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squidtarts posted:I checked my credit report and I have a collection item from my power company when I lived in NC.. kstatix posted:Does anyone here have any experience with Lexington Law's credit repair services? They seem to be rated as the top in their industry. My girlfriend has been preparing herself to deal with some major credit issues she's been having and I would like to know if this is a viable option. She's looking to pursue the whole DV / PFD process, would a company like Lexington Law be just as good if not better at doing so? If your girlfriend wants to pay someone hundreds of dollars to write some letters, that's her prerogative I guess. BusinessWallet posted:2 months ago a real shady debt collector said they were going to sue me if I didn't pay them that day, demanded my checking account number and stuff. I told them I couldn't right now but I would in the future. They haven't sued me and I doubt the will, it's for a 700 dollar credit card. Although I'd like to pay it off, is there anything I can do considering that they threatened me without actually moving on the suit? lapse posted:I have some negative items on my report, but they are all "paid in full", and already between 8 months to 2 years in the past. Since I paid everything off in full before ever seeing a thread like this, I feel ike I don't have any leverage to get anything removed. Otherwise, there's probably not much leverage for you (or someone writing on your behalf).
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Feb 21, 2011 04:14
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CubsWoo posted:In some ways, the big debt relief companies can be even worse than doing it yourself (or having your lawyer/someone working personally with you do it) because once you're in their system they often just dump form letters at your negatives and often push their clients to settle when the possibility of a deletion is there if you keep going. "We'll call everyone for you and instead of paying many bills, you'll make one payment to us that's slightly lower than that total. Most of the accounts will show that you settled, and we won't do anything to prevent that from happening. Also, we're keeping the first payment for ourselves as payment for our wonderful service." Years ago, a co-worker was telling me all about how wonderful Christian Credit Counselors were (I think that's the name), and how she was teetering on bankruptcy before she "found" them. And almost as importantly, they were good Christians. Several months later, she was nearly beside herself, because the company we worked for decided to update their background checks on us, and her credit was completely demolished. She had been given 60 days to get current with everyone, or she could resign (which was their way of tricking you in to not letting them fire you, so they could avoid paying severance and unemployment). I offered to help and found that just about every tradeline she had was reporting 90 / 120 days past due, and smaller ones as settled. I suggested she call up the credit counselors to see what was going on, and as I had suspected, they hadn't been paying her bills. They were holding on to the money until she had "a substantial amount", at which time they'd pick an account they thought would accept a one-time payment for 20% less than the balance owed (which was steadily increasing across the board, due to late fees and interest). She called them to drop out, but had to make another payment to them, because she signed a contract requiring 30 days' notice. In the meantime, I tried helping out with what I could, and we made some okay progress. But in the end, even if she was current with everyone, her payments were more than she brought home. So declaring bankruptcy was really the only practical solution for her, and any third grader should have been able to figure that out with just a cursory look at her budget. I've heard pretty similar stories from other debt relief companies / credit counselors, and noticed that the Better Business Bureau automatically downgrades any company who is one. (reference: http://www.credit.com/news/experts/2009-03-12/settlement-companies-protest-better-business-bureau-rating-system.html) sleepness posted:I asked her if her company (NCO) does PFD for accounts, she vehemently said NO, and said "paying it off in full is basically the same thing"., to which I laughed. I still wrote one and sent it anyway! And yes, NCO does PFD. TWiNKiE fucked around with this message at 19:28 on Feb 21, 2011 |
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Feb 21, 2011 19:24
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sleepness posted:As granted by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, I have the right to dispute this alleged debt. If I do not receive your postmarked response within 15 days, I will withdraw the offer and request full verification of this debt. If you have, did they validate? Properly? You basically want your letter to cover these bases: *I dispute the debt (if you do). *Because I want to reach an amicable agreement, I'm willing to pay $X *In exchange for $X, I want you to remove the info from my reports. I'm not admitting it's mine. *I also want you to agree not to sell the account. Once you get payment, the account's dead. *If you agree, send me a letter signed by someone authorized to make an agreement. Here's a sample, assuming you're within your 30 days and haven't disputed yet: quote:Collection Agency
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Feb 21, 2011 20:45
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sleepness posted:Thanks Twinkie. Personally, if I was within the 30 days, I'd make them validate and do the dance to not pay anything. I see PFD's as a last resort. So, in this situation, you really don't have much to lose. Edit: Or like CubsWoo suggested, see if asking them to validate spooks them.
