I hope somebody can help me here. I bought a product from an online flooring co.pany back in early 2006. Needless to say a lot of the product came damaged in shipping. I tried to resolve this with the vendor right away, have them send me some replacements. They refused as I didn't note this on delivery (but that's an entirely different story why I didn't note this on delivery). Anyways they billed my CC for two half payments. I decided to dispute one of the payments. The bank found in my favor after I supplied them with proof of the damage. Fast forward 15 months later I start to get letters from a CA. The amount the CA is seeking on the letter is more then the FULL total I paid the merchant (forgetting the fact that I only disputed for half of the amount, the merchant has my other half). I send in DV letter back around Thanksgiving. I don't hear a peep from the CA until I received another letter from the CA last week. In a nutshell this letter now says "We have had our client (the flooring company) review my letter of dispute and they denied it on the basis that the damage was not reported in a timely matter". Which is ridiculous because I reported this the day after along with a followup complaint to the BBB. They go on to say "Please remit payment asap as my client has authorized suit action if it is necessary and the suit would be in the state of Washington". Now first off... they didn't validate anything and they contacted me over 90 days after my DV letter. I am tired of hearing from this annoying CA. Can I sue them for violation of the FDCPA? I never got my 30 day right to dispute in my first letter from them, their disputed amounts are grossly incorrect, they contacted me after I demanded validation (and didn't validate), and now they are threatening me with a lawsuit which I feel is harassment. Also if this CA (or their client) decides to sue me, would the lawsuit really be in the state of Washington? I bought this item online and I live in New York City. I have never stepped foot in Washington. I am trying to decide what the next step is here. I would love to sue this CA if I can. I have a ton of unused vacation time I need to burn anyways. I don't want to have to go to Washington to do it. Thanks in advance.
Is this a common known problem I should worry about if I order flooring? Needless to say? I think it's your main argument. In my opinion it's part of the same story. After all, YOU are their customer. There really is no requirement for some kind of good buddy thing to go on. They can (and often do) ignore you until close to the statute of limitations. This has the added benefit of racking up a lot of interest on the debt. It's not ridiculous, it's what the other side is going to say. If they were to agree with you, what's the point in contacting you in the first place? Why involve the CA? Really. What does "authorized" mean? Is this a threat? Note that the FDCPA has some problems with threats to sue that are not carried out. They sent you a letter saying that what they had claimed is true. That's "validation". I know it's been perverted, but read Chaudhry v. Gallerizzo. It's America, anyone can sue anyone for anything. Of course if you are wrong, the FDCPA provides for fees for the winner. How you feel isn't that important to the court. Did you agree to Washington being the place where they will sue you if you don't pay? I would suggest consulting your contract that you agreed to at purchase. A real lawsuit takes months, maybe more than a year, even years, your vacation time probably won't cut it.
Didn't you post about this same problem a few months ago? Edited to add: Sorry, same problem, same poster, different forum.
