I NEED HELP!!! I want to execute this situation properly and to the best of our advantage, here's the scoop.... Took my son to dentist....insurance (apparantely!) didn't cover a portion of bill $102.00.....we moved...never got a bill from dentist....this was january 01.... January 02- check dh CR, Equifax has tradeline from XYZ Collection agency for $102.00.... on 2/14/02 we get the following letter from CA: __________________________________________________ Acct#abcdef Amount due: $119.62 This is a REMINDER.... **************************************** The above referenced matter requires your immediate attention! **************************************** Remember also that unless payment in full is received a negative report may be submitted to all major national credit reporting agencies which may affect your ability to obtain credit for a number of years. Protect your credit. It is a valuable asset. Creditor Acct# Principal Interest Amount XXX XXX XXXX XXXXX XXX _______________________________________________ Please return this portion of the letter w/ pmnt Enclosed is pmnt in full __________________________________________________ OK!!!! I sent validation on 2/21....it was signed on 2/25/02. On 2/28...guess what!!! They added the tradeline to EXPERIAN!!!!! VIOLATION!On 2/28...did a dispute w/ experian (pending) for this tradeline... Today I received in the mail validation. They sent the original bill from dentist, and itemized balances...fine. Here's where I need help (violations)... 1) Unsure if violation...reported tradeline to CRA 1 month prior to sending first collection notice (and read the content of letter about "protecting your credit" JOKE!!) 2) NOWHERE in letter does it state "This is an attempt to collect...." nor any of my rights! This letter looks like a plain old bill... violation 2 3) They are reporting INCORRECT info on CR...COMPLETELY different dentist name, and the CA's Tel# under original creditor info (account numbers do not match as well) 4) Submitted tradeline to EXPERIAN AFTER they rcvd my validation letter CRRR....Violation! NOW....what should my strategy be? Should I send them a demand that I will pay only if they delete, and if not see you in court for all the above mentioned violations???? PLEASE help!!!!! Thank you to all in advance!!!!!!!!
hmmmm, sounds like one of the Collectech general letters, but anyway. It IS a violation for them to place it on your reports AFTER they receive validation request from you, but NOT to put it on before. however, they are to mark the one that was there before as "in dispute", if they haven't THAT's a violation. There ARE required to put somewhere on the "bill" this is an attempt to collect a debt blah blah blah, so there is another violation. ALso do a search on the board for the "wollman letter" this is an FTC staff opinion letter stating a computer printout is NOT validation.
KHM... Thanks for your quick response! This is a rinky dink local CA (basically a nobody) who doesn't know their head from their a$$!!! And you are right, they did NOT place notation on report that it is in dispute during validation period! They did send me the appropriate documents from the doctor's office (handwritten charges, and original bill which I never did see or get!) Apparantely, the insurance didn't cover a certain portion of the bill... I agree there are several violations...so the big ? is, how should I proceed.. Do you think if I state these violations to them w/ the threat of suit, in exchange for pmnt/deletion, that would be sufficient...and if I end up in court, do I have a good chance of winning and collecting, based on their violations??
Re: CALLIN ON DOC AND EXPERTS(long! I think "Doc and the Experts" would make a fine name for a rock band. That said, unfortunately I'm not an expert. With respect to your issue, though, I will say that there seems to be a Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) violation lurking in here somewhere as well. (We don't see FCBA violations too often on this board unfortunately, lol.) That violation might go something like this: "I informed you of my new address but evidently you did nothing to forward my bills correctly. The FCBA requires that you attend to such important matters. As a result of your negligence, this account was unfortunately sent to collections, whereupon my credit and good name were defamed." Of course I have no way of knowing for sure that you did indeed inform them of your address change, but if you claim to have done so, the FCBA is very consumer friendly indeed. Moreover, most judges would never demand that you prove that (because most reasonable people don't keep copies of address change notices); on the other hand, your good faith would be demonstrated by your willingness at that point to exchange payment in full for the tradeline deletion. That willingness to pay and forego further damages would certainly speak positively about you before any court, and most lawyers would recognize that pursuing you in that case would be a terrible waste of their time and energy, especially since the amount of the account in your case was so small. There's a great letter brewing in here somewhere. Now, of course, that said, you can still mention toward the middle of the letter (after you allege the FCBA violation) the FDCPA violations. It was certainly within your right to ask for validation since you weren't familiar with the CA and didn't readily associate that alleged debt with the original account. In such circumstances, the CA is STILL obligated to provide validation, since the FDCPA doesn't limit a consumer's right to request such information at any time and for any reason. The fact that they didn't follow through with validation was against the law and quite abusive of you as a consumer. I personally think you could get great mileage out of an FCBA hook, especially since you can indeed demonstrate that your address did in fact change. Doc
Re: CALLIN ON DOC AND EXPERTS(long! Thank you Doc! The date of the original bill (that CA just sent me) was in Jan 01, and we moved in May 01....now I would have thought that in those 4 months the dentist would have sent me the darn bill..... the CA reported this account to CRA in Jan 02, and sent us first collection letter in Feb02 TO our NEW address. based on what their letter stated....they didn't even GIVE us the 30 days to work something out...they just said screw you...put it on Equifax, sent collection letter, then 3 days AFTER they received validation letter, they slapped it on to experian! I will search for a good demand letter, and post, and maybe "Doc and the Experts" can give me some feedback! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!
Re: CALLIN ON DOC AND EXPERTS(long! That's a great question. Certainly the doctor's office is responsible for correctly billing you. However, I would direct your guns directly at the CA which is reporting the tradeline right now -- they have assumed responsibility for both ownership and the collection of that debt. Fire at them hard; your goal is not to determine who's really responsible, rather your goal is to show them that you are an exceptionally informed (and injured and angry) individual who will make their lives difficult if they don't straighten up their act. Sounds like you're on a FCBA roll -- in addition to the subsequent FDCPA roll. By the way, with respect to the FDCPA validation issues: Even though you lose a few rights if you don't request validation within the 30 day period following the CA's initial bill, you still have the right to request validation, and the CA is still obligated to follow through within the "reasonable" 30-day period. Your friendly CA did not fulfill its responsibilities under the law. Doc
Re: CALLIN ON DOC AND EXPERTS(long! The funny thing is I DID reply immediately once I received their letter! I got their letter on 2/14, and i mailed validation on 2/22 (they received 2/25) I'm working on a letter right now and will post as soon as I'm done!
Re: CALLIN ON DOC AND EXPERTS(long! DOC!!!!! I could almost ring your neck!!!!!!! You found that quote about 20 minutes too late!! I had a problem with the electric company, where they never forwarded our light bill (our place now has it included) and we found it shortly after it was reported to the CB, I mean the timing here is a few months. I JUST emailed the electric company saying: So that was my revised goodwill letter, but if this fails and seeing as I admitted not closing the account can I use the FCBA to my advantage?
Re: CALLIN ON DOC AND EXPERTS(long! LOL, well, I didn't "find" that quote -- I wrote that quote. Anyway, please use it if you think it would be helpful. It would be easy for anybody to come up with even better wording, for that matter. Anyway, sorry I missed you by 20 minutes, heh! Doc