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Feb 21, 2011 21:03
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bootleg robot posted:To be honest, I'm only assuming the debt was purchased because the CA now (NCO) trying to collect on this debt is different than the one trying to collect on the same debt several months earlier (Northgroup or something). NCO is not reporting to the CRA, only Capital One. Having the negative tick on your report doesn't really change too much about a settlement agreement. In fact, it really tends to make them harder, because the CA takes the stance that they have something you want (the ability to delete). The only tricky thing is that in a PFD, you're able to say "I'm not admitting anything, I just want that to go away." Crafting a letter that says "I'm not admitting anything, but here's some money to not say mean things about me" is a bit harder. PoliSciGirl posted:As with any CA, I call and they are EXTREMELY RUDE and like to hang up on me. I asked if they could delete if I sent them money (this is after I paid) and they flat out said no. quote:Dear CRA, If they come back with CA information, send something like this to the CA: quote:PoliSciGirl
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Feb 22, 2011 23:33
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Skandiaavity posted:1 > 1 from 2007, $800 some bill from tmobile.. he has gotten a letter one or twice from someone named "Kay" and is a lawyer (google tells me this guy is Law offices of Kay in NY? basically a junk debt buyer who actually isnt even a lawyer i think. tons of poo poo reviews) If you're sure it's past the SOL, offer $50, or even $25. Let them know in the PFD letter that you know they're beyond the SOL. quote:2 > 1 from 2007, ~ $ 1200, reported by FCO (Fair Collections & Outsourcing, google tells me it's in baltimore. no mentions on whether they're lovely or honest guys) - rent that he claims he paid but landlord was trying to stiff him out of the deposit. he did not receive any notice from them, but disputed this information in 2008 but only got vague letters of verification (not validation) quote:3 > 1 from 2007, ~$40, handled by Sunrise, about a cable bill dispute - he disputed these and the company sent him a letter saying they cant verify, and have took it off experian & equifax.. however, it still shows up on transunion quote:4 > 1 from 2008 (also from FCO), for about $12k also breaking a lease (rent was too drat high apparently). Different rental company from the one above, though. They also want a full years worth of rent payments even though he terminated it two months prior to the end of lease My understanding though, is that Michigan's Landlord - Tenant Act is one of few that tends to favor the renter. Check with nearby universities and see if they have a housing assistance commission or something similar. quote:5 > 1 credit card from BOA - revolving limit of 500, balance is always paid off in full every month but is not a secured card.. BOA just seems to refuse to increase his limit. he is current on this quote:6 > 1 older car debt which was just paid off quote:I read up on the thread and it seems like the SOL in maryland is like, 3 years. given it occured in 2008, and it's 2011 - should he just lie low then dance next year? quote:But the federal? SOL is 7 years, so I'm not sure which one they follow. quote:However, FCO haven't even done anything or be aggressive, no mentions of a lawsuit, etc. He did send them a C&D letter along with the verification letters and they've complied thus far with it. Furthermore, he hasn't received notice from the OC, just the CA - i assume this is way past his 30 days, so to file a DV, PFD, etc? Basically all of this time he's stuck his head in the sand going LALALALALALALA and hoping it goes away. quote:OTOH he kind of needs a car loan since his car just broke down - both his parents are foreigners, so he's basically SOL on co-signers. That pretty much leaves him with needing to boost his credit score at least 100 or 200 points. What do you suggest? Try Roadloans. As a last resort, HSBC would probably finance him too. Get cheap car ($5,000 - $7,500) that's taken most of its depreciation hit, spend the next year fixing credit, refinance or sell the car once his credit's better. sleepness posted:-3 credit cards from citi, all closed however I am still making payments on them. (still with original creditor) If so, this is actually really good. Once you get close to paying them off, send a goodwill letter to Citi, asking them to remove the tradelines. quote:-1 utility bill that went to an attorney (paid in full already - 2.5 years ago) quote:-1 credit card closed and settled as paid in full (2.5 years ago) quote:-2 credit cards from WFP, both closed, settled and paid in full (2.5 years ago) quote:-2 accounts I still owe on which I sent PFD's to. quote:Now, I don't know if any of this is fixable or not, minus the PFD's that I've already sent. Do I just have to wait out the miserable credit for the remaining 5 years, or do I have room with Citi to try to negotiate PFD? Don't PFD Citi unless you're totally under water and want to settle. Here's something rarely tried that worked with my Citi problem: buy a share of stock. Right now, they trade for about $5. Wait a few weeks, then contact Shareholder Relations with a polite letter expressing your concern as a shareholder, and ask them to help you out.
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Feb 23, 2011 07:21
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LorneReams posted:If it's outside the SOL, the company is violating by reporting it to the CRAs so it should be easy to have it removed with a simple challenge. The CRAs do not like to report SOL issues as it opens them up to liability. What's relevant there: quote:The FDCPA prohibits debt collectors' from using any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt. (15 U.S.C. § 1692e). Among the conduct that violates this provision is the "communication or threat to communicate to any person credit information which is known or which should be known to be false, including the failure to communicate that a disputed debt is disputed." 15 U.S.C. 5 1692e(8). The term "communication" is given a very broad definition in the act. It means 'the conveying of information regarding a debt directly or indirectly to any person through any medium." 15 U.S.C. § 1692 a ( 2 ) Reporting a six year old debt that you're not disputing as "not mine" is not necessarily false, deceptive, or misleading. See also Section 605 of the FCRA (incidentally, one of only two sections of the FCRA that the FTC does not have an opinion on: quote:
Every state can set up its own SOL. Some have short ones (e.g. Delaware @ 3 years) and some have long ones (e.g. Massachusetts @ up to 20). So, let's say you move from Ohio (6 years) to Delaware (3 years) when you've got ten collection accounts from 2007. Using the "updating my report is a violation" logic, you should be able to blow those all away. Now let's say you move back in December. Well, you're back on the hook as far as SOL goes, but the CA's wouldn't be able to do anything to your reports, because that would fall under reinsertion. If that was how it worked, there'd be a cottage industry in Delaware for getting people "moved" temporarily to fix their credit. If you're aware of case law to the contrary, please let me know, so that I can incorporate my new moving service in Delaware. 
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Feb 23, 2011 19:51
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Skandiaavity posted:I don't get this, so by it being past the SOL, it's easier to remove? But I thought they had 7 years until they should remove it? They have to remove it after 7 years + 180 days. They can remove it whenever they want.
