Okay so I sent MCM a DV for an account they have. I did not get a letter, but I moved so I'm sure it was sent somewhere (or maybe not) but never made it to me. I pulled my credit and noticed MCM was reporting this account so I decided, after reading a ton on this forum, to DV them and see what happened.... now I know. Here's the response I got: "The purpose of this letter is to advise you that you did not provide sufficient information to investigate your dispute of the credit reporting of your above referenced account pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. In order to investigate your dispute, we need detailed information to identify the basis of your dispute, including a complete explanation of your dispute. Further, we need a copy of any documentation you may have to support your disupute. In the interim, we have requested that the three major credit bureaus change the status of this account to "Disputed" Examples of documentation we need include the following: 1. Paid in full or account settled: a) a copy of the front and back of payment instrument witha copy of settlement offer or statement shoing balance and account number; b) a copy of paid in full or settlement in full letter showing account number 2. Fraud or Identity Theft: a) a copy of a police report; b) Federal Trade Commission Fraud Alert that has been filled out (which can be obtained at (blah blah blah) 3. Balance discrepancy: a) copy of contract that states rates for time frame of disputed service; b) a copy of bills or statements that show amounts owed or rates; c) a more detailed explanation of disputed charges." then the closing. My question is, first of all, I did not dispute and it stated that it was not a dispute in my dv, so I guess first what should I do next? Second, do I have to give them this stuff? It seems crazy that I would have to provide them anything to disprove anything since they are the one asking me for $$$. Any guidance is totally appreciated! I have been staying on this and just want to do the right thing next so I don't end up in a mess. This is a small debt (around $300) so it's not a huge deal but still one I want to get rid of. Thanks in advance!!! dbaby91
Screw MCM. They're among the worst of a very sorry lot to begin with. You don't have to provide them with a shred of documentation--the onus is on THEM to prove that you owe them.
Thanks...and I agree....they really do suck! I know it's not right for me to provide anything but what I am wondering is do I need to respond. I mean the bottom line is that I want this off of my credit so obviously my DV did not do what I hoped because now they have responded like this and now I feel like if I don't respond it won't go away or be resolved and I am afraid that if I just go off the cuff and write something up I could regret it later.... looking for some guidance for a next step. Thanks! dbaby91
What did you send them? If you sent them "I dispute this debt and request validation pursuant to the FDCPA..." then it's not validated until they send you validation pursuant to the FDCPA. In reality, it doesn't have to be much, but it is definitely not a laundry list of personal and confidential information that YOU need to send THEM. edit: you might send them another letter that IS a dispute and request for validation so it's clear to everyone that you don't know who the heck they are and why they are asking you for money. Next step? Dispute this charge with all the CRAs that are reporting it and see what happens. They might send you the required information (e.g. you rights under the FDCPA, the requested validation) in which case, it's back to you to do something. They might not do anything, in which case the CRA will stop reporting it. Or (and this is the best case) They might continue collection activity giving you a cause of action to see them in court to be paid by them!
Here is basic verbage regarding the dispute portion: "Be advised that this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested. This is NOT a request for â??verificationâ? or proof of my mailing address, but a request for VALIDATION made pursuant to the above named Title and Section. I respectfully request that your offices provide me with competent evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you. " The rest was just examples of verification, etc... Although interestingly I got a letter from another creditor about this account and I DV'd them right away and they said they were sending it back to MCM so maybe this is not one that has gotten a DV letter. I will send the same DV letter again certified mail tomorrow unless someone say something different. Maybe they never got the original. dbaby91
That should be sufficient. So, now, make sure that you've disputed the trade line(s) with the CRAs. MCM should delete it. If they confirm it: Violation If they try to collect: Violation Just keep track of everything so you'll have the ammo for a law suit. Good luck.
Yes, garbage That is more garbage. The reason is that they are supposed to already know what their responsibilities are under the FDCPA. If they don't know it that is tough. Never bother to educate the other fellow. All you want to do is find out how smart they are. Nothing more. That is all you really had to say. More useless nonsense. All you need to say is that you dispute the debt and demand that they validate the same. That's it. Again, don't try to educate the other fellow. He don't want to know how smart you are and your only task is to find out how smart he is. So just the basics and nothing more than that.
If a simple demand for validation don't work then you may need to give them the old Blowtorch treatment. LOL
Ditto. I didn't say this since the letter had already been sent, but a validation letter that is longer than 4 lines is too long. All you need is the following (and 3 & 4 are optional). 1) I dispute this debt 2) I demand (or request) validation pursuant to the FDCPA 3) It is inconvenient for me to take telephone calls about this account at any time and at any number. 4) Please communicate about this account in writing by mail to <your address>.
While we're on the subject of what constitutes a "proper" DV request, I'll echo what most of the other posters have said by stating that keeping your letter terse and to the point works very well from my experience. I'm sure this goes without saying, but part of why you send a DV letter in the first place, regardless of whether you really owe the debt or not, is to convince the collections agency or attorney that you know your stuff, intend to "keep them honest," and won't be a roll over debtor. This image becomes quickly unglued when you send a letter patterned after one of the many erroneous and petulent-sounding examples that are available on the Internet. The key is to be firm but polite and always professional.
Seems to me like you really don't understand the purpose of sending a debt validation letter at all. Again, Rule #1 is never attempt to educate the other fellow about anything. Rule #2 is if you don't understand that you should never attempt to educate the other fellow then read Rule #1 until you do understand that. (LOL). In order to understand the purpose of a debt validation letter you need to understand the standard operating procedure of the young man who always went out on Saturday night and sewed his wild oats and then went to church every Sunday to pray for a crop failure. (LOL) To bring that down to easier to understand terms, sending your debt validation letter should be considered as sowing your wild oats and yes, you need to pray for a crop failure because what you want is for them to fail to validate the debt which they usually do. So if you want them to fail to validate then why on earth would you want to teach them that "you know your stuff"? That's the last thing you want.
Is that so? The way I understand it, debt validation letters are different things to different people. It could be a way of making the CA perform their due diligence in ensuring they're attempting to collect from the right person. It could be a way of keeping the CA honest and making them prove to you that the alleged debt they're trying to collect is indeed valid. It could be little more than a stall tactic. Or, hazarding a guess as to what you're implying, it's a means to get the CA to slip up and put $1,000 in your pocket plus attorneys fees for each boo boo they make while validation is pending. That's my understanding of what a DV letter is, but if I'm in error I welcome any corrections in the interest of educating myself. I s'pose that's true if your intention is to make a fool out of your adversary and get them to slip up so you can exploit their mistakes. In my particular case, my intention isn't to cash in on FDCPA lawsuits. My intention is to get the CAs to leave me the Hell alone. One thing I've learned in life is that nine times out of ten, when you show a bully that you're not going to be an easy target and that they've underestimated you, they back down. This is not always the case, but it's more the rule than the exception.
