I am clueless here and need some guidance if anyone can assist. I had a checking account in my name and stupidly added my boyfriends name to the account (we are no longer together-he is incarcerated) anyway....at one point this account was negative approx. $900- now I have a letter from a company Millennium Credit Consultants (is this a collection agency?) indicating Creditor: TCF Bank that I now owe $2800! This was the first I had known of this letter-my significant other also had a key to the mailbox! Letter says: You have not responded to previous demand for payment on the above account. Avoidance is not the solution to this problem. This office is interested in resolving this matter w/out addt'l collection activity. We would like to resolve this matter on a friendly basis. Please remit the balance due immediately so we may close this matter. If full payment is not possible, contcat one of our rep. today so we can arrange a reseaonable payment plan, or suggest other payment alternatives. Goes on to say this is a communications from a debt collector. The letter is written for debt collection purposes only. Any info obtained will be used soley for that purpose. So I ignorantly called and they are really mean people! I said I wasn't sure but I could maybe pay $50 a month. He said to call him Monday and set this up, he wanted me to commit to give them my tax return in February. I just need to know what to do at this point. He told me that because this other party is in jail I am th eone who will end up paying this whole amount back??? Why?? Isn't he obligated to 1/2 of it? At any rate, this is my credit rating that is effected, so I myself have to do something. Do I call them again, does anyone know someone I can call for help with this besides this company? Thanks all.
You got some homework ahead of you.... Read up on the FDCPA. It's long and it's boring, but it outlines your rights and their behavior. They are taking advantage of the fact that you are scared and you don't know what they can and cannot do. Change that around to your advantage quickly! If you don't want to do that, then get a lawyer or get ready to be taken advantage of (big time!) Next time they call, tell them you are getting legal advice on this matter and that you cannot talk to them. Tell them that you cannot make any arrangements or payments until you understand your rights. Then hang up. Wait until you are fully prepared to deal with them over the phone before you talk to them. You might also have a talk with your S.O. about throwing away your mail. That might have cost you some legal standing in recovering some damages. (ain't love grand...and expensive?) Lastly, stop hanging around people who go to jail. You deserve better.
Send them a request for validation pursuant to the FDCPA. Reduce it to writing. Seems as though you would have some defenses should they elect to sue you.
Preview Reply to letter-please assist -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, so now I have sent the certified letter suggested and have received the following response: "In response to your dispute letter, we have completed an investigation and have verified that the balance of $xxxxx on the above referenced account is still due. The 30-day valifation period for this has expired so we are under no obligation by law to provide any additiional information to you." What do I do next, can I do anything? I appreciate your help.
Just so we're clear, who exactly did you send the letter to? It looks and sounds like you sent that directly to the collection agency.
I did send it to the Collection Agency, I guess I wasn't suppose to do that? Oh geez. Can I send again to the bank this time? I am so thankful for the help.
So those losers claim to have done an investigation? Can you cut and paste the letter you sent to them, editing out the personal information? I'm wondering if you sent the correct letter. If you sent a request for validation, then they have to send you something proving that you owe the money that they claim you owe, i.e. an original signed contract. Them claiming to have done an internal "investigation" is not in compliance with the law.
Here is copy of what I sent: Certified Mail # Re: Master # I dispute your claims in their entirety and request validation pursuant to the FDCPA. Be advised that I am not requesting a â??verificationâ? that you have my mailing address; I am requesting a validation, that is, competent evidence that I have some contractual obligation to pay you. Also, please provide the original creditorâ??s name, address, and date of last activity. Also be aware that itâ??s inconvenient for me to receive phone calls regarding this. Communicate with me only via US Mail. If your offices fail to respond to this validation request within 30 days from the date of your receipt, all references to this account must be deleted and completely removed from my credit file and a copy of such deletion request shall be sent to me immediately. Respectfully yours
I'll bet they got a laugh out of that one. No place in FDCPA is there any such language as that. On the other hand they probably see so many of these dumb validation letters scarfed up off of some web site or other they just ignore it and move on.
