Thread: VALIDATION??? Oh Please....

Okay, sent DV CMRRR to CA regarding collection account, received green card on 7/9/2004

Today, I received a letter stating.

Our office has received an inquiry in response to your consumer dispute to Experian, TransUnion, or Equifax credit reporting agency. (UH, DUH, I sent them a DV CMRRR, and after getting green card back, I disputed with CRA)

After verifying this information provided by the credit grantor, this debt appears to be yours. We will continue to report this unpaid-collection account for the full statutory period allowed by law. However, if you believe that this debt is not yours it is important that you contact us immediately.

Please remit the full balance due or contact us to arrange for immediate payment. We provide several immediate payment methods that do no require you to come to our office. You can send check.... BLAH BLAH BLAH, mini miranda.

PLEASE TELL ME THAT THIS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE VALIDATION.

Do I send an additional DV? C&D. I'm not sending WhyChats Hippa letter yet, because I'm not sure that this debt is mine.

Mail and ITS? Pull Equifax and PG to see if they report it to the CRA, and get a violation because they did not "Validate" with me???

Please advise.

This is my personal opinion, I would contact them.

Saying

"At your request, I am contacting you to advise you that I have previously exercised my debt validation rights under Federal Law, and your company as of yet has not obtained and mailed the required documentation for this account, therefore any collection activity until that validation has been obtained and mailed by your company is illegal under Federal Law, including your company's communication dated xx/xx/xxxx, and any verification of this alleged account to any of the credit reporting agencies, and each said violations are subject to civil damages of up to $1,000.00.

Enclosed please find a copy of the original letter, and the green card proving that your offices received said letter at xx:xx AM/PM on xx/xx/xxxx."

Then just wait for the UPDATE confirmations to come in to see what the grand total is... :)

Thank you Jam...

Also, I found out that the Cap1 accounts are past statute for collection. Wondering what kind of leverage I should try to get them removed.

This letter on its own is a violation.

Chances are they're relying on ACA's 'article' to have the mistaken belief that they don't have to obtain, and mail validation.

Anything asking for a payment is futher collection activity.

So I won't call them. I'll mail out a CMRRR letter to them with a copy of this letter, (further collection), and see if they update with the bureaus, (another violation) and I'll enclose a copy of my first letter with a copy of the green card, signed, and remind them that further collection activity is another violation.

Does that sound right? Or should I just send them an ITS letter, highlighting the first letter and CMRRR along with their new letter, which states "further collection".

Sue in Small Claims, or let them rack up the violations???

I wouldn't ITS, yet... :)

I would just put them on notice, chances are they've never had anyone (or many) consumers stand up to them, especially since this sounds like a small local CA (there are many payment options that don't even require you to come to our office -- that usually indicates that they're a small local co, :))

Three separate corp offices in California. LA, Tracy, CA, and somewhere else. Their website is impressive, but so is mine, and I'm a one-person operation...

I was trying to find the section about "continued collection" to site for documentation. Specifically for my ITS letter down the road. Do you have the section handy???

Section 809(b) ;)

What is the status of LizardKing???

I'm trying to fill out my small claims forms, just for practice, and the CA continued collection as you can read from above. When it asks for venue, do I just put other, and that the "alleged account" occured in Contra Costa County? Or do I sue them in their county?

Ideas on venue....

I think we make a mistake when we continue to allow them a chance to providde validation.

You made one request. They failed miserably - case closed. YOU now are entitled to the assumption that the debt is erroneous.

I would treat the whole thing in "PAST" tense, without actually saying so.

Include a copy of FTC v. PCM and give em 10 days to delete or be sued.

:)