Chattanooga rescinds contract with debt collector following data breach Chattanooga Times Free Press

pppppChattanoogas city government is ending a contract with a Cleveland Tennessee debt collector weeks after revelations that a breach of the companys data last year could have affected thousandsppMembers of the City Council voted unanimously and without comment Tuesday to withdraw Chattanoogas renewal of a contract term with Nationwide Recovery Services The citys purchasing department asked the council to rescind the contract renewalppThe contract with the firm dates to April 2021 according to a city purchase agreement The citys purchasing department gave the council a 220000 annual cost estimate for the contractppREAD MORE Georgia New York residents sue over Nationwide Recovery Services data breachppThe councils Tuesday vote comes weeks after the Chattanooga mayors office announced that Nationwide Recovery Services had informed the city of a July 2024 data breach and after the Hamilton County government which used the same collector began notifying people that their data had been accessed It undoes an April 8 vote the council took to approve the contract renewal That approval came days after city staff said that Chattanooga data was affected by the debt collection agency breachppStaff photo by Abby White Chattanooga City Council Vice Chair Marvene Noel reviews her notes during the meeting The Chattanooga City Council held its weekly meeting on Tuesday April 22 2025 at the Chattanooga City HallppStaff photo by Abby White Chattanooga City Council Chairwoman Jenny Hill speaks during the meeting The Chattanooga City Council held its weekly meeting on Tuesday April 22 2025 at the Chattanooga City HallppStaff photo by Abby White Chattanooga City Attorney Phillip A Noblett listens to council members during the meeting The Chattanooga City Council held its weekly meeting on Tuesday April 22 2025 at the Chattanooga City HallppStaff photo by Abby White Chattanooga City Council member Cody Harvey listens to council members during the meeting The Chattanooga City Council held its weekly meeting on Tuesday April 22 2025 at the Chattanooga City HallppStaff photo by Abby White Chattanooga City Council member Jeff Davis reviews his notes during the meeting The Chattanooga City Council held its weekly meeting on Tuesday April 22 2025 at the Chattanooga City HallppStaff photo by Abby White Chattanooga City Council member Chip Henderson reviews his notes during the meeting The Chattanooga City Council held its weekly meeting on Tuesday April 22 2025 at the Chattanooga City HallppStaff photo by Abby White Chattanooga City Council member Jenni Bertz speaks during the meeting The Chattanooga City Council held its weekly meeting on Tuesday April 22 2025 at the Chattanooga City HallppStaff photo by Abby White Chattanooga City Council member Ron Elliot listens to other Council members during the meeting The Chattanooga City Council held its weekly meeting on Tuesday April 22 2025 at the Chattanooga City HallppStaff photo by Abby White Chattanooga City Council members gather for their meeting The Chattanooga City Council held its weekly meeting on Tuesday April 22 2025 at the Chattanooga City HallppStaff photo by Abby White Chattanooga City Council member Ron Elliot listens to other Council members during the meeting The Chattanooga City Council held its weekly meeting on Tuesday April 22 2025 at the Chattanooga City HallppStaff photo by Abby White Chattanooga City Council member Ron Elliot listens to other Council members during the meeting The Chattanooga City Council held its weekly meeting on Tuesday April 22 2025 at the Chattanooga City HallppStaff photo by Abby White Chattanooga City Council member Dennis Clark speaks during the meeting The Chattanooga City Council held its weekly meeting on Tuesday April 22 2025 at the Chattanooga City HallppThe citys contract with Nationwide was originally set to end April 18 and the councils vote means that the agreement effectively ended April 18 according to Mayor Tim Kellys spokesperson Eric HollppBut given the vote to renew earlier this month the contract would have lasted until April 2026 if the council had not agreed to rescind its renewal TuesdayppRepresentatives of the county mayors office did not immediately respond to a question regarding the countys contracts with NationwideppREAD MORE City of Chattanooga says it was also affected by data breachppAs many as 14000 people may have been compromised by the county situation according to an email sent from Nationwide to a county privacy officer Holl said in an April 4 news release announcing the breach that there was no suggestion that data other than information tied to debt collection services was affectedppHoll said in the April 4 news release that Nationwide told the city about the breach through a letter in February but that that information hadnt reached Kellys office until April 4 In the letter Nationwide representatives said that they had told the city of a problem first in July 2024 Holl said in the release that the city would investigate why information about the breach took months to reach relevant officials An attorney for Chattanooga also wrote on April 4 to request that Nationwide inform customers of the potential breach and if their personal financial data was affected offer them credit protectionppContact Mariah Franklin at mfranklintimesfreepresscom or 4237576354ppppMariah Franklin covers Chattanooga city and Hamilton County government for the Times Free Press A Knoxville native she used to write about politics crime and county government for The Daily Times in Alcoa Tennessee She attended Maryville College and the Johns Hopkins University In her free time she enjoys figure skating and listening to country musicppCopyright 2025 Chattanooga Times Free Press IncppAll rights reservedppThis document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Chattanooga Times Free Press IncppMaterial from the Associated Press is Copyright 2025 Associated Press and may not be published 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