Update: All-State Credit Collections

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by greeneyez, Jul 12, 2016.

  1. greeneyez

    greeneyez Well-Known Member

    Here's the low-down on the update. I seem to be striking out.

    I disputed the debt from All-State Credit Bureau with the 2 CRAs that it was reported on: Equifax and Experian. Experian has replied to me, and the bad mark remains. Equifax has not responded, and their 30 days will be up in less than a week.

    I also sent a validation letter to the CA. They replied with information that conflicted with their original to me.

    Can I send another to Experian that includes the conflicting CA info., and have them re-investigate?

    Also, would you recommend sending out the "you haven't responded in 30 days" letter two business days before the actual 30 to Exquifax, to ensure they get it on exactly the 31st day?
     
  2. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    Questions 1) What is the rough amount that they're saying the debt is (and how much did their validation say it is)? Both are important to consider to decide how aggressive to be back to them.

    2) What did they actually provide for "validation"? Just another letter, some statements, or something else? What date did they mail the "validation" response.

    3) How old is the debt? Fairly fresh or stale, or somewhere in between? Again, this determines how likely they are to return fire if you get too aggressive. :)

    4) What dates did the letter to the CA; and the letter to EQ get signed for? (This is important because if the CA letter was received before the EQ letter, AND the "validation" wasn't mailed before they verified with EQ, it's continued collection activity.)

    Depending on the answers above, here's what I would do.

    1) Send a letter to the CA which says that (a) their validation is not conclusive validation and; (b) that their attempt at validation conclusively shows that they are willfully and knowingly misrepresenting the amount, character and legal status of the debt, in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and; (c) (if they received the demand for validation before EQ received their dispute, and they responded to EQ before they obtained and mailed the validation to you) they violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for continued collection activity on an non-validated debt.

    After I know that they received THAT letter, I would send another dispute to EQ; there is a chance that EQ will stamp it frivolous, but that's a sign that you just need to up the aggression against them as well... :)
     
  3. greeneyez

    greeneyez Well-Known Member

    2) What did they actually provide for "validation"? Just another letter, some statements, or something else? What date did they mail the "validation" response.
    They sent me a letter including a lease that I signed. It did not have the manager's sig. on it. They also sent me two of the same copies of a lease reneral that I signed. The dates that I signed on the lease do not correspond with the dates they say I owe for the months of may and June. They also did not include all of the original creditors' correspondence to me, because I know they mailed me a "you must be out by April 30" letter. Originally, they just sent me an itemized list and cost of the things they say I owe ...for example: "Blinds Broke: 90.00"

    3) How old is the debt? Fairly fresh or stale, or somewhere in between? Again, this determines how likely they are to return fire if you get too aggressive. :)
    The debt shows as opened on 10/1/2013
    4) What dates did the letter to the CA; and the letter to EQ get signed for? (This is important because if the CA letter was received before the EQ letter, AND the "validation" wasn't mailed before they verified with EQ, it's continued collection activity.)
    Debt Validation letter to CA arrived to them on June 16, 2016
    The CRA Dispute to Experian arrived June 23rd, 2016
    The CRA Dispute to Equifax arrived June 17, 2016
    The debt they claim I owe is 2,700.
     
  4. JoshuaHeckathorn

    JoshuaHeckathorn Administrator

    So it looks as though they responded to EQ before they obtained and mailed their validation to you? I would say that jam's suggestion for how to respond is right on.

    Remind me- is this debt for the apartment complex that told to to be out by 4/30 and then charged you 60 days of rent for May and June because they said you didn't give proper notice? I seem to recall that scenario from an earlier thread.
     
  5. greeneyez

    greeneyez Well-Known Member

    ^Yes, same apt. complex scenario.

    So, with the validation letter arriving one day BEFORE the Equifax AND experian letter, how do I prove they responded to the bureaus before me or after me?
     
  6. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    Greeneyez:

    You don't have to prove, they need to prove that the timeline that you outlined above, and outline in the suit is wrong. :)

    So, they would have to provide the record that they sent the validation from their offices before they replied to the CRAs...

    So, in your suit, you would as best as you can, lay out the chronology of the collection efforts.

    Something similar to this; repeat after me, this is not intended to provide legal advice.

    On xx/xx/xxxx date, DSDA Collections sent a dunning notice to the plaintiff.

    Plaintiff responded on xx/xx/xxxx by CMRRR a letter demanding validation of the alleged debt which said.

    ""

    On xx/xx/xxxx, plaintiff sent by CMRRR to CRA, a letter demanding verification of the tradeline submitted by DSDA Collections, said letter was received by CRA at xx:xx on xx/xx/xxxx.

    On xx/xx/xxxx, plaintiff sent by CMRRR to CRA, a letter demanding verification of the tradeline submitted by DSDA Collections, said letter was received by CRA at xx:xx on xx/xx/xxxx.

    On xx/xx/xxxx, defendant verified the account to CRA.

    On xx/xx/xxxx, defendant verified the account to CRA.

