I have followed the sample letters to get debt validation for a lease I broke at an apartment in 1998. I never received anything from the OC stating that I owed them money. All of a sudden, 5 years later, they are hounding me. In the state of Arizona, they have up to 6 years for statute of limitation. Unfortunately, after the second letter asking for validation, they sent me a photocopy of the lease and a breakdown of charges. I am not sure where they got some of the numbers from, but it totals $1000! I had an evil ex-boyfriend's mother cosign on this lease and I want to know how liable she is for these charges. I have worked really hard to repair my credit and this is the ONE AND ONLY thing floating out there. I am wondering if I should negotiate payments with them and if so, how do I go about doing it? The limited contact I have had with the collection agency has been less than civil and I am not too excited about communicating with them again. I really need some advice as to how to handle this!!! Thanks!
First of all, did you get the validation from the CA or the OC? Send a validation request and a limited C&D (no telephone contact, only writing) to the CA. If they have the account, you will probably have to deal with them. Second, start to research the law for landlords in the state where you lived. They often have to give you a breakdown of charges, and do it within a certain time. If they didn't do this, you could sue them (or threaten to) or file a complaint with the attorney general's office, and they may have to cancel the debt entirely. Then they would have to remove all references to it from your reports, as it wouldn't be correct information. There are so many regulations that a landlord has to follow, and if they don't, you're off the hook. But if varies from state to state. You may even need an initial consultation with a lawyer to find out what the law says.
Thanks for the quick reply! The validation came from the CA- in the form of a photocopy of my lease agreement and 2 pages of charge breakdowns. Both of the charge pages have information regarding my current work address that they could not have recieved until after I moved out, because I wasn't working there at the time I resided in their community! Also, there is a cover letter on this whole packette of info and it has a higher total balance than what is on the charge breakdown pages. I just bought a house 3 months ago, so I had to work pretty hard to clean up everything on my credit- I don't understand how this didn't come up at that time and how they can come after me when there was never any contact from the OC!!! I am going to try to research more!!! Thanks again for the advice!
They probably check periodically and found out you applied for a mortgage, that's when they put it on your report. If the landlord didn't follow procedure and the debt is invalid, the CA won't be able to collect or report. I'd write back to them and basically say "I received your printouts, but they don't prove that I owe this, and the amount is not the same as the amount you requested. Please provide further data." That gives you some time to find out about whether the landlord was compliant.
I am on it. I just did up a "light" C & D letter and will add the validation info. Do you have any idea where I might be able to do some research on my rights and the rules that the landlord needs to follow? I have never had to deal with this before, but I am NOT going to roll over and pay before I know everything. Not only that, I had a collector call me stupid! I certainly won't be writing out a check too quickly after being insulted and harassed! Once again, thanks sooo much for the lightning fast reply and helpful insight!!!
There are some legal sites that link to various state laws, but I'm not sure what they are. I'm associated with the military, so I can go to the legal office on base and they will find out. I would start by trying to find the state's web site, then search for landlord or something like that. Many times an attorney will give a free telephone consultation, they may at least tell you where to look. A law school in the area where you lived may be a good source as well. They often learn those kinds of things, or can at least tell you where to look. Sorry I don't have any more detailed info.
I feel reassured already!!! I felt confident that they wouldn't be able to come back with any sort of a validation, but when I got the packet, my stomach dropped. I am going to get on the Internet and see what I can find, then hit the other resources you suggested after that!
