Hi All, I've been attempting to clear up some small medical debt for the past year after being injured in 2008 with no health insurance. In most cases, I know that I incurred the debt and take full responsibility for my inability to pay. Such is true with one case. I offered the CA a settlement, in full, for a deletion of the account on my credit report(s). I included in the letter that I do not acknowledge the debt, but, in the spirit of compromise, would be willing to pay the 290$ that was reported in order to put all potential future headaches behind me. I did all this CMRRR. That was last month. I received a notice today from a completely different CA referring to the "original creditor" as the initial third-party collection agency I sent the first PFD letter to. This CA claims I owe 2,400$! I assume the first CA sold the debt to this company. The tradeline on my credit report still states I owe 290$ and has for the last two years. So, my question is this: if I validate the debt with this new CA, and they don't respond with the original contract, do I have a suit if they somehow "verify" this debt through the CRAs and neglect correspondence to me? Moreover, with this new CA attempting to collect an outrageous amount, in respect to what I actually owe, do I have a legitimate violation of the FDCPA that would stand up in court? I am prepared to take this thing all the way if need be, I just need some pragmatic guidance from the good people on this board. Best Regards, J
Seems to me that the new debt collector is adding fees not authorized in the original contract. If so that is illegal in and of itself Seems to me that you would have grounds to sue Again, yes, I think so. So what do you mean by take this thing all the way. Are you willing to take them to federal court?
Did you ever receive a response from the first CA? Just curious... Anyway, I would definitely DV the new CA as well and see what kind of information they respond with. Then you'll be in a better position to determine what kind of grounds you have to take legal action. They may not have to actually provide the original contract to meet the requirements of the FDCPA. That's up for debate, and many of the senior members here have different opinions on that. Anyone care to chime in? I'm not sure how they arrived at the $2,400, but I would ask for a detailed explanation of all the interest/fees charged as well. It can be quite amazing how they add up so fast.
I am under the impression that my situation likely wouldn't go past small claims court. But at this point, sure, whatever it takes.
The first CA never responded Josh. Turns out the debt this second agent is attempting to collect on is an old CC debt that fell off my report several years ago (Currently about 3-4 years past the SOL). An entirely separate debt from the 290$ medical collection I initially inquired about. I apologize as I initially missed the small space in the correspondence that refers to a)CA #1 purchasing the CC debt from the OC, and b)CA #2 collecting on the account for CA #1. Does this typically happen? That is, one CA collecting for another and regarding CA #1 as the "original creditor"? Junk Debt and all of its glory is a tortuous process for a neophyte such as myself. So, I guess I awoke some sort of sleeping giant with my request for "compromise" to the first CA? Thanks good people for the responses. I will assume my only option left is to DV everybody and dispute with CRA's. I will likely be filing suit very soon, then, after I get no response and the CA continues to report the debt. Hopefully, this new CA doesn't report their antiquated debt, or I will have to spend more of my valuable free time doing the same with them. Best Regards
I think you're missing the question... Are you willing to sue them in Federal court? If you're pursuing a suit based on FDCPA and related violations, you're more likely to get a judge who'll hear the FDCPA case and not the "do you owe the money" case that is more common in the lower courts (e.g. small claims court). A Federal law suit is pretty expensive for you and even more expensive for them, but you're more likely to come out ahead in Federal court than in small-claims court. That said, I filed my FDCPA suit in small claims and they settled in the first hearing. You pay your money and you take your chances.
Sorry Bill, see the above post on my mistake in misreading the correspondence they sent. Turns out someone purchased a very old debt of mine. The mysterious 2k did not generate from some sort of skewed fee scale which I, too, initially though it did.
Perhaps I did miss the question. I would venture that a Federal lawsuit is only expensive to me if I lose, since winning the suit would not only pay me for each violation, but recoup all legal expenses as well, correct? That being said, I would not sue in Federal Court unless I truly believed I could win and, more importantly, if my attorney thought the same. The great thing about these CA's though, they seem to make it so easy for us to win.
