we encourage the victim to contact the FTC and her state Attorney General. In addition, Facebook policies prohibit any kind of threatening, intimidating or hateful contact from one user to another. We encourage people to report such behavior to us, only accept friend requests from people that they know, and use privacy settings and our blocking feature to prevent unwanted contact."

So it appears Facebook is looking upon the use of its platform for debt collecting unfavorably. However, it also appears the collector might not have violated the consumer’s rights since the debt was never mentioned. It is a decision for the Florida court.

Basically, a story by The Associated Press reported that Melanie Beacham claimed she never expected to hear from a collection agency on Facebook.

In a statement sent to the wire service, MarkOne indicated it will not discuss Beacham’s case and denied any wrongdoing. The company acknowledged that its collectors use Facebook to find people when they don’t respond to more conventional means, like letters and phone calls.

According to the report, MarkOne claimed it contacted Beacham six to 10 times a day by phone, sent her a text message, contacted her neighbor and sent a courier to deliver a letter to her workplace. When that failed, the collection department apparently turned to Facebook.

Beacham’s attorney has asked a judge to prohibit MarkOne from contacting her or her family through Facebook or Twitter.

“I was shocked when I found out these collectors used Facebook to contact my family because they knew exactly where I was,” Beacham, told the wire service. “I’m angry they caused me so much embarrassment with my family."

Beacham’s attorney, Billy Howard, of the Morgan and Morgan law firm in Tampa, Fla., insists the debt collectors violated Beacham’s privacy and Florida’s consumer protection law, which prohibits collectors from harassing people.

“It’s an invasion of privacy on steroids,” Howard contends.

“Normally, it takes a while for collection agencies to contact family members or friends or co-workers, but on Facebook you have a very powerful harassment tool at your fingertips,” he alleged.

A copy of the complete story can be found here.