Received yet another alert from Transunion today telling me that Asset has indicated that I have a derogatory grid-d account (in fact it is listed twice) and is listed as "new inquiry" on Exp and Equi.. All they sent me when I requested validation was a computer printout of what they claim I owe. They reported to CRA AFTER I dv'd them, is this a violation? I would like to send the below follow up letter - any and all opinions and suggestions are appreciated ~ (Name of person at bottom of letter sent to me) Asset Acceptance LLC PO Box 2036 Warren, MI 48090-2036 Re: ASSET ACCEPTANCE LLC ACCOUNT NUMBER: XXXXXXX Dear (Name of person who sent letter); This letter is being sent to you as a follow up on my previous validation request sent to your offices on X/XX/07. Your offices have responded by sending me a computer generated invoice; this does not meet the Federal Trade Commissions guidelines of what constitutes proper debt validation. You are now in direct violation of the FDCPA and FCRA as well as N.J.S.A 2A Article 14-1. I once again respectfully request that your offices provide me with competent evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you. At this time I will also inform you I am aware that your offices have reported invalidated information to the 3 major Credit Bureaus; Equifax, Experian and TransUnion; and that this action constitutes fraud under both Federal and State Laws. This action is a also direct violation of FDCPA section 1692(g). Therefore I formally request these reportings be removed immediately. I have contacted the NJ State Attorney Generalâ??s office and notified them of your violations and I will not hesitate in continuing to use all available resources to me to hold your office accountable for these actions. I have enclosed another copy of my validation request, as amended and set forth that you now have 15 days to respond before further action is taken on my part. Please note the changes made within the validation request itself and answer all questions accordingly, along with providing the information that I have requested. CREDITOR/DEBT COLLECTOR DECLARATION Please provide all of the following information and submit the appropriate forms and paperwork within 15 days from the date of your receipt of this request for validation. Name and Address of Alleged Creditor:__________________________________________________________ Name on File of Alleged Debtor: _______________________________________________________________ Alleged Account #: ________________________________________________________________________ Address on File for Alleged Debtor: ____________________________________________________________ Amount of alleged debt: _____________________________________________________________________ Date that this alleged debt became payable: _____________________________________________________ Date of original charge off or delinquency:________________________________________________________ Was this debt assigned to debt collector or purchased? ____________________________________________ Amount paid if debt was purchased: ___________________________________________________________ Commission for debt collector if collection efforts are successful: ____________________________________ Please attach a copy of the agreement with your client that grants Asset Acceptance LLC the authority to collect this alleged debt. Please attach a copy of any signed agreement debtor has made with debt collector, or other verifiable proof that debtor has a contractual obligation to pay debt collector. Please attach a copy of any agreement that bears the signature of debtor, wherein he/she agreed to pay creditor. Please attach copies of all statements while this account was open. Have any insurance claims been made by any creditor regarding this account? YES NO Have any judgments been obtained by any creditor regarding this account? YES NO Please provide the name and address of the bonding agent for Asset Acceptance LLC, in case legal action becomes necessary. No Signature Address
I'm getting ready to unload on them too They've done some serious reaging on stuff on my reports. They've got another 5 days to get validation to me and then I'm filing suit on day 32 in TX state court (they have an office in San Antonio). As far as I am concerned, once the 7 year period mandated by law is over, you are out of jail. Whether people feel that it is moral that you didn't pay or not, the law says it's over and I believe at that time, this BS has to end.
FCRA allows for reporting of negative information for up to 7 years past 180 days past the original date of delinquency. In other words, up to 7.5 years. Is this being reported after that time? Did you dispute thru the CRA, and did the data furnisher "verify" in response to your dispute? If so, see if you can document damages, such as by being turned down for credit. And then sue.
they've reaged the account +4 years and I have done all that you mentioned. Just waiting for the validation period to expire then kaboom.
Thanks for the replies - Ontrack, do you think I'm in line sending Asset the 2nd letter that I've outlined above? Also, where can I find information on the steps involved in filing a suit? I'm guessing it would be a civil suit in small claims court for the violations Asset racks up? Is that correct?
If they continue collection after sending you something that resembles validation, they might be off the hook, unless either you have some basis for claiming that it is clearly not validation based on the nature of your dispute. For example, if you disputed an account as not yours, and all they sent you was a plain printout with no identification usable in determining whether it was yours (name, billing address, etc.), and no indication it was even obtained from the OC, then you might have a case for claiming that what they sent was not an attempt in good faith to validate the debt. To hold them liable, you might want to dispute their "validation" first. If this is what you are dealing with, you would want to run this by an attorney, since your next step down this path is to sue. Similarly, if they are "validating" what you know is erroneous reporting, your next step is also to sue. Again, see an attorney for how to proceed. In short, when you are reaching the end of the dispute/validation cycle, you need to look at how you would sue to force the issue, and how best to set that up.
Thank you - realistically is it possible for a pro-se to successfully sue a CA? Are there specific forums you might point me to that would layout "the process"? Ofcourse I am hopeful that once they read my 2nd letter they will understand that I am not an easy victim and unfortunetly for the next person they move on... I'm just starting out down this road and have enlisted the services of an attorney earlier to help me successfully prove that I had paid a CA that no longer was in business ... eventhough I had receipts of who I paid it seemed that CA pounded me into sleepless nights because I simply did not read the rules of the court so I think now I consider myself (perhaps follishly) a little more knowledgeable in handling myself - the DOLA on my earliest CR is 6/2001 so it will be out of SOL shortly, once that happens I feel confident I could prpove to a court it is SOL if need be. These scumbags can be so intimidating - you really have to develop a thick skin to deal with them. My 3 CR's all have scores in the mid 500's - I was stupid and paid and closed accounts, let some just sit there... but having a slimeball like this DEMAND double the money for a purchase he had NOTHING TO DO WITH is close to loanshark type activity to me..... Do you think my 2nd letter (in earlier post) sounds correct to send? Thanks
What advantage is there to suing "pro-se"? Unless you want to try a career in law, the end result is what matters. You may be more likely to obtain resolution if you use an attorney, especially when your opponent considers the possibility they may end up paying your attorney's fees (as allowed by both FCRA and FDCPA). Have you run this by several attorneys with experience in FDCPA and FCRA law, to see if any will take it on contingency? The feedback alone would be worth it.
Thank you for the reply - it is sad to think that you would be almost forced to hire an attorney to "bully" the CA into submission - another "boy's club"-lol In reading this board it was my hope that I could gain the knowledge to move through the process but that doesn't seem likely ... The reason a person would sue pro-se is basically monetary-not a lot of people have cash to just go out and hire an attorney at an average of $150-250 hour.... contingency?! lol - yeah right.... thanks again
I hired an attorney (Edelman's firm) on contingency, for FDCPA violations by Harvard. They got me a $2000 settlement. The key was that I had carefully documented everything for a year.