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Feb 23, 2011 19:56
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Skandiaavity posted:In that case, yeah - I will tell him to stfu and not do anything until December. From the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act: quote:§ 811. Legal actions by debt collectors TWiNKiE fucked around with this message at 22:14 on Feb 23, 2011 |
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Feb 23, 2011 22:09
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Anti-Hero posted:Just wanted to quote this again as I only got one response. I was thinking for the first one to just dispute with the CRA's and roll the dice that the CA won't validate as they didn't report to Experian, does that sound reasonable? What's the best way to dispute, do it online or through the mail? Personally, I would dispute through the mail, and use multiple reasons. If you go online or dispute a single reason, you get put in a "bucket". You say it's not yours? You're in the "not mine" bucket. CA says it's yours. So sorry. On the other hand, if you say the account balance is wrong, the account number is wrong, the dates are wrong, and the type of account is wrong, a real person has to deal with that, and the CA has to validate all of it. There's no way to do that online. As for the DV / PFD, that's probably what I would do. Daedalus101 posted:I was sued by capital one... Make an account at Creditboards, and ask in the "Help, I'm Being Sued!" forum, unless someone else has experience with that kind of situation here. Opals25 posted:So, I'm not sure if this fits to the thread at all but I thought it would be worth asking. I'd send them both unknown debt letters. Basically a DV that starts out with "While reviewing my credit report, I noticed your company entered an item with Account #<acct> for an alleged debt in the amount of $<last reported amount>. As you are one of two companies reporting this same alleged debt, please validate..." <include standard text, and reiterate the need for them to prove they have a right to collect>. Shooting Blanks posted:My girlfriend had a couple collectors send letters to an old (but valid - and she hadn't changed her address in time) address of hers well beyond 30 days ago. She'd like to clear these up. Is she best off responding by phone, or by sending certified mail to get clear payment terms? Since they're all beyond the 30-day dunning period, you don't necessarily need to pay for the return receipt, so you don't need to pay tons of money to get the initial letters out. But, I'd probably send one to anybody who is outside of the SOL, or who wants money that's probably not worth suing over. Keep in mind though, there's no magic number that pulls a lawsuit trigger universally. I've been sued over $250, and I've waited $3,700 to the SOL.
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Feb 28, 2011 17:13
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Doctor Claw posted:Cliff notes: Keep in mind that I'm not a lawyer, and I'm not dispensing legal advice here. As a layperson, I wouldn't lie on a form like that. And by the same token, if someone said "Did you or did you not have a credit card number XXXX XXXX XXXX 1234?", I would have to answer with "At this time I am not able to answer this question with certainty, but may be able to at a future date if Plaintiff is able to produce evidence of the same as requested in <DV letter / your discovery request to them>." You know in courtroom dramas (or real televised trials) where the person on the stand doesn't plead the fifth, but starts going in to "I have no recollection of that."? It's not always because people are really forgetful. There's a huge difference between "no / not mine" and "I don't think so / maybe, maybe not". And everything Konstantin said.
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Feb 28, 2011 23:20
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I said come in! posted:Once I send a letter disputing the debt, when does the 30 days start, requiring the debt collection agency to provide proof of my debt? quote:I guess I should also tell my debt collection story too. Today I got a letter in the mail from a Debt Collector, called CBCS, stating I owe them $1015 but they will settle for $659. It's for a medical bill (I was living in WA at the time) that my insurance was suppose to pay in full and I have proof of that from October, 2008. I am living in Arizona currently. quote:I made the mistake of talking to them tonight when they called me. The lady over the phone wanted me to pay over the phone but I said that first I want to dispute the charge and have proof of the debt. She said that it would take over a month. What does that mean? Should I still send them a letter? I assume she is lying to me. I am going to write up a letter to dispute the debt of course and send it off tomorrow. Send them the validation letter. quote:Forgot to mention where I was living in 2008 (WA) and where I am living now (AZ) in case that matters. If you have no credit other than a negative entry, that's going to seriously suck.
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Mar 4, 2011 06:05
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I said come in! posted:My parents are saying they are willing to pay for the debt, would it be possible to transfer it over to their name, as if they were the ones that the collection was going after originally? So it won't hurt my credit. Part of the reason you demand validation is to make the CA prove that you owe the debt. If it's supposed to be in your parents' name, that should come up in the validation. That doesn't mean you need to offer that information up though. Make the CA work for it.
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Mar 4, 2011 15:49
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I said come in! posted:This is a good point. I got my letters and everything printed out to send off, demanding validation. Thank you for your help so far, over PMs too! I really appreciate it. I was freaking out about this last night. This morning I woke up early, a bit more calm and decided to look up my credit report, this debt is not on there. I also did some digging into CBCS and found a lot of dirt on them. This is just one of the links I discovered; http://www.mv.com/ipusers/mcgath/cbcs.html There is a lot more too if you Google this companies name. They are very shady. If you have good things on your report, they'll help offset bad ones. If all you have is a negative, you're basically not going to get a credit card that isn't secured. Since you don't have much credit built, be practical. You're not going to get approved for an Amex Blue card, but you probably could get a Walmart / Target / Sears card, maybe a Credit Union Visa / Mastercard, probably a Hooters Mastercard or an iTunes Visa with low limits. One negative isn't going to kill you if you have other tradelines open. Edit: Even if you don't need or want the cards, you do (or will) need the credit history. Use a card to buy something cheap (a pack of gum, etc.) every other month, pay it off, and don't carry it with you if you're concerned about getting in to debt.
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Mar 4, 2011 18:30
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SWATJester posted:I'm not following -- why would you ever offer to pay after the statute of limitations has tolled? You're only going to run the risk of extending the SOL or revalidating the debt. The JDB can keep that on your report for another three years, and has little incentive not to. By sending a PFD, you give them some incentive. I've said it several times before, but to reiterate the context there, I would never affirm a debt when doing a PFD, unless it's something ridiculously large and within the SOL. So, sending a letter that says "I'm sure this is a mistake. I don't think that's my debt. Would you take $20 to go away?" precludes tolling. You're not acknowledging that the debt's yours, and you're not making an unconditional promise to pay the full amount. quote:Also, they CAN sue you for the debt. They just cannot enforce the lawsuit as you have a valid defense that the statute of limitations has tolled. That's a major difference from "you cannot be sued in the first place". I can sue you for whatever reason I dream up. It doesn't mean I'm going to win.
