just so you guys know, I called someone I know that works in a legal office/collection agency today. I found for sure that a collection agency must send you written notice giving you 30 days to dispute before they can report to the credit bureaus. This happened to me last week and the letter to them is out in the mail. I may sue them even if they do remove the listing as it is definitely an FDCPA violation.
Very useful information LKH, well done. I know several posters that could use this information very wisely.
What section of the FDCPA were they referring to? § 809. Validation of debts [15 USC 1692g] (a) Within five days after the initial communication with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt, a debt collector shall, unless the following information is contained in the initial communication or the consumer has paid the debt, send the consumer a written notice containing -- (1) the amount of the debt; (2) the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed; (3) a statement that unless the consumer, within thirty days after receipt of the notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector; (4) a statement that if the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, the debt collector will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against the consumer and a copy of such verification or judgment will be mailed to the consumer by the debt collector; and (5) a statement that, upon the consumer's written request within the thirty-day period, the debt collector will provide the consumer with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor. (b) If the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period described in subsection (a) that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, or that the consumer requests the name and address of the original creditor, the debt collector shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof, until the debt collector obtains verification of the debt or any copy of a judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy of such verification or judgment, or name and address of the original creditor, is mailed to the consumer by the debt collector. (c) The failure of a consumer to dispute the validity of a debt under this section may not be construed by any court as an admission of liability by the consumer. I don't see anything making it illegal to report. I wish there was something so specific. These laws are just to damn vague...I believe that the procedure is to send out the notice of the purported debt. This allows the consumer to respond. It even allows the consumer to dispute the validity. It does not state that it can not be reported to any credit bureau. I am certain that it can be removed if not validated or verified, by applying lots of pressure on behalf of the collector or CRA to do so. But there is no law stated in the FDCPA or the FCRA saying that they may not report the information. Of course this may end up getting removed if you sue them....
And that happened to me too. To make matters worse, when I called them up to see who it was I was supposed to owe and why it wasn't even my debt! They didn't even have my name in their records. They had two other Bauer(s) in their file none of which was me or even related to me. But they put a hickey on my credit report anyway. All I gotta say is they better get it off and get it off damned quick if they want to stay out of court and a big lawsuit for defamation of character. I'd ought to nail them anyway. Might still do it. The more I think about it the madder I get.
daddy-o Check your state's statutes - apparebtly many states have added this to their own version of the FDCPA. We were talking about it in another thread. breeze
I'll be completely honest -I'm not sure what section he was refering to. I was told a collection agency must send you notice of the debt, giving you 30 days to dispute. During that 30 day period they cannnot do anything to your credit report. If you dispute it they must verify it before they can report it. If you do not dispute it, then they can do as they please. My problem is that I was never notified of anything. I don't even know what the debt is. So, my demand letter went out yesterday, giving them 5 days from reciept of the letter to remove the entry from all of my reports or I will file a lawsuit. I'll let you know how it works out.
Breeze, Tell me what state that you live in. You should see just how disgusting OHIO is. They have nothing to protect consumers. The federal laws and the truth in lending act and the lemon laws are it. It is a sad place to live if you believe in consumer rights. The tenants rights are OK, but I have seen better. I wonder how one would get the legislators of a state to create consumer laws that really work. I will have to learn more about how this stuff is done. Who knows, maybe I could be the guy who actually gives us Buckeyes a real rule book...
I am in VA, and we don't have that as a law either, that I can see. You can check all state statutes at http://www.lawdog.com - it's easy to use. breeze
When dealing with legislators, you need a support group to do it right. Even if your support group is only 4 or 5 people willing to help you out because they too would like to see change. You need to do some research to see what other states have and once you have a plan, model legislation in other words, then you and your support group all go to the state house, see the legislators in person and make sure they get lots of phone calls about it. You will need a senator and a rep who will author and coauthor the bill for you. Once you have that, you are good to go. When looking at new legislation, the lawmakers always keep track of how many phone calls they get and count each phone call as being equal to manbe 500 people supporting the bill. So each phone call is worth a lot. You also need to get into the editorial columns of the newspapers as often as possible and be prepared to show up for the various committee hearings at the legislature whenever new legislation is being proposed. Those committee hearings is where it's all hammered out so that when it goes to the floor it has as much support as possible. You want to know the committee chairperson quite well so that you can get a word in edgewise. If you don't know the chairperson and demand a chance to present your side of the story, you won't get it passed. Political action is something I am well familiar with and I've done a lot of it and still doing it. TAkes work like anything else, but it's not really hard.
GoDaddyo, I also live in Ohio!Breeze let me know the Ohio SOL recently. I did not know the other things you posted here. Sad day in Buckeye territory...
Y'all should put up an Ohio consumer's website, with all the info you've got. And put a message board on it, or a script that let's people email you information. And put links to email your congressmen, links to all the complaint pages and sites, etc, and then promote the site. I think so much gets done because people get together on the internet and support a common cause. somebody just has to get it started, and it takes on a life of it's own. breeze
