Had an account that just charged off this month and received a letter today from Viking Collection Service Southwest in Phoenix. Anyone have any experience with them? More importantly, is there ANY reason to send validation letter at this point or should I just ignore it for awhile since it is so recent? Just not sure about the timing of sending validation letters.
There is definitely a reason to send a validation now. If you send a validation within 30 days of their 1st communication with you, they cannot continue any collection activities (including reporting to the cra's) until they have validated the debt. If you wait til 30 days has passed, they still must validate, but they can continue collecting. Send it out now.
I second that LKH, they are definatley a bunch of crooks just like NCO FINANCIAL. Take advantage of the law and send them a validation letter. What type of account is this anyway? Is it secured or unsecured? How much is the debt? Did you sign a contract of any kind? Just wondering, the details help us give you better advice....You might want to make sure that they are not reporting it to the CRA's!!!Pull your reports....
This is an unsecured credit card balance from Wachovia that transferred to First USA when they merged their business. It just charged off on December 1. And if they validate? What then? What constitutes validation and with the Lizardking letter is there a remote possibility that it WILL be validated?
They have validated when they send you proof that this account is yours ie:copy of your signature on the dotted line. Anything less is not proof. Sure there is a chance they will validate. If they do then you'll be in no worse position than if you had done nothing. Of course, there is always the chance that they can't or won't validate, which is what you want.
I've delt with Viking. They will fold in a second. I made a 50% settlement offer with them and they took it in a second. Send them a validation letter ASAP. Make sure you specify that you want documented proof (aka your notarized signature). Since the account has been transferred several times, it will be even more difficult for them to get validation. Remind them of your rights according to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Specify that you will only communicate through mail. Chances are, they will drop it and immediately send it back to the original creditor or throw it on the bottom of a pile and not bother with it for months. Most collectors don't even bother with validation disputes. They only spend their time on debts from people that don't put up a fight.
