A creditor by the name of Laurence Hecker is alledgin I owe money on a credit card. Among other FDCPA violations, I wondered if what they told me is true is true. According to the FCRA a delinquint account must be reported to credit reports before collection services are attempted. So when they called me and told me to check my credit report I was happy to find the card they mention is not there. When I explained this to them, they said "its because we are going to report it now, you dont understand how this works" The account was said to have gone delinquent in 2002, that is when they said the last payment was made. So, its been way past the 180 days. Is it legal for them to report this now, or are they trying to scare me into paying them. Plus, I'm pretty sure these guys are a scam, i've researched Laurence Hecker AKA VCollect from Princeton, NJ and alot of people on the net say they are criminals and frauds. Anybody know of these collectors.
I have another question the Fair Credit Reporting Act Section 605 Paragraph C states "In general. The 7-year period referred to in paragraphs (4) and (6) of subsection (a) shall begin, with respect to any delinquent account that is placed for collection (internally or by referral to a third party, whichever is earlier), charged to profit and loss, or subjected to any similar action, upon the expiration of the 180-day period beginning on the date of the commencement of the delinquency which immediately preceded the collection activity, charge to profit and loss, or similar action." Does this mean that a delinquint account report MUST precede collection attempts by 3rd party?
Under FCRA, they don't have to report at all, and they don't have to report it before attempting to collect. They only have to report accurately, if they do report. What matters more is: Is the alleged debt amount correct and legitimate, and is it within your state's SOL for collection?
But then how would the 7 year reporting limit work, does it work from the day they decide to report, if lets say 10 years later, or from 7 years after the account becomes delinquent. I though i paid off this account, a credit card with a 400 dollar limit which they are trying to collect 2k. I dont have the records, but they insisted it was on my credit report. When I looked and told them it wasnt, they had a "ligistical" person tell me that no, they havent reported it yet and were going to now. After at least a 1 1/2 years of attempting to collect a dept from 2002.
The 7 year period is not legally tied to the date they start reporting, or even to the date you finally pay, but is tied to the original delinquency date. The data furnisher is required to provide this date to the CRA within 90 days of reporting so that the CRA can comply with FCRA and remove after 7 years.