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Mar 8, 2011 09:42
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SWATJester posted:You didn't answer the question. Why would you revalidate an unenforceable debt that is going to be removed from your history for free in the next couple of years? I'm suggesting that you continue to deny (or refuse to admit) liability, but offer a small amount as a gesture of goodwill to clear up a simple misunderstanding. However, the only rationale for doing something like that would be if you "needed" it off of your report sooner than the allowable reporting period. (e.g. planning for a mortgage, certain jobs) quote:And it isn't pedantic in the least. If you sued me I would be forced to defend it and that costs money. Most people in this situation don't have that kind of money nor do they know their rights. It is a major difference and frankly you shouldn't be advising people otherwise. I didn't think I was conveying "Be your own legal cowboy!" to anybody. But by the same token, crafting a response with "This is beyond the statute of limitations" as your affirmative defense isn't something that typically needs hours at the closest law library. quote:Uh it doesn't ncessarily work like that legally, not in my jurisdiction. Where are you getting this from or are you just making this all up? REVISED JUDICATURE ACT OF 1961 (EXCERPT) Act 236 of 1961 600.5807 Damages for breaches of contract; specific performance; fiduciary bonds; deeds; mortgages; surety bonds; appeal bonds; public obligations. Sec. 5807. No person may bring or maintain any action to recover damages or sums due for breach of contract, or to enforce the specific performance of any contract unless, after the claim first accrued to himself or to someone through whom he claims, he commences the action within the periods of time prescribed by this section. (1) The period of limitations on actions charging any surety on any bond of any executor, administrator, guardian is 4 years after the discharge of the executor, administrator, or guardian. (2) The period of limitations is 10 years for actions founded upon bonds of public officers. (3) The period of limitations on actions founded upon bonds executed under sections 41.80 and 41.81 of the Compiled Laws of 1948, is 2 years after the expiration of the year for which the constable was elected. (4) The period of limitations is 10 years for actions founded upon covenants in deeds and mortgages of real estate. (5) The period of limitations is 2 years for actions charging any surety for costs. (6) The period of limitations is 2 years for actions brought on bonds or recognizances given on appeal from any court in this state. (7) The period of limitations is 10 years for actions on bonds, notes, or other like instruments which are the direct or indirect obligation of, or were issued by although not the obligation of, the state of Michigan or any county, city, village, township, school district, special assessment district, or other public or quasi-public corporation in the state of Michigan. (8) The period of limitations is 6 years for all other actions to recover damages or sums due for breach of contract. REVISED JUDICATURE ACT OF 1961 (EXCERPT) Act 236 of 1961 600.5813 Other personal actions. Sec. 5813. All other personal actions shall be commenced within the period of 6 years after the claims accrue and not afterwards unless a different period is stated in the statutes. REVISED JUDICATURE ACT OF 1961 (EXCERPT) Act 236 of 1961 600.5827 Accrual of claim. Sec. 5827. Except as otherwise expressly provided, the period of limitations runs from the time the claim accrues. The claim accrues at the time provided in sections 5829 to 5838, and in cases not covered by these sections the claim accrues at the time the wrong upon which the claim is based was done regardless of the time when damage results. REVISED JUDICATURE ACT OF 1961 (EXCERPT) Act 236 of 1961 600.5831 Accrual of claim; mutual and open account current. Sec. 5831. In actions brought to recover the balance due upon a mutual and open account current, the claim accrues at the time of the last item proved in the account. REVISED JUDICATURE ACT OF 1961 (EXCERPT) Act 236 of 1961 600.5856 Tolling of statute of limitations or repose. Sec. 5856. The statutes of limitations or repose are tolled in any of the following circumstances: (a) At the time the complaint is filed, if a copy of the summons and complaint are served on the defendant within the time set forth in the supreme court rules. (b) At the time jurisdiction over the defendant is otherwise acquired. (c) At the time notice is given in compliance with the applicable notice period under section 2912b, if during that period a claim would be barred by the statute of limitations or repose; but in this case, the statute is tolled not longer than the number of days equal to the number of days remaining in the applicable notice period after the date notice is given. REVISED JUDICATURE ACT OF 1961 (EXCERPT) Act 236 of 1961 600.5866 Revival of barred claim; written acknowledgment of obligor. Sec. 5866. Express or implied contracts which have been barred by the running of the period of limitation shall be revived by the acknowledgment or promise of the party to be charged. But no acknowledgment or promise shall be recognized as effective to bar the running of the period of limitations or revive the claim unless the acknowledgment is made by or the promise is contained in some writing signed by the party to be charged by the action.
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Mar 8, 2011 17:43
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UrbanFarmer posted:I recently pulled my credit report and it would appear that a hospital in Maine seems to think I owe them a little over $4,000 and sold that debt to a collection agency about 3 months ago. This is all fine and dandy except I have never been to Maine. Let me see if I get this straight: In the validation, ask for a list of services rendered, the cost of services, and where the services were rendered. If you can prove that you were somewhere else at the time, that's a pretty decent foundation for your response. quote:2. I assume they have to provide me with a bill with my signature on for it to be valid, correct? quote:Also, I DO have two VALID debts that I want to do a pay for delete on. They're owned by the same collection agency. Can I send them one letter making an offer for each or do I need to send two separate letters, one for each account with them? Feces Starship posted:I think when he said that "sending a letter precludes tolling" what he really meant was that "sending a letter after the SoL has expired does not re-extend the SoL," but I'm not so sure this is true. If the SoL had expired on debt, I would never speak of it again. Without taking time out of my day to do research over the issue, my inclination is that offering to pay for delete in some jurisdictions and in some circumstances might "re-open" the statute of limitations or constitute waiver of the SoL's expiration. But yeah. Sending a letter that says "this isn't mine, but I want it to go away" doesn't change the SOL under Michigan law (as posted above). kstatix posted:If you've been following the thread you can see he's been providing useful information. If you think anyone here is making up poo poo just for shits and giggles then maybe you should, I dunno, not take their advice. I think it's been made pretty clear that nobody here is offering legal advice that you should take to court with you without questioning it. It doesn't hurt to have someone say "Hey, wait a minute..." To be honest, I thought I was the "Hey, wait a minute..." to CubsWoo (no offense intended). Having any single advisory voice in a thread like this is probably apt to cause more harm than good, so I'm happy to have someone keep me in check. I'll reiterate though, I'm not a lawyer, and I'm not dispensing legal advice. My personal strategy is to play the odds, rather than hope for your day in court. If you can scare a CA in to doing what you want because it looks like you might know what you're talking about, or will defend yourself (as a nutcase who doesn't understand the law, or as a lawyer), you're already lightyears ahead of most people on debts that aren't ridiculously large. It's still a warning shot to the CA: "Are you sure the time and effort you're going to invest in going after me is worth it -- especially when I might not pay the judgement, even if you win? Or would you rather have your next visit to the court be a stack of 200 people who won't show up, won't fight back, and will be terrified by the summary judgements you're going to get as a result?" And, CreditBoards is pretty decent once you get a feel for who knows what they're talking about, and who is a nutcase. I learned tons of stuff there and still contribute to the forums from time to time. But like we've already touched on here, when my credit was trash, I was lucky enough to have a couple of lawyer friends to run the more "creative" CreditBoards ideas by, who were content to be paid in beer.
