***UPDATED 7-12-12... SEE MY ADDED REPLY AT END OF THIS THREAD, PLEASE**** Hi - I received a collection notice on a credit card. I sent a DV letter right away, certified with return receipt. A week later I got another collection notice from the same company but in another state. I sent a DV letter to that office right away, certified with return receipt. Now I have received 'Balance Due Statement'. That is the only thing I have received in response to the two previous Collection Notices and my DV letters. What do I do now???
What's included in the balance due statement? Also, is the collection still showing up on your credit reports?
Its from GC Services- says 'thank you for your recent payment' and 'this is the full balance due now' - I have never made a payment to them, nor have I ever spoken to them. When I got the first Collection Notice I immediately sent the DV letter certified return receipt. When I got the next Collection Notice from the same company but a different state, I sent a DV letter there certified return receipt. Then I got this 'Balance Due Statement'. I have not pulled my credit reports, guess I should do that.
This is what I would personally do... To whom it may concern: Thank you for the enclosed example of continued collection activity. First of all, I dispute that I ever made a payment to your company, since I have no idea who or what your company is, or anything about your alleged original creditor account that you are alleging is mine. That is why, in accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, I demanded validation of the debt via certified mail, Exhibit A, your company received said validation request at xx:xx on xx/xx/xxxx. Your company responded to that demand for validation by sending from a different office of your company, another demand for payment, Exhibit B, I then demanded validation of the debt via certified mail to that office of your company, Exhibit C, your company received said validation request at xx:xx on xx/xx/xxxx. Your company then responded to that demand for validation by sending the letter in question thanking me for my recent payment, despite the fact that no payment had been made, and demanding the full balance, Exhibit D. This is notice that I intend to sue your company for violations of the FDCPA in the 2 instances of continued collection activity, and the false and misleading representation that I allegedly made a payment to your company, for an account that I have repeatedly disputed in accordance with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Please remit $1,000 certified collectable funds immediately to prevent my immediate filing of said lawsuit in the United States District Court, XX District, YY Division. Have a great day, and it's been a pleasure doing business with you.
Yes, I would definitely pull your credit reports to see how this is showing up. If they are still reporting the collection but haven't properly responded to your DV letter, you have them on another FDCPA violation.
I am learning more and more as I research and read other posts. Because of that, with regards to my situation posted in this thread, does it matter if the OC still owns the debt?? I only ask this as I have read in other posts that GC Services oftentimes handles collection for the OC, so I am wondering if that changes anything with regards to the FDCPA???
GC services is a CA, so they are governed by the FDCPA. It doesn't matter if the OC still owns the debt but has hired GC services to collect.
The only difference between a CA who owns the debt (JDB), and any other CA, is that the JDB can assign an outside CA to handle the actual collection. Anyone who handles collection for a third-party is covered under the FDCPA.
I wanted to annotate the letter that I originally posted, to provide a little more about why I said what I would say. Again, the standard, I am not an attorney, and I don't play one on TV disclaimer applies. I don't want their claim that a payment was made to not be refuted, if I would live in an area where SOL can be restarted by making a payment, their claim of a payment being made could be used to try to restart the SOL of the debt. I provide the concise history of the previous demands for validation of the debt, and the fact that they've continued collection activity despite the demands for validation in violation of the FDCPA. I would personally add a copy of the suit that I intend to file, and it doesn't have to be as complex as a lot of people believe. The federal courthouse should have a bare-bones template that is really simple to complete. The suits that I wrote 6 years ago were a lot more complex then they actually needed to be.
Jam237 - thank you for your reply. Very helpful. While I have been preparing this letter and looking for a template of a lawsuit filing, I received from the OC (AmExp) a letter that in big letters said it was "A Helpful Offer from American Express" - sorry I don't know how to upload a copy of the letter, but I will paraphrase it below: "This letter confirms your participation in a payment plan with GC Services, which will give you the opportunity to pay down your outstanding balance with American Express. As you discussed with one of the representatives of GC Services, the payment plan applies to the outstanding balance on your account. As long as you comply with the terms of the plan, you agreed to with GC Services: - You will continue to not be charged for late fees or interest while you are enrolled in the plan - The Minimum Payment Due Calculation will take the highes of the following two amounts: - 1% of the New Balance, not to exceed 4% of the New Balance, or - $15." etc, etc, etc.. I won't bore you with the rest of the verbage, since it seems to be boiler plate. SOOOO, I have NOT received any responses to my 3 DVL's, other than receiving more invoices, and most importantly, I HAVE NEVER SPOKEN WITH GC SERVICES!!!!! I have also pulled my credit report (from one agency only so far) and I do not see a collection account at all for any of my accounts - I do see that GC Services did an inquiry several months ago. So...what do I do now????? Sorry, I just don't have anyone I can talk to about any of this stuff... and I really, really appreciate everyone's help and guidance!
