|
I had an old-as-gently caress bill from 1995 that some collection agency has begun calling me about. One of their reps told me if I didn't pay it off, it would go back on my credit report. Can they do this?
|
#
¿
Dec 12, 2009 04:08
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 21:34 |
|
|
CubsWoo posted:No. Tell the guy you know he's lying and to gently caress off or you'll come after him and his company with a suit. That should get them to stop. Can you provide me a legal reference for telling them to cease or I'll sue, for the state of California? Somehow "Stop calling or I'm calling my lawyer" is something they probably hear a hundred times a day, 99.9% of which is a bluff. But if I can say "You are in violation of California statute blah blah blah...", it'll probably strengthen my arguement. I've also asked them to cease calling me, but they have told me point blank they refuse to do that. I've read elsewhere that I need to put this request in writing. Unfortunately this same company is not providing me their address to do so. Is this legal?
|
|
#
¿
Dec 12, 2009 06:50
|
|
|
CubsWoo posted:Sign it, date it, and send it certified mail/return receipt to them. Or just cite the FDCPA and the CA Civil Code over the phone. 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c) says all such requests must be made in writing, and nothing about suing them if they continue to call my cell phone. California Civil Code § 1788.17 just says to obey federal law, as far as I can tell. So if I just verbally tell them over the phone to cease calling, they can ignore it until they receive it in writing? Also, I don't think I really have grounds to sue them over them calling me unless they call at odd hours or make threats.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 12, 2009 08:18
|
|
|
CubsWoo posted:I've been able to successfully sue (well, threaten to, they opened up their checkbook well before it reached trial) over calling my cell phone after being told not to in writing, and most judges have interpreted the FDCPA to consider cell numbers as home numbers for the purposes of cease communication letters. Most collectors will stop if you cite the FDCPA over the phone, but you're dealing with someone who's collecting on a debt nearly 9 years out of statute so this may not apply. Not to mention them saying the debt can go on your credit report is considered misrepresenting the status of a debt and a FDCPA violation as would them trying to re-attach it to your report. Send a validation letter alongside your cease communication and you're hitting them twice with the need to stop contacting you about the debt. Have you even received a dunning letter? I will give that a try, thank you. And I don't believe I have received a "dunning letter". What is this exactly?
|
|
#
¿
Dec 12, 2009 19:58
|
|
|
CubsWoo posted:Others might claim you were served and move to the suit/default judgment anyway (if this happens, you have an open and shut case to have the judgment vacated.) Just for the sake of argument, how would a company show that you were properly served? Also, is it worth it to dispute any and all negative information on my credit report on the off chance that some of it gets removed? If so what's the best way to go about doing this?
|
|
#
¿
Jan 13, 2010 02:17
|
|
|
Hillridge posted:Waaaaaaaay back from page 1, but I'd like to know if anyone has more info on this. Indeed. I would love to know more about this, too.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 23, 2010 01:40
|
|
|
I discovered that I have an old cell phone bill of around $80 that has gone to collections. Unfortunately I need to take care of it ASAP because I'm applying for a Sallie Mae loan and having an unpaid bill on the credit report will cause the loan app to be rejected. So I called the cell phone company, and got all the pertinent information. The lady I spoke with said that once they received the payment, it would automatically be removed from my credit report in about 30-45 days. I'd like to get something in writing from them in case it *doesn't* get removed. Should I send them a letter, fax or email, or what? How do I go about getting them to agree to do this pay-for-deletion. And if they say they don't do anything like that, then what?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 25, 2010 20:18
|
|
|
CubsWoo posted:Send them a letter asking for something in writing, signed by someone with the power to do so, that agrees to the PFD. You can then send that to the bureaus as proof the record should be deleted. Should I send it to Sprint, or the the collection agency that's currently holding the debt?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 26, 2010 08:18
|
|
|
CubsWoo posted:The collection agency. Once Sprint sells the debt, it's out of their control. I called the collection agency this afternoon. A company called Debt Recovery Solutions located in Westbury, NY. I told them I would be happy to send them the $75 in exchange for them removing it from the credit report. The person I spoke with said they couldn't do that. The only thing that they could do is mark the debt as paid-in-full. Will this do anything to improve my credit score, and will it cause the now paid-in-full debt to stay on my credit report for *another* seven years? Ugh I'm going to be so furious if I cannot qualify for a Sallie Mae loan because of an ancient cell phone bill. :|
