need some help here please in regard to the resale or old CA accts to another CA . I am told once the CA receives the account they automatically have PP to pull your CR . but what is the process ... can they just begin calling the consumer without ever sending them a collection notice? or what if they claim they sent a notice .isn't this a violation? if so how can you prove it what action would you recommend next. can a consumer opt out from the resale?
Tell them to stop calling you; that they must contact you in writing. You have the right to dispute the validity of the debt. This should be spelled out in any written correspondence from them to you. Check out the "sticky" threads for more information on how to deal with CA's - this ground has been well-covered.
the phone calls stem from a computer generated recording. the caller does not identity themself in the recording. the computer announcement states hello we are calling in regard to an important business matter please call me back at ( 800) blah blah blah and hangs up. like I said they have never sent a notice so in order to dispute anything the consumer has to be clever enough to do some research to obtain the companys address to send a letter. the only way we are asuming it is a CA is because the company name is displayed on the caller id and it matches a name that is now appearing as a hard inquiry on the credit report. if you call the company back they ask for an account number, or ss# so they can transfer you to a rep, there is no way I am willing to provide any personal info and I do not have an account number or even know if any such account exists. to make matters worse they are not consumer friendly and refuse to asssit you. so now I have a name and an address so I am going to send a certified letter problem is I am walking in this blindsighted I have no notice from them & , no info to go on. if they don't respond its going to be a challenging process to resolve this issue. thats why I asked what do you do if the CA claims they sent a notice but never actually does how do you prove their FDCPA violation for that aspect. its different if they verify the disputed account with the CRA but they are trying to get around the whole process has anyone else experienced this?
If it is as vague a recorded call as that, it may run afoul of the Do Not Call List. Do they say who they are trying to call, or is it so generic it could be anyone?
I have the same problem, which has been ongoing since the beginning of May. A call comes in and is identified on my caller id as "Unavailable" with an 800 number. I traced the number to a CA. Even though there have been at least 50 such calls from the same number, the recorded message, if one is left (about 50% of the calls result in no message), simply says to call the 800 number identified on caller id, with an extension number. The recording does not state who the call is for. No letter has ever been received. We won't respond because we refuse to speak with lowlife CA's. Also, the calls don't bother us because we only answer calls from people we know. The point, which I have raised in the past, is whether such calls are a new tactic to wear down the consumer until he or she answers the phone and engages in a conversation with the CA. You must admit that 50 calls with no written followup is simply absurd.
Some CAs appear to have used tactics that avoid effective notice to consumers of their dispute rights, usually by repeated phone contact, while claiming they mailed any FDCPA notices months or years ago. I can only assume that they have found it more effective to coerce with their telphone "charm" than to put anything in writing that might be less deniable. Perhaps the "debts" are already known to be past SOL. What obligation does a consumer have to call any number, particularly an unidentified one, regardless of how many machine generated messages are left? None. Machine generated messages don't even connotate that the caller placed a high degree of importance on receiving a call-back, as they are a cheap, bulk, approach to drum up business from a lot of people where you actually expect few replies. If the receiver of a series of such calls, frequent enough to be described as harassment, were to call back and request that the number be put on their TSR-required "Do Not Call List", would not the company be obligated to do so or face the corresponding violations? I doubt that you would even have any obligation to provide any other information other than the number you want them to stop calling, (no SSN, no extenstion, etc.) to create the legal obligation for the company to stop, since the company cannot rewrite federal law and regulations which require that they stop on request. Any further calls after that request would then be in violation, addressable either by regulatory complaints, or (at least in California) by small claims suits.
the call is generic based the recording does not ask for any person by name for all the CA knows they may not have contacted( herassed) the correct individual. they have NOT sent any notice which would inform the consumer of the alleged debt or whom the creditor may be, but they contine to call every 3 days with the same pre recorder computer message. if the consumer was to call the number that is stated on the recording it is automated and requires the consumer to provide a telephone number, name and scoial security number before speaking to anyone. if you don't have an address and can't speak to a live person HOW can you get off the do not call list?
The Do Not Call List applies to solicitors only - one of the exceptions in taht law is any business taht hasa business relationship with you can call you - and trying to get paid is a business relationship. Your protection is in FDCPA - send them a letter CMRRR telling thm it is "inconvenient" to recieve telephone calls and they are to communicate with you in writing only. Any call after you recieve the Green Card is a violation.
You might still be able to go down both paths. Request PP/validation based on your credit report inquiry, and file complaints on their machine calls They have not claimed to have a business relationship with you. They only had their machine, either intentionally or erroneously, repeatedly call you. In addition, the business relationship exception in the Do Not Call List law does not apply if you have specifically requested that they not call. Nor does any such request require that you provide any information other than the number they have been calling. (Indeed, if you had to give your SSN to stop unwanted calls, all the telemarketers would insist on it. They wanted your CC or bank account number, but now every boiler room cold caller gets your SSN, or if you won't give it, they get to call you as often as they want??) That comes under the older Telemarketing Sales Rule, where they are required to keep a separate list of numbers that they have been requested not to call, and not call them, regardless of whether they are recent customers, former customers, or never customers. Columbia House got fined $300k for calling its current and former customers, but ignoring their specific requests not to call. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/columbia_house.html They have not told you any reason at all for the phone calls, or even who they are trying to contact, so it would not be unreasonable to file complaints against them under the Do Not Call List, with both FTC and state AG, based solely on the volume of machine dialed calls disturbing your household. If a lot of their calls leave no message, that would also support harassment, whether intentional, or simply negligent. It also adds a paper trail to any FDCPA harassment claim, should they then claim they do have an account they are trying to collect, and start any other form of telephone harassment in response to your complaints. If they have a legitimate purpose for contacting you, they could have done so by mail. They pulled your credit report, and they have your address. If they did so, of course, they would have to notify you of your dispute rights.
It also seems like it would be excellent grounds for a harassment lawsuit under the FDCPA. What's the name of these treacherous SOB's?
I wanted to let everyone here know I was lucky enough to discover what CA was calling my home because their name appeared on the caller ID. had it not been there I couldn't have researched their info to obtain their address to dispute anything. I have already sent my certified letter to the CA and have filed complaints with the bureau of financial institutions, AG and BBB. I hope this resolves the issue I will keep you all posted. thanks for all your help and responses. I had pondered the thought of not disclosing the CA name for obvious reasons but perhaps this will help others and keep them on their toes. watch out for TRUELOGIC
Note that this applies to "any person", regardless of whether they are even the intended debtor: http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm#806 "§ 806. Harassment or abuse [15 USC 1692d] A debt collector may not engage in any conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse any person in connection with the collection of a debt. Without limiting the general application of the foregoing, the following conduct is a violation of this section: ... (5) Causing a telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass any person at the called number. (6) Except as provided in section 804, the placement of telephone calls without meaningful disclosure of the caller's identity. "