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Mar 8, 2011 19:23
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Feces Starship posted:The section I've quoted is the one where you might create some trouble by inquiring about the presence of the debt, especially if you offer a pay-for-delete. We'd need to look at caselaw that cited this particular provision but it is conceivable that a court could construe an information and pay-for-delete request as a per se acknowledgment of the debt. (emphasis mine) quote:III. Revival of Claims Under M.C.L. § 600.5866; MSA 27A.5866 So, I would hold that saying "This isn't mine, I'm not saying it's mine, but I'll give you $20 to leave me alone" falls quite short of "an unqualified and direct admission..." or that such a statement would not be considered an accompanying "circumstance or declaration...". I said come in! posted:Update on my debt collector situation. They received my certified mail today. So that means they have until April 8th to provide proof of the debt I owe them? Zen Dudeism posted:I'm up to a total of 10 calls in two days from two seperate CA's who have received my DV letter telling them to not contact me while gathering their info during these 30 days. quote:Also, I've sent 3 DV letters to one CA, but they have not signed for them yet. What happens in that scenario? quote:Am I still allowed to claim that they did not respond to the letter of DV within the 30 days so I wish to have the account closed and removed? quote:Or can they say they never received my letter and refuse (despite my proof that it was sent)? And if they can claim that, then what is to stop me from claiming I never got their initial letter and sending them a DV letter more than 30 days after they sent the initial letter? In court, they'd likely have to explain to a judge why they wouldn't sign for the letter you tried to send them. And, that's probably not going to look very good. BusinessWallet posted:Anyone on this? TWiNKiE fucked around with this message at 00:23 on Mar 9, 2011 |
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Mar 9, 2011 00:20
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Not to drift too far, but I just noticed this article today, which touches on SOL, tolling, representing yourself, and suing CA's who violate: http://detnews.com/article/20110309/BIZ/103090332
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Mar 9, 2011 20:36
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lazer_chicken posted:I'd love to get some input from you guys. There's lots of nebulous "someone said this, but it didn't happen", but not much "my lease said this, and they didn't honor it". They may not have a legal obligation to comply, but it wouldn't hurt for you to ask for copies of the things you signed. Offer to pay a few dollars for photocopy / fax costs, if they're being dicks about it. Without that, it's just your word against theirs, based on the information you've provided.
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Mar 10, 2011 02:29
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Tuff Ghost posted:I have a question for anyone who cares the answer: See what they come back with.
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Mar 10, 2011 02:40
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UrbanFarmer posted:2. I'm trying to improve my credit score so I can buy a house. I have a $5,000 car loan I took out 4 months ago simply to help improve my credit. I can pay it off anytime. How long should I let that stay on my credit? Should I pay it off before I go for the house? If at six months it's going to cost you more than $200 in interest to do another six months, you're potentially better off taking the money and getting a secured card (assuming you have trouble getting unsecured cards) for another positive tradeline.
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Mar 10, 2011 21:08
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Jadaris posted:I've got an old medical bill from a year or so ago that I just got a debt collection letter for last month. I sent in a DV letter thanks to this thread, and a week and a half later they responded with
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Mar 11, 2011 18:59
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UrbanFarmer posted:Today I received a, "We have sent your account to our attorney" letter from a CA for hospital bills. Should I: #2 should never happen.
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Mar 14, 2011 08:17
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UrbanFarmer posted:Why should #2 never happen? I thought that's what has been recommended a lot in this thread? So, you never go in saying "I'll give you $20 to make this $200 debt go away. If you don't agree, then you'll have to prove I really owe you anything in the first place." It's a bad strategic move all around. Assume they can validate, and don't want to settle. How's that letter going to look to a judge if you get hauled in to court? Right. It's going to look worse than "Please stop picking on me. I don't know who you are or what you want."
