Hello Everyone. I'm new here and this is my first post. I've been lurking for several weeks now and have found some useful information, but now I need specialized advice. That's why I'm asking all of you to help me. I belive that a CA has violated the FDCPA and I need to know what my next step is. Today I was prepared to send a dispute letter that I adapted from Lizardking's template (thank you LK, BTW) however I have some apprehensions and want to make sure that everything is correct. The account in question was disputed through Eqifax and i recentl received a confirmation that the account handled by Coldata was unverified and removed (yay!) However on the report that Equifax sent me, it is still showing as a O5 which was updated 6/01 and is noted: CUSTOMER DISPUTES-REINVESTIGATION IN PROCESS Well it is certain that Coldata never verified the debt as being mine and on July 8, 2001 the sent me a collection notice stating that "PREVIOUS LETTERS MAY NOT HAVE REACHED [ME] DUE TO AN INCORRECT MAILING ADDRESS. FOR THAT REASON WE TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO ADVISE YOU OF THIS DELINQUENCY." Then the go on with the spiel about "unless you notify this office within 30 days after receiving this notice that you dispute the validity of this debt..." I have received their previous letters, and I've kept some too (good move). What I need to know is did they violate the FDCPA and if so what action can I take now? And if they did not, should I sent the dispute today? I live in PA and the SOL seems to range from 4-6 years. The DLA for this account shows as 07/95...now exactly 6 years. Please advise me ASAP! Thank you all, Andrew
Unless I am misreading or misunderstanding something here, if you never sent a validation letter to Coldata directly then it makes no difference what they sent you, they have not violated any portion of FDCPA that I can see judging from what you say. Demanding validation from the credit reporting agency does not have any legal effect upon whether or not Coldata can send you a demand for payment. You have to demand validation directly from Coldata to be able to claim they violated any law by sending you a demand for payment. You also have to be able to prove they received it.
Thanks Bill, That's what I assumed, but I wasn't sure. I'm eager to hear the responses from other members.
Actually, the FDCPA says they cannot continue to collect the debt until they provide you proof. So I think that sending you a letter demanding that you pay qualifies in collecting the debt. I think they did violate the FDCPA.
Andrew, I reside in PA also. The statue of limitations is 4 years. File a complaint with the Attorney General of PA. My situation was resolved to my satisfaction meaning the collection agency sent a letter to the Attorney General stating they couldn't validate the debt, so they're removing their tradeline. I reside in PA and the Collection agency is located in PA, I don't know if that had anything to do with it or not. I can tell you I was pleased with the way my complaint was handled. The address is: Bureau of Consumer Protection Allentown Regional Office 801 Hamilton Street, 4th floor Allentown, PA 18101 OR do a search for PA Attorney General. I don't know what part of the state you live in but their might be a regional office in your area. If all else fails, and you have documentation that they broke the law. Take them to your local magistarate and sue them for violations of the FCRA and FDCPA. Trust me they will settle. just my two cents.
Hey Andrew - I am involved in a class action lawsuit against coldata for the same reason that happened to you.. send me an email and I can point you to the right person. ender510@yahoo.com
Yes, you need to send that letter to the collection agency. And tell them to get it off your report until they do prove it is yours. breeze
Andrew & Breeze: The way I read Andrew's original post is that the CRA is the one at fault in this matter, not the;collection agency. If he never sent the collection agency anything, then they have no real fault other than that they might have placed a report against him without ever having contacted him in any way. Did I misunderstand or what? If I understood correctly, then Breeze and I are correct.
Bill, These situations get so convoluted, it is hard to tell sometimes - try this: outline of events in sequence: Coldata account 1. Account being reported on Equifax, he disputed, he was notified it was deleted due to non verification 2 .He received a new report -(did he request a new report or was it the report sent as a result of the dispute?) On new reportColdata account is now listed as O5, updated to 6/01 - dispute noted. 3. He then gets a letter from Coldata stating that they are giving him the opportunity to dispute, since they had sent letters to an old address 4. But he already has letters from them - did they actually send the letters to the correct address all along - is this a stall tactic by Coldata to keep the entry on his credit report? If so... 1.Yes they are violating the FDCPA, but they are really being sneaky - if you have their previous letters, you can prove that this is what they are doing. 2. If the CRA did not advise you that they had received verification from Coldata, and re-added this to your file, they are in violation of FCRA 3. They have re-aged the debt - that is violation by Coldata 4. SOL is 4 yrs, they can't collect it anyway So, where' the beef? breeze
