Recently I requested validation from a CA regarding a collection (bad check from 1999) that showed up on all three of my credit reports. I received a reply from the CA within 30 days and they included a copy of the check I wrote to the OC they are collecting for (which turned out to be mine after all). Also included with their reply were copies of 2 more checks to 2 other places (totalling around $1000 in debt) that I know nothing about that belonged to someone else who happened to be a previous tenant of the house I now live in. It just so happens we share the same first name, we both bank with Wells Fargo, and we both opened checking accounts under the same address (I lived at my current address years ago, moved away for a few years, then eventually moved back). So now they are assuming we are the same person. Luckily, this has yet to show up on my CR, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time. It just blows my mind how this CA can be so presumptious without the slightest bit of proof these checks were written by me. The signtures don't even look similar for god's sake! So now I'm wondering how I should proceed. My first instinct is to call the CA and give them a piece of my mind, but I'm fairly certain that wouldn't be a good idea. Advice anyone? ~Jennifer
What do you intend to do with the check that is yours? How much is it for, and is it a legitimate debt? (was it settled or paid already, did you stop payment for cause, return merchandise for a refund, etc.)
It isn't so far fetched that a person would change their last name, on marriage, or divorce, for example, and open a new checking account. You may need to inform them otherwise. If you do pay the check that is yours, you may need to make it clear, and trackable, which check you are paying, and that the others are not yours. Otherwise they might apply it to the checks that are not yours, then continue to seek payment on the one that is.
Grrr! I posted and it didn't show up, I hate that! Okay, here goes again... Hi ontrack, The check that was mine was written to Pizza Guys restaurant 6 years ago for $19.00. The amount the CA claimed I owed (before I requested validation) was $119.00. And now, since I asked for validation, they are trying to stick me with a $1000 debt that, for the most part, is not mine. I have every intention of paying *my* part of the debt and would've done so years ago had I known about it, as I would never intentionally write a bad check. Now I'm not sure how I should proceed. Oh, also something I thought was a little strange was that the copy of the check I wrote was stamped with "LOST OR STOLEN", not sure why, but I thought it was weird. ~Jennifer
Call your bank and ask what it means. Also determine when it was originally presented. When was the check originally presented for payment, and was it timely? Did it bounce when initially presented, or did they not present it timely, perhaps because it was lost or stolen, as marked, and only ran it thru months later after you had closed the account? i.e. did their negligence contribute to their loss? Based on what was $100 tacked on by the CA?
Call your bank and ask what it means. Also determine when it was originally presented. When was the check originally presented for payment, and was it timely? Did it bounce when initially presented, or did they not present it timely, perhaps because it was lost or stolen, as marked, and only ran it thru months later after you had closed the account? i.e. did their negligence contribute to their loss? Based on what was $100 tacked on by the CA? ontrack ========== I don't see where he is obligated to pay this. This is not a NSF issue. He has no responsibility to pay for a lost or stolen check.
something I thought was a little strange was that the copy of the check I wrote was stamped with "LOST OR STOLEN", not sure why, but I thought it was weird. jenrose75 NEW MEMBERS READ THIS. http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttalk/board/showthread.php?s=&postid=410243#post410243 * *********************************************************** A little strange====== Congratulations on winning the understatement of the month award! I thought it was weird.======Have you thought of this? The CA may be trying to collect for the party that stole the check?
lbrown59, The check was written by me to Pizza Guys. The debt is legit. That's why it is strange to me that it would say LOST OR STOLEN on it. I have had my checkbook stolen and used by someone in the past, but that was not the case with this particular debt. My issue is with the other two check copies they sent me. These checks were written by someone else from their own checking account and have nothing to do with me or my debt. They are trying to stick me with her debt because we coincidentally share the same first name, and she at some point has lived in the house that I now live in. I imagine they are assuming that I have married/divorced and changed my name and this other person is indeed me, though you'd think they'd do a little research before sticking someone with a debt like this. Thanks you guys for your replies. ~Jennifer
CAs don't feel the need to do research, when intimidation and posting negative TLs gets more results for the effort. They might only discover that the debt is not valid, or they have the wrong party, and they don't get paid anything for that. What this does to innocent third parties is not their concern unless it costs them.
1*The check was written by me to Pizza Guys. The debt is legit. 2*That's why it is strange to me that it would say LOST OR STOLEN on it. 3*I have had my checkbook stolen and used by someone in the past, but that was not the case with this particular debt. Jennifer ================ 1*I find it hard to see stolen being legit . 2*And that is why I Question Who is the CA collecting for? 3*Wouldn't have to be.but it could still be a stolen check issue.. NEW MEMBERS READ THIS. http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttalk/board/showthread.php?s=&postid=410243#post410243 ************************************************************
Ask your bank what Lost or Stolen means. It might mean the check was being submitted a long time after the date you wrote it, and should be checked closer for alterations, or to see if a stop payment and new check was issued. If the reason that the CA is trying to collect is because the OC didn't run it in until months after you wrote it, you might use this as leverage to negotiate payment of only the original $19 due, and removal of the CR negative. You might also pose the question on bankersonline.com, if you have written a check to someone who does not cashed it for many months, how long must you keep the account open, and what should you do if you close the account and it has still not been cashed. Banks don't like ambiguities to persist forever, nor does law enforcement tracking money. There may be some federal banking law on how long after writing it a check must be honored.
1*Ask your bank what Lost or Stolen means. 2* It might mean the check was being submitted a long time after the date you wrote it, and should be checked closer for alterations, ontrack ============= 2*It could also mean the check was stolen after jenrose75 gave it to Pizza Guys restaurant. In that case jenrose75 would not be obligated to make good on the check. If jack jerk stole the check and tried to cash it but the check bounced jenrose75 has no responsibility to make good on the check. Because jenrose75 never wrote a check to Jack Jerk . jenrose75 needs to know who the CA is collecting for. Is it the Pizza Guys or jack jerk. This is why I've asked this question 2 other times; Who is the CA collecting for?
The LOST OR STOLEN may not refer to this particular account at all. If between the date that you wrote THIS check, was when you had lost your check book, and someone had passed a check which you had lost, your bank could refuse ANY CHECK on that account as LOST OR STOLEN. This is one of the reasons why when you report an account or checkbook lost or stolen, the bank typically suggests closing this account number, and re-opening a new account, so that the lost or stolen checks don't continue to be presented, and aren't bounced (or cause other checks to bounce.) But as it was said, if you didn't know the check didn't have the funds, or that the account was closed, it more than likely isn't a BAD check at all. You'll want to read your states bad check laws directly to find out exactly what they're allowed to consider a bad check under the law. Also, more than likely they're adding the STATUTORY DAMAGES onto the amount to make it go up the $100. I would copy the check which is not yours, and send them the copy that they sent you, with a letter stating that THIS IS NOT YOURS. My last name is not ____, nor was it ever ____.
