Credit Bureau = Collection agency?

Nifty! Thankya! I am wondering if I should tie in the fact that they charge interest etc on everything, even though that's a Nono in California AND Federal law - I guarantee I know for a FACT that the contracts they have do not allow interest to be charged, yet they're doing it anyways.. or wondering if I should bring two seperate actions.. *ponder*

Thank you Jam, you've been greatly helpful!

 

Weee here we go.

Now they sent me a bill for a total of $1200 saying something to the effect of I still owe that bill etc no notation of who the bill is owed to except Credit Bureau of >< . Aren't they supposed to list OC? Trying to figure out how to draft my DV to tehm since I want to appear to be curious and concerned but not overly educated to tip them off

Something like "I am in receipt of a bill from you dated XXXX, I am very concerned as I have never received correspondence from you. Please send me validation of any and all debts you claim in this $1200 amount, including all accounting and contracts that state I am obligated to pay you this amount. Thank you for your time"

Something short and simple without too much giveaway? Yes, or just go with the full on Send me stuff and here's what constitutes validation.

 

My god, I was looking at our court online stuff - this credit bureau has PAGES AND PAGES AND PAGES of lawsuits that they are the plaintiff in, and a small handfull of ones in which they're the defendant.. sounds just like a Credit REPORTING agency eh ugh

 

ugh, sorry double post due to timeout

 

*update*

I am not sure if the Credit Bureau of >< removed the inquiry or not, since I had a bunch bumped from EQ.

They are now two days over their 30 to provide me with some kind of followup. Allowing them the holiday on Monday - they have 4 more days..

Although, I DV'd them which was signed for last week, as a result of their letter they sent with a balance but no info on oc(s). They signed for the card last week, have not listed the accounts in dispute yet.

Question, when I finally send an ITS should I claim $1k per account? Is there a $ amt you can sue for for misrepresentation of being a CRA? Is it $1k also? Also they are adding interest to everything, including an account I KNOW cannot have interest added to it. And of medical bills, can they legally add interest to that? Or Utility? I don't recall ever seeing anything expressly stating such (california laws on this is pretyt much the same as the FDCPA)

Also, I was denied credit, I think I will request a copy of my report sent to me based upon that denial - this could further trap them into not being a CRA.

Thoughts? thanks so much also, Jam and lbrown =)

 

Re: Re: Credit Bureau = Collection agency?

Yes, but being denied credit should have entitled me to a free report if, indeed, they are a CRA.

Also, the pull they did when I requested my own report WAS a hard pull and visible to others. It's been bumped off, but I disputed it with them and they've sent me no response to it, as a CRA.

 

Re: Re: Credit Bureau = Collection agency?

I did notify the FTC on it about a month and a half ago.. they've not sent me anything about it.. waiting game..

 

Thanks LB!

nothing new to report here.. they still never sent me the results from the dispute of the hard pull.. not a word from them other than a bill, which I sent a DV for. (Since it is about 5 bills included in a $1200 balance, half of which is interest from what I can figure from the original amts. None of the accounts they have in their office can LEGALLY have interest charged, at least not from what I can find.

 

UPDATE

I got the response from my request for validation they have 5 accounts for me, one is an old water bill that was paid but they say I owe 12 whole dollars :roll: fine, it's way old (from 1998) but I'll pay it just to get rid of it! An old electric bill for $340 plus about $190 in interest which is not chargeable!!!!

All of them say "Interest at: 10% since last payment" UHM newsflash they cannot do that, since it doesn't state it in ANY of the contracts. (they can't right?)

They got itemized bills for 2 medical accounts, though the dental one states a $0 balance.. that confuses me.

and then one other account, which I KNOW for a fact, beyond the shadow of a doubt that interest is not chargeable on, but yep.. they're charging it anyways

They haven't listed any of the 5 accounts in dispute. They still never responded to my dispute of the hard inquiry they pulled - that was due last month. Guess they're not a CRA like they state, eh?

Now I have to figure out what my next step is..

 

UPDATE

I don't see how they could if it was not expressly permitted in the contract itself. It is a violation in California Law as well as the FDCPA to charge fees and interest not expressly permitted by the contract, or somesuch.. so how could it be that they can just simply charge interest because they have the account? UGH! It is in the unfair collection practices section.

I know they can charge the 10% interest on judgments, but how can they charge it if it was not agreed to with the OC? That makes no sense to me?

"2. Amount or charges lawfully owing. It is unlawful for a collector to collect any amount (including any interest, fee, charge, or expense incidental to the principal amount of the debt) unless such amount is either: (a) expressly authorized by the agreement between the debtor and the 62 original creditor, or (b) expressly permitted by statute.
Attempts to collect â??interest,â? â??service charges,â?
â??collection charges,â? â??attorneyâ??s fees,â? â??legal notice
feesâ? and other fees, charges or penalties, result in a
violation unless the charge is expressly authorized by a statute or a valid agreement between the parties.63
It is also a violation to misrepresent a debtâ??s character, amount or legal status.64 For example, it is a violation to attempt to collect a claim that is too old to be enforceable.65 Charges of the following kinds are frequently asserted against debtors when the required factual or legal prerequisites do not exist:
! Prejudgment interest. Prejudgment interest is an
element of damages that is subject to and limited by legal rules. For instance, if the prejudgment interest rate is not specified by contract, a debt arising from a loan of money bears interest at the rate of 10 percent per year after breach,66 and no more.


The only statute I can find pertains to bounced checks and judgments.. so any idea where the law that permits this is?! Thanks Jam!! =D