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Mar 14, 2011 19:02
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LorneReams posted:Usually you dispute with CRAs and if they confirm, it's a violation. The extremely oversimplified next steps: 1) Send your disputes to the CRA's, CMRR, including a copy of your ID and a utility bill if you have one. (This way, they can't stall and ask you to prove that you are who you say you are) 2) If you don't get what you want, threaten to sue everybody. some texas redneck posted:So what should I do? They're mailing me "proof of debt". In my state (TX), the FDCPA applies to both first and third party, and the SOL is only 4 years. I obviously have no intention of admitting that the debt is mine (because it isn't, I closed that account immediately after removing funds from it, and never had a debit card with it). Once they send you whatever it is they think proves an outstanding debt, reply with a letter that says that you never had a debit card. Or, just don't use PayPal. It would be much different if they decided to snatch $25 from your payment account. quote:Equally puzzling, I got a statement from Capital One about a CC I walked away from 5 years ago (first communication I've gotten from them in about 3 years). They still show the account as open and accruing interest, I thought they had to charge off debt after 180 days? Whatever they sent you shouldn't show the credit card account as still open, but they could have changed the revolving account to a collection account, which would be open. Since you're in Texas, DV them, and see what they come back with. I don't know very much about Texas law, other than that it's magical if you're a consumer. To that point though, I don't think you can send them a C&D since they're an OC. I could be completely wrong about that, though. TWiNKiE fucked around with this message at 16:13 on Mar 15, 2011 |
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Mar 15, 2011 16:11
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LorneReams posted:Don't give them a reason, just dispute as not yours. I've had the best luck doing it online trhough the free anual credit report site. Remember to only dispute the CRAs where the tradeline actually exists, if it's not already obvious. Also, I had posted on this a few pages back, I think... I wouldn't use the online dispute tools. If you send a letter disputing several specific things (account number's wrong, dates are wrong, amount is wrong), a real person has to look at it to categorize it. If you say "not mine", you're pigeonholing yourself, and doing the CRA's work for them.
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Mar 15, 2011 19:40
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some texas redneck posted:They haven't taken money yet - but they have denied me access to the funds that are currently in my Paypal account (significantly more than what they claim I owe). quote:It looks exactly like a normal credit card statement. They're still adding interest as well, though I'm not able to login to the account online anymore. They emailed me yesterday with "Today, we’re notifying you that your account is scheduled to be sold to another company in approximately the next 45 to 105 days" and to call them if I'd like to work out my debt. quote:Also, the Texas Debt Collection Practices Act treats OC and third party collectors the same. A C&D would work, in fact I sent them one a few years ago telling them to only contact me via mail, and they haven't called me since. What's odder about the Capital One statement showing up though - it had my old address (in a different city), and there was no yellow "Forwarding" sticker that the post office usually sticks on. And my forwarding request with USPS should have expired by now.
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Mar 16, 2011 07:54
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seacat posted:Speaking of, just because a debt is beyond the SOL for a state doesn't mean that it can't be reported on your credit report, as negative items only drop off after seven years... right? quote:So, if you live in e.g. Texas, where the SOL is 4 years and you're very unlikely to get sued for amounts < $1,000 (no wage garnishment for most consumer debt), they can continue to ruin your credit for 3 more years even though they can do gently caress all about actually collecting the money. quote:And from what I understand they will be glad to respond to CRA disputes, or re-sell the debt, thus restarting the 7 year clock, since without the option of getting an enforceable judgment, those are the only tools for getting money off that post-SOL account. They can respond to the CRA, but as the consumer, you have the right to go back to the CRA and ask how the CA validated. If you're willing to go the distance, it's not as slanted against you as you might think. The OC (or CA) can sell or reassign the debt, but whoever takes it on has to play by the rules, too. This does not restart the clock. The new assignee is potentially violating the FCDPA and FCRA if they try to extend the date. quote:So even though I would love to send a "gently caress off and die" letter to ever single collections agency in the universe, wouldn't it be better to start with a DV followed by (if validated) PFD assuming you're < 7 years? Knowing that they're lucky to get 20 bucks on your completely-uncollectible-unless-your-rear end-moves-out-of Texas 1000$ account they should be likely to take it. Otherwise it might be 3 more years of USPSCMRR wars. Assuming the tolling laws in Texas are similar to Michigan (you have to explicitly affirm the debt in writing), a PFD might work with the JDB. Cap 1 isn't very likely to play ball on a PFD. quote:In conclusion, God bless the Great State of Texas, and God bless the FDCPA.
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Mar 16, 2011 08:44
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uapyro posted:If you get a letter from a loan company due to lack of credit, can you ask them for a copy of your credit report and or credit score? I think I remember something like this, but I can't remember what all you could actually ask for. 1) The reason(s) why the action was taken. 2) Where the information was obtained from. 3) That you have a right to receive a copy of the report obtained, at no cost to you. 4) How to contact the information furnisher.
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Mar 17, 2011 04:14