    On xx/xx/xxxx, defendant sent to the plaintiff partial validation of the account, which failed to address the controversy of the dispute, that defendant is attempting to collect on money that was accrued following the move-out day set by the defendant's client.

    Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, it is illegal to resume collection activity following the receipt of the request for validation of the debt, and before they have obtained and mailed the validation to the consumer. Since in this case, they specifically knew the specific controversy involved, they additionally held a burden to ensure that the validation that they were providing in this matter, specifically addressed the dispute.
     
  7. greeneyez

    greeneyez Well-Known Member

    Thanks, Jam. In regards to this suit...who do you send it to?
     
  8. greeneyez

    greeneyez Well-Known Member

    As in, do I report the violations to both first, then file with the state? or file federally?
     
  9. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    Hopefully, you wouldn't need to actually file. The first step that I use is sending the suit with the letter telling them my intentions, and give them a certain date to respond by to try to work out an amicable solution.

    I would file with the local division of the United States District Court. It's a federal law, theoretically, a state court could handle it, but more than likely they have no idea the nuances of the federal consumer protection laws. Depending on your income you may be able to waive the filing fees.
     
  10. greeneyez

    greeneyez Well-Known Member

    New Update: I finally have a day off, so I will be working on my credit stuff today. My husband just called, and stated that the collections agency phones him. First, they pretended to be DTE (our utility company).

    Then they asked if they could talk to him about the apt. complex they are claiming I owe on. He told them if they want to talk to me, to send their correspondence via mail to our address. The woman then stated they never received any mail from me. My husband laughed and told them they had, and again, to send their correspondence via mail, and then hung up.

    Isn't this illegal?
     
  11. greeneyez

    greeneyez Well-Known Member

    ^Also should I mention this in my next letter?
     
  12. JoshuaHeckathorn

    JoshuaHeckathorn Administrator

    I believe the FDCPA allows CA's to talk to your spouse too. There are state-level laws which may require that you give consent first though. They most certainly can't lie about who they are or pretend to be someone else though...that's shady.
     
  13. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    Right, but the continued collection activity would be a violation (if you got back to them to say their validation wasn't valid), as would be the false and misleading representation that they never heard from you...

    And if there was any provision in the letter saying write only, it would be an inconvenient means of communications violation. ;)
     
  14. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    Oh, and representing that they were someone else, instead of using their true legal business name would be a violation.
     
  15. greeneyez

    greeneyez Well-Known Member

    So I thought I would post a long overdue update, and also ask a question on how to proceed. The attorney acting as a debt collector sued me. I hired a lawyer, and we settled. The results of the settlement was the case was listed as "dismissed," and is not listed anywhere with any credit bureaus. We agree on the settlement amt. of 1700, at 100/month increments. This settled amount was also considered as "paid in full." I the proceeded to pay the full amount in two sums so I could get this matter over with. I just received a letter today, that the attorney repping the apt. complex received my funds, and that the full payment was remitted, and she is closing her file.

    So, my question is this: Regarding the first CA (All Sate)--What is the best course of action for getting them to delete their listing that hit all three bureaus? Do I sent a copy of the paperwork of the conditional dismissal? The amount that they listed on my CRs is not the amount that I paid in full.

    Or, do I re-dispute with the CRAs. It as been way, way over thirty days since they "investigated" and determined that the listings were valid.

    Thanks again for all of your support!!!
    -
     
  16. greeneyez

    greeneyez Well-Known Member

    Also, should I send the dismissal paperwork from the court? Or simply the letter from the attny saying it's been paid?
     
  17. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    1. Does the settlement agreement have a confidentiality clause in it?

    If it does, you can't mention it to anyone for any reason.

    2. I prefer to never provide documentation, for one reason, instead of deletion, the CRA could revise the tradeline based on the documentation.

    3. Was All State a party to the suit? If not, then nothing in the documentation applies to All State.

    Just because it's the same account, doesn't mean that they are bound to report based on a third parties agreements.

    4. I always say to redispute, you don't know if the CRA will accept the dispute, or if the data furnisher will verify it.
     
  18. greeneyez

    greeneyez Well-Known Member

    So ALL State is not listed in the suit. Also, the case dismissal is not confidential. The amount that all state listed is much more than what I paid to settle the matter. However, officially on paper it shows as dismissed.
     
  19. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    You wouldn't look on the court papers, but the documents that contain the settlement agreement to see if there is a confidentiality clause.

    Even if the court records are public, and can't be confidential, unless sealed, if the settlement terms in the agreement predicate confidentiality, you can't disclose the settlement.

    If All State wasn't a party, the settlement has no bearing on their reporting. I would just despute All State and see what happens, but providing the proof could stab yourself in the back.
     
  20. greeneyez

    greeneyez Well-Known Member

    On the settlement terms, there was no confidentiality agreement/statement. Also, I tried calling All State from a different number, and the line just keeps ringing and ringing. I verified business hours, etc. And I was within bounds. I did 2 calls total.
     

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