|
|
#
¿
Apr 2, 2010 20:10
|
|
|
TheWevel posted:Never do anything over the phone, always do it Certified Mail with a Read Receipt. Did you pay them over the phone? No, I haven't paid them at all. I told them that if they weren't going to remove it from my credit report, I wasn't going to pay. The guy on the other end said, "Well, okay." And that was that.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 3, 2010 00:47
|
|
|
CubsWoo posted:The phone rep fed you a line of bullshit. If you call back, go up the chain until you find someone who will agree to it. Either way, send them an ultimatum letter ("Payment in full will be delivered to you upon agreement, signed by a member of your company with the power to do so, that your company will no longer report this debt and will not respond to a dispute of this debt from any and all credit bureaus - something like this.) Also mention in that letter that if they don't agree, you'll begin requesting verification documents and will dispute the debt anyway. I'd be shocked if they don't take the money and delete over the potential minefield of a pissed-off consumer and the FCRA/FDCPA minefield over $75. They may not even have enough to satisfy a validation challenge. I called back, got the same guy who gave me the same line. I asked to speak with his supervisor. I'm about 100% sure he just gave me to another phone rep who repeated what he said. When I asked to speak to his supervisor, I was told that I was speaking with the only sup in the office. Which I'm sure is bullshit. So now I'm going to write a letter. Do you have any copies of a letter like this available online, that you recommend?
|
|
#
¿
Apr 5, 2010 21:30
|
|
|
CubsWoo posted:
Awesome, thank you. So I'm going to assume I should send this registered mail? How long should I wait, and if I don't hear back from them or they respond negatively, what should my next step be?
|
|
#
¿
Apr 6, 2010 18:33
|
|
|
Tom Ripley posted:Can the contents of a safe deposit box be seized by creditors? Only if it contains a second, smaller safe deposit box. 
|
|
#
¿
Apr 13, 2010 05:03
|
|
|
CubsWoo posted:Send it certified mail with a return receipt (that little green slip you need to fill out) or if you want to spend a little more, FedEx/UPS it. Some method where it can be tracked and signed for. After that, since that letter is considered a validation letter, dispute with the bureaus ~5-10 days once you see they've received the letter. If they don't respond or respond negatively and continue collection without validating - violation. If they validate without proof to you - violation. If they validate, send proof, and still refuse to deal with you, then there's not much you can do, since at that point it's a legal debt, they have claim to it, and they don't have to listen to your demands at any point (though most do, since it means they get paid.) So I got my return receipt today from the letter I sent the collection agency. I'm going to wait until the end of next week before contacting the credit bureaus. Do you have a sample letter of what I should be sending the three credit bureaus?
|
|
#
¿
Apr 21, 2010 20:56
|
|
|
When I dispute my debt with the three credit agencies, what exactly happens? Do they remove the debt for a period of time while they investigate or does it stay on there until its proven (in)valid? Also is there any way I can regularly look up my credit score / report without having any negative effects on my score for a not insane amount of money?
|
|
#
¿
Apr 22, 2010 18:31
|
|
|
CubsWoo posted:There's a good number of form letters on http://www.creditinfocenter.com/forms/ - pick one and modify it to whatever you need. But skip the personal drama "THIS IS RUINING MY LIFE" poo poo because it doesn't make a difference to the bureau if your credit score means you can't get that new BMW or whatever. I'm guessing something like this is what I wanna modify and send. Should I include photocopies of the return receipts I sent to the collection agency?
|
|
#
¿
Apr 29, 2010 20:29
|
|
|
Pagan posted:Ha! No, because they broke the law. They are prohibited from threatening YOU with legal action, unless they intend to do so. That means their lawyer or law firm can say "we're gonna sue," but if some phone rep says it, that's a violation. If he sends out such a letter, how does one then go about suing the collection agency? Do you file charges in a local small claims court or what?
|
|
#
¿
May 3, 2010 19:55
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 21:34 |
|
|
I dunno if I'd use your service, CubsWoo, but I'd definitely take a look at what you offer. Specifically, if I sent you a copy of my credit report and got back info on the best way to increase the score. Some of the rules surrounding FICO seem a bit confusing and contradictory, so having someone who knows them and can give me a road map would be helpful.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 9, 2010 19:56
|
|