Woman With Cancer Says HSBC Abused Her

DURHAM, N.C. (CN) - A woman says she fell behind on credit card payments when she got cervical cancer, and HSBC Finance Corp. knew this, but its bill collectors abused her with racist epithets in dunning phone calls. She says her 3-year-old child heard the racist language and "began repeating the epithet."

Teika Wright demands punitive damages for emotional distress and consumer law violations. She says HSBC collectors called her a "bitch" and a "nigger," among other things.

She quotes other racist language from the collectors in her complaint in Durham County Court.

Wright says HSBC "employees were frequently aggressive and abusive" to her "and frequently mocked her inability to pay," though she had informed HSBC of "her medical condition and fragile state."

Wright is represented by Daniel Meier.

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