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I said come in! posted:Which letter are you talking about? Send your request for validation letter ASAP. This needed to be done yesterday. Correct me if I am wrong but I believe you only have 30 days to do it once you get the letter in the mail that says you owe $4000. Otherwise your debt is deemed valid and it gets very complicated for you from there. You can ask for validation whenever you want to. And, not disputing / asking for validation isn't the same as admitting that you owe the debt (assuming you come to court and deny that you owe the debt if you're sued). You certainly can recount a conversation you had on the phone in court. People do that all the time, and in cases far more serious than whether or not you're trying to stick your bank with a balance. It's not as good as having something in writing, though. On the other hand, if you're trying to rack up violations, you basically need to make sure you've followed the process to the letter, and have everything documented. Baruch Obamawitz posted:With a debt validation letter, is regular mail sufficient, or is registered mail necessary? Here's how I prioritized it: *Toying with a JDB on something they can't collect on anyway - regular mail. *Follow-up letters to a company's registered agent or DV letters after 30 days - certified mail. *DV letters within 30 days, or any letter to someone I might sue - certified mail w/ return receipt. I said come in! posted:How I understood it was that you have to send that verification letter within 30 days of getting your letter from the CA that claims you owe them money. If you do it after 30 days then its a waste of time because the law considers your debt valid at that point. It's in the law itself. 15 USC 1692g § 809(c) quote:The failure of a consumer to dispute the validity of a debt quote:They will also still contact you by phone unless you specifically tell them by letter to stop. Yeah they might listen to you by phone, if you tell them not to contact you, but from what i've read online you should never assume a collector is going to be honest. Their entire business model is based on walking a fine line with the law and hoping the people they are trying to scare don't know their rights. A collector is required to cease collection activities when notified of a dispute. In fact, the FTC believes that so much as updating a negative credit report with something other than your dispute is a violation. seacat posted:If a CA (collections agency) OWNS your debt (ie Chase has written it off and wants nothing to do with you), they should send you what's called a dunning letter. It is usually very concise and says "You owe us X! Pay up, fucker!" and does not usually contain any info about where they got the account. It's pretty rare that they say much more than that. quote:As soon as you get this letter, send them a CMRR request for validation and save that green card. From the point they receive it, they have 30 days to provide full validation of the debt (basically a chain of custody of the debt, and how they came to the number they claim you owe, incl. any added fees). If they do not do so within 30 days they lose a bunch of their rights. They don't necessarily have to show a full chain of custody, but they do have to give a proper accounting of the debt. Responding in more than 30 days (or not responding at all) doesn't waive rights per se. If they don't respond in 30 days and you dispute negatives with the CA, it makes things more interesting. But, it doesn't change whether or not they can collect the debt. quote:-- I am a credit repair noob still so maybe TWiNKiE can provide some details on what to do next. They may also send you some random crappy looky xeroxes of various spreadsheets and poo poo. This is not a full validation. For more info see http://creditreportscrub.blogspot.com/2008/07/debt-validation-why-you-should-do-it.html .. Actually I would read his entire blog, it is very useful. I had one company send me photocopies of every account statement I had with a credit card company, and each page was initialed by someone. I've had another send me a letter that basically said "We called the OC, and they said you owe it.", and then came back with an "invoice" on their own letterhead that said "PAST DUE" when I told them that wasn't good enough. There's not a legal standard for what they have to send, as far as the FDCPA goes. That's part of why they might send you something meaningless, and that's why you can say "no, this isn't good enough". Your state may have specific laws about what they have to send. A good rule of thumb is if they've sent you photocopies of old statements that can explain why they say you owe what they're demanding, they've validated. quote:I've had a few old utility bills (100-300$ range) go unvalidated and disputed them with the CRAs successfully, citing that the CA failed to validate -- they are no longer listed as colletions items on my credit report which provided a big boost to my score (which is still in the toilet). quote:They will probably validate on a 4K debt, but who knows. quote:If the CA is calling you, perhaps they don't have your address, or perhaps they don't legally own the debt and are collecting on behalf of Chase. This does happen, and if the agency gets $$$ out of it they get a cut, the rest goes to the OC (original creditor). This is happening to me with a Wells Fargo account - some CA is harrassing me trying to get me to pay up, but they haven't sent me a dunning letter. I am going to probably hit them with a DV anyway, but I'm not sure what to do. Dear Scumbag, I don't know why you're calling me, but someone from your company says it's for an alleged debt to Wells Fargo. I'm not aware of an outstanding debt, and have received no statement or other information pursuant to my rights under 15 USC 1692g § 809(a) from your company regarding this matter. If you are attempting to collect a debt, you should be aware that I dispute its validity, and demand validation. It is generally inconvenient for me to discuss this matter on the telephone, and my employer does not allow me to receive personal calls while at work. All correspondance should be directed to the address you have on file (or a different address / PO Box, if you want). gently caress you, Seacat 15 USC 1692g § 809(a), in case you're interested: quote:§ 809. Validation of debts TWiNKiE fucked around with this message at 21:20 on Mar 21, 2011 |
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Mar 21, 2011 21:16
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ifuckedjesus posted:I had a fraudulent purchase on my credit card probably a year ago ($40 on some webcam site) called my credit card provider (Chase) they closed the card, had me complete some paperwork, I mailed it back and eventually my card was credited and they advised me that the case had been closed. Speaking from personal experience, Chase is extremely helpful in things like this, as long as you get routed to the right person. The situation itself sounds strange, though. On a fraudulent charge, they should have done a chargeback without needing to close your account. Did they open a new one?
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Mar 28, 2011 06:48
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Baruch Obamawitz posted:Just got the response to my request for validation of a gym membership debt End it with something like: "Based on the contract you have and the records I have, it appears your office made a mistake in attempting to collect upon a debt that has been paid in full. If you have any records to the contrary, please send them. If you have reported information regarding this alleged debt to any consumer reporting agency, please remove the tradeline immediately. Failure to do so may constitute a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act as well as the Fair Credit Reporting Act. This notice does constitute, and should not be construed as, any waive of rights I may have under these acts or any other legal remedies that may be available to me. " ifuckedjesus posted:Well I got a replacement card, they didn't close my account or anything they just got me one with a new number since my old one was compromised.