I'll bet they got a laugh out of that one. No place in FDCPA is there any such language as that. On the other hand they probably see so many of these dumb validation letters scarfed up off of some web site or other they just ignore it and move on.
No, if the first one didn't get the desired results then what would make us think a second one would do any better? I'd say don't call them ever, don't pay them any money, try to answer the phone when they call and ask them my 18 questions every time they call and each time they call end the call by telling them you dispute the debt and every portion of it and demand they validate the debt. Keep track of all the calls, date, time and all the contact information you get as a result of the 18 questions and get ready to file a federal lawsuit on them in federal court. They will most likely just keep racking up the violations. What they are either forgetting or hoping you don't know is the fact that all the law gives them is the right to assume that the debt is valid and the right to continue whatever collection activities they choose but it does not give them any relief from the fact that they still have to validate the debt. They can get away with their little game until they decide to sell the debt or start legal action. They can't sell to another debt collector and they can't start legal action without violating. If they do start legal action then you get to start all over again by demanding validation from the lawyer and if he don't do it right then is when you would have more than sufficient grounds to sue the lawyer and the 3rd party debt collector. You need some further information as well such as when you made your last payment to the bank and call the bank to see if you can make payments directly to the bank and when they tell you they already sent the debt to a debt collector ask them if they sold the debt to the debt collector or not. That way you will know whether or not you have a false and fictitious plaintiff when and if they sue you for the debt..
Wow, this one is a mess......live and learn! But, your best bet is to negoatiate a lower amount for settlement. You should send a 2nd validation request, specifying a request for accounting of the $2,800.00 amount due. Since this is a bank overdraft, the bank will be able to provide sufficient "validation evidence" with your bank statements (for the original amount of overdraft). Depending upon how long the account stayed negative, with fees at $25 - $30 a day running up, it may add up to the $2800. So far, (per your information), I do not see any major violations committed by the collection agency. The sad part is you accepted responsibility for this possible problem when you added your ex to your checking account, and most likey to the P.O. box address. You are correct that they should also be going after your ex for this amount, but let's be real. If they know he's in jail, who are they going to go after? You, of course! As I see it, you have two harsh options: 1) Try to negotiate a lower amount to pay this off, and figure out an aggressive payment plan you can live with. Or, try to see where you can borrow money to pay this, or, 2) Ignore this totally, and go "underground" until the Statute of Limitations expires for collection. But, send another Debt Validation request for an accounting of the amount stated you owe, and ask for the paticulars of the overdraft amount(s). This will buy you time at least.
The only problem with NSF checks is that in some states it's a criminal offense, and the Statute of Limitations may be longer. Granted, that won't affect a CA's ability to collect, but the poster could face more serious issues. I'd do as Bizwiz suggests and ask for a full accounting of the amount. In the meantime, get another bank account in a different bank (if you can). Scrape together what you can to try to settle this. It's a hard lesson you've learned here, and hopefully you'll come out a better person.
You're absolutely correct about the criminal side of this issue, which adds to the probability of legal collection measures being taken. Her defense would have to be the copies of the checks with the ex's signature as the overdraft causes. (Hence the request for accounting). I think she could escape the criminal aspect, (as she did not commit with "intent", the joint account holder did), but she maintains responsibility for the debt, being a joint account holder.
You're correct that she probably could escape prosecution, but as an account holder she could still be an "accessory." Although she would probably end up not being charged, it does mean there are more aspects here to consider than the normal CA coming after someone. It's just that the threats they may make about jail time may hold a LITTLE more water than normal, because they could always say they meant to turn it over to the DA. Whether or not the DA presses charges is another issue.
Sorry this happened to you! I apologize that this happened to you. It happened to me last year with an ex but I caught it before it made it to a collections agency. It was like $900 and even if its a joint account you can be held responsible for the entire debt if you want to clear your credit report. My ex did not care about his so when I got the money I paid it even though it put me in the poor house. I did however get him to sign a letter stating he would pay me back in a moment of his weakness and took him to court so now his butt has to pay!
