Debt Verification letter

Hello all, I am new to all of this so I figured I would see if anyone can give me some advice.

I wont get into specifics, but I moved out of an apartment four years ago and the manager didnt like me, so he tried sticking it to me and charging me for stuff they shouldnt have.

My first step was to dispute it Online with the credit reporting agency. It came back verified.

The Collection Agency sent me a letter stating it was verified, and their "verification" was simply my name, birth date, SSN, and amount.

I am thinking I am going to contest their evidance, and only if they can prove I owe anything I will then contest the items themselves.

Anyway, I figure my next step is the send the Collection Agency a Debt Validation letter. I have created this will some research. I posted it here below, and If anyone could give me feedback on this that would be great.

Thanks,

Dan

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

USPS CERTIFIED # 00000000000000000000

January 23rd, 2009


From: John Doe
123 4nd Place SE
Nowhere, WA 00000

To: Collection Agency
P.O. Box 0000
Nowhere, WA 00000

RE: ACCOUNT # 0000000


To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is being sent to you in response to written communication you sent to me dated 01/21/09 RE: CONSUMER CREDIT REPORT DISPUTE and â??attempt to collect a debtâ?. A copy of this letter has been provided. Be advised that this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is officially and formally disputed and VALIDATION or VINDICATION of the claim is requested.

This request is effective immediately, upon receipt. In accordance to Federal Law, this â??request for validationâ? nulls any prior request and starts your 30 days to provide validation to day 1.

I respectfully request that your offices provide me with both LEGAL AND BONA FIDE VALIDATION of the claim AND prove that I have any legal obligation to pay you.

Please provide me with the following by USPS certified mail to my address listed above:

* Date that your agency took over the account.
* Identify the original creditor, and original date of account, and
contact information for verification.
* Provide signed or â??writtenâ? and dated paperwork from the original
creditor verifying I owe at least a specific principle amount.
* Disclose any paperwork from the original creditor that shows what
the money you say I owe is for.
* Provide a copy from the original creditor an itemized detail of
items, a checklist, or a list of services I am said to owe.
* Provide me with any copies of any papers or contracts with my
signature(s) that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe.
* Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe.
* Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable.
* Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account.
* Show me that you are licensed to collect in Washington State.

You are not required to meet all listed requests for a â??Validation of Claimâ? in accordance with the FDCPA, but due to the nature of this claim failure to meet all requests may justify future disputes.

This is a good faith effort to resolve this issue. If the unfortunate situation were to happen that you decide to not work in good faith and you file suite against me over this claim, lack of providing this information after a formal request will be one of my Affirmative Defenses during the litigation process. These requests will also be the scope of my Interrogatories and Request to Produce Documents during the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Depositions and Discovery, Rule 26.



RCW 59.18.260

The landlord is required to create a written checklist documenting the condition of the premises at the beginning of the rental and it is to be signed by both the landlord and the tenant. Once again, due to the nature of this claim, this document would greatly help you to determine if said claim is legitimate. If I can easily reference a specific, legal, bona fide document, you should be able to acquire it.

FCRA 623(a)(8)

If you simply validate this claim in accordance with the FDCPA and can not provide the document referenced in accordance to RCW 59.18.260 and you continue to report this claim as valid, I will launch an â??Investigation of Claimâ? with the original creditor made pursuant to the above named Title and Section. If they are unable to provide evidence that I owe this claim you could be in violation of both the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

FDCPA Section 809(b):

During this validation period, by law, no action can be taken which could be considered an â??attempt to collect a debtâ? on this claim. This includes any contact or action on your behalf other than validation or vindication. Listing or reporting to credit reporting repositories (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) when there may be no lawful or bona fide evidence this debt exists is considered collection activity and might constitute fraud under both Federal and Washington State Laws.

FDCPA Section 805(c):

â??Request for Cease and Desistâ? â?? I would also like to request, in writing, no further future contact, either in writing or telephone be made by your offices to my home or to my place of employment, unless it is regarding validation or vindication of the debt.

FCRA Section 611 Part(A)(1):

If your offices fail to respond to this validation request within 30 days from the date of your receipt, all collection efforts on this claim must cease, to include any information about this debt to be completely removed from all credit reporting agencies. Collection may resume only if lawful and bona fide validation is presented to me through certified USPS mail. As you probably know, continued collection and reporting efforts without validation is a violation of law per Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

In accordance with Federal Law, and in contrary to your letter, I do not need to provide evidence to support my dispute per FDCPA Section 809(b). It is you that needs to prove to that I owe said claim and that you have the right to collect it (within 30 days) or to stop collecting on the claim, plain and simple.

My rights are very important to me. I must exercise my right to completely validate every collection claim against me to protect myself from identity theft, fraud, and ensure my financial safety. This is an attempt to correct your records and clear possible invalid claims that could affect my good credit, and any information obtained shall be used for that purpose.

Thank you for your time.

John Doe

 

Sorry - just to make my steps clear:

On the 19th (of this month) I pulled a credit report. My 1st one in over a year.

I seen this charge on here and "disputed" it with Equifax.

They sent me an email on the 22nd stating it was "Verified"

On the 23rd I received my *first* letter from the CA, "verifying" who I was and asking me to "provide any information that may change the relevance of this debt"

I will admit I owe about half of the debt, but the other half are fabricated charges. I have proof of that as well.

I am figuring my first step though is do make them prove I owe ANY of the debt, thus the Debt Validation letter.

The old manager at these apartments no longer works there ... perhaps I can go there and see if they still have any proof of what I owe?

 

No - I have never heard from the collector before I disputed it on Equifax. The debt itself is reported as being 4 years old too.

I am thinking I should do both - Stop by the OC office and see if they can drum something up and from there do the dispute based on what info the OC provides.

Perhaps I will stop by the OC office and simply ask them "if they can provide me my rental aggreement to prove I lived here, and if possible my walkthough because they determines start/finish of the lease" If the person at the OC office cannot find anything perhaps I can even get them to sign a statement stating "they cannot find anything".

If they CAN find anything at least I know where I will stand.

Does that sound feasible?

 

excellent, thanks for the reply.


I am still going to go to the Apartment tomorrow and see what I can "drum up" without attracting too much attention to myself. Basically I will just tell them I need some kind of "proof I lived here and how much I paid" and see what they find.

I will also send a simple DV letter out CMRRR.

When I have some feedback to report I will let the board know.

Thanks for the help!!

 

So, the collection agency replied with a copy of my contract and an "itemized list" of my move in / move out checklist.

Here are some interesting facts, although I dont know if they are important enough to "cover me":

1. No where in the contract does it say my account can be turned in to collections, so therefore cannot I get the CA to stop reporting because I dont own, and never agreed to owe them a debt?

2. The check in list stated the carpet is used upon moving in, and after living there for 2.5 years they are charging me full price.

3. They are charging me for paint (after living there for 2.5 years)

4. There is a fair sum of charges that are not itemized, it looks like someone just wrote a number in.

5. I was not there for the final walkthrough.

I should probably get a lawyer, but I would really enjoy handling this myself. I believe in Washington State I am covered under some "wear and tear" laws but I believe that only applies to my deposit.(?)

I am going foward with sending a dispute letter back to collections and the apartments, so any advice will be great.

Thanks for the help so far.