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Mar 28, 2011 22:54
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Doctor Claw posted:Anyway, my roommate is going to small claims to deal with the above situation this Friday, what should he know? He'll say he asked for documentation. They'll say he didn't. The magistrate or judge will believe them. quote:His main defense is that the debt collector's refused to verify his debt and will not show him the original contract, which is a violation of the FDCPA if I'm not mistaken. If that's his defense, he's completely and totally hosed, unless Cap One's lawyer gets hit by a bus on the way to court. quote:However, slight problem, my roommate didn't mail in his answer to the Admissions of Documents form they asked him to fill out in time - but the debt collector never wrote anything back telling him he was late/etc. Is he in the clear still or will being late on the Admissions of Documents hurt him/penalize him? Are we talking "late" as in "supposed to be there by the 25th, and probably arrived today" or "supposed to be there on the 1st, and not mailed yet"? The former is probably not a very big deal. The latter can mean all sorts of things, depending on your jurisdiction. Maybe it means the judge postpones the case. Maybe it means he can't enter anything as evidence. Maybe it means he will be charged with contempt. Drewski posted:I don't see anything from either AT&T or the new company on my credit report. It also says on my credit report that the estimated date of removal for these two $185 dollar items is May of this year, 05/2011. If I continue to choose not to pay this debt, do you think it would get deleted off my credit report? quote:Or does this new company have the right to follow up and repost it again to my credit report? I mean, I guess if it helps to pay and have it deleted I will. But I don't know how a tertiary company would scrub those details from other companies. I suppose I would have to contact each with a letter? Or is it better to just wait two months and see what happens? If you're 110% sure that this originally went in to collections in 05/2004, I'd wait it out. Once it's off of your reports, if any CA contacts you about the debt again, tell them to gently caress off and die. quote:I tried contacting the current debt collector to get their information and my own account information but the guy on the phone kept trying to tell me that the website was experiencing technical errors and I couldn't log in to see my status. Bullshit!!! Fucker wanted me to pay right there so he could get a bonus. I literally have not even seen a printout or a letter stating that I owe a debt, so as far as I am concerned I think I should just ask them to send me a certified letter explaining my debt. It's rare I get to say this, but: Stop calling. Don't write. Don't answer their calls. This will go away soon. quote:I contacted the Sequoia folks and resolved my debt getting a pay to delete. It was my fault and I had every intention of paying the original debtor but lost my job blah blah blah. So it's paid and will be gone. quote:I also intend to negotiate a pay-to-delete on the $569. I'm hoping that all of the above will jumpstart my credit score at least 27 points. If you can get First Credit to PFD (and ask them to quickly... like "within 14 days"), you should be in the high 600's / low 700's as soon as June, as long as your other accounts are in good shape.
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Mar 31, 2011 05:57
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Feces Starship posted:1.) A ~350 dollar medical debt that mysteriously got sent to collections before I was ever contacted by the hospital. I don't even understand why I owe the money because I had insurance and paid a co-pay. I've been getting calls from the debt collectors about twice weekly. They haven't sent me anything through the mail. I have no idea whether or not this has been reported to a credit agency because it's happened since I've used my annual free credit check. If they take your money, getting it off your reports (if it's even there in the first place) shouldn't be hard. quote:2.) A ~40 dollar debt for not turning back in a cable modem when I moved that has been sold to a credit collections agency. This has been sent to collections and the collections agency has issued a charge-off to one credit reporting agency. I'd normally say DV them and go back and forth, but for $48, you're going to spend more in time and postage than it's worth. Send each one a letter that basically says "I didn't know anything about this until I saw this on my credit report. If you agree to remove the items, I'll pay in full within 30 days of receiving your written response."
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Apr 4, 2011 22:29
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Feces Starship posted:Thank you Twinkie. You're a wonderful resource. To expand a bit on the hospital, if they take payment from you and the CA has reported, you can use your receipt from the hospital to send to the CRA's and claim that you never had an account with the CA. Polluxx Troy posted:Yesterday I get a response (sent 3/30) with my signature on an old bank contract. No validation of the amount, no bank statements, etc. quote:So a few questions: If your state's laws say they have to give you a full accounting, then yes, definitely. Either way, answer back with "I have what you sent, but it doesn't explain the amount you're demanding. Please send a full accounting of the balance." quote:2) Since they took more than 60 days to respond to respond with "validation", are they in violation of the FDCPA?]/quote]Only if they called or sent letters between the time they received the letter and when they answered. If they left you alone between those times, they complied with the FDCPA.
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Apr 5, 2011 17:32
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I said come in! posted:Thursday is day 30 since the CA received my letter asking for validation. I still haven't heard back from them so what happens after Thursday?
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Apr 5, 2011 19:52
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UrbanFarmer posted:In this case, if they validate to the CRA but not to you, is that a violation? If you're looking to sue, the best way to pull this off is to send your DV CMRR to the CA. The day you get the signed green card back, dispute with the CRA. The CRA tells the CA that you disputed, and starts the 30-day clock with the CRA. The catch being that the CA has to respond to you before they respond to the CRA. If they don't, they're violating, and lucky you, you've got a trail of certified mail to prove it.
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Apr 6, 2011 05:29
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Here's a good reference (taken from a post on CreditBoards):
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Apr 6, 2011 05:32
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I said come in! posted:Twinkie, this is what I want to send off tomorrow right; http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/Disputing_Collections/follow-up-dispute.html quote:Since you have failed to respond I assume that you have been unable to validate the debt and therefore, I consider this matter closed. You may consider this letter your official notification that I do not intend to correspond with you on this matter again unless you comply with my requests, the FDCPA and the FCRA. quote:I must remind you that any attempt to collect this debt without validating it, violates the FDCPA and that I am recording all phone calls and keeping all correspondence concerning this matter. Be advised that I will not hesitate to report violations of the law to my State Attorney General, the Federal Trade Commission and the national Better Business Bureau. You can get a little harder and say "if you don't validate by ________", I will report this matter to the Attorney General of <my state> and <CA's state>, as well as the Federal Trade Commission. Check and see if the CA has a record with their local BBB. If they do (and if it's not terrible), threaten to report to their local BBB. Otherwise, that's an empty threat. You can also check and see if they belong to the American Collectors Association and threaten to complain to them, if appropriate. 7thBatallion posted:I have officially stopped paying one of my bills. They raised my APR to 29.99 for no loving reason, slapped random rear end fees on my account, run it 300 over the limit, and now I'm facing an average monthly payment of 400 bucks, then 800, then 1600. I've called them, asked for help, pleaded for mercy, and received none. My honesty was only met with callousness and a refusal to do anything in my favor. quote:This is pretty stressful. I've started smoking again, despite quitting several months ago, and now with my bank taking fees out for my not having $1500 in the account, I'm considering closing out that checking account and going elsewhere. quote:All that said, what's my next move? Do I start by playing the waiting game? Is it too early to send off a DV letter? Consider calling them up, asking for a manager immediately, and telling him or her that you're considering bankruptcy. Sometimes that matters, since it means they're not likely to recover much, and don't have quite the same writeoff incentives that a chargeoff gives them.
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Apr 7, 2011 22:30
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