Dispute / Verification Process

Heres what I did:

After reading information from this site and others, I learned a great deal about the credit process. It is just amazing how these collection agencies and original creditors try their best to screw over the average person. I read the whole FDCPA(Fair Debt Collections Practices Act) and how it relates to consumers, original creditors and debt collectors. You can use the FDCPA and the FCRA(Federal Credit Reporting Act) as, pardon the phrase, weapons of mass destruction against collection agencies.

After doing some research, I ordered all copies of my credit report from Experian, Equifax and Trans Union. They were as different as night and day. I Check them over throughly and highlighted all of the collection accounts, charge offs and paid collections/charge-offs. I started with the collection accounts first.

Using a sample of this websites sample letters, I came up with a validation letter. I used the same letter for all the collection accounts and just changed the company and account numbers. I sent them all under signature confirmation(you can look them up on the web, versus certified mail, where you are waiting for the green card), which cost $2.00 more.

Before 30 days went by, I heard from two collection agencies, who said they would remove their listings before the end of January. I felt immediate victory!!
I did hear back from one agency who tried to tell me that I owed the debt and quoted a legal opinion from the fourth circuit court of appeals. I read the legal opinion and wrote them back, needless to say, they too deleted their collection entries.

After 30 days went by and without hearing from the other four collection companies I sent intial letters to, I sent them second request, this time giving them 15 days to validate...Once again, no contact, but two of those four collections were also deleted.

Im in the process of sending letters to the credit reporting agencies on the other collection companies and tell them that they failed to validate...I will send proof of my two letters, my two signature confirmations from the USPS website and a copy of the FDCPA. There is no way they can verify these accounts since they were never validated in the first place.

As for the paid collections/charge offs, I sent nutcase letters to three of those companies giving them 30 days to reply to my request for immediate removal...I actually have letters from two of them stating they would remove the listings once I paid, but failed to do so......Im looking to up my credit scores from the mid 500's to the low 700's within a year or so....Im well on the way

 

I just discovered that a collection agency (to which I sent a certified/return receipt signature card requested verification request in December 2002) not only never bothered to respond but just went ahead and listed it as an "unpaid collection" on my CR.

Can they do this?

I thought they *had* to verify a debt if I responded as I did within 30 days? No? They can just toss aside my request for verification (I believe the original medical bill from a hospital was never filed correctly causing it to not be paid by my insurer due to hospital billing error and was advised by the insurance co. that I am not responsible either - that when a medical biller screws up they can't pass the burden on to the patient but instead simply have to eat the cost themselves -- you wouldn't believe this happens but it does and I just got out from under the collection threat of another $99 bill this way)

So they reported with no response to my request for verification within 30 days of their first notice that it had been sent to collection.

What do I do now???

 

all of my paid collections are from july 2000, when my wife and I were trying to get approved for a mortgage loan and the lender told us to negoiate a payment with the collection agencies.

Needless to say, we did that, but did not know about the validation process until late last year. I could have saved myself a lot of money had I known about validation then.

However, since I was giving letters from the collection companies that they would report the accounts paid as agreed/zero balance, I just payed them.

When I got copies of my credit reports in '01 and '02, I disputed those accounts with the CRA's, and they came back verified. I didnt know about the nutcase procedure until I found this website in early January, so I immediately sent out nutcase letters to those three collection agencies that I payed....Im sure I can get them off, and If Im successful with those three and one collection account each on Experian and Trans Union, I only have to negiogate with one charged off creditor that is reporting to all three agencies.

 

I'm embarrassed to admit this but I don't know where to access the "nutcase letter" I hear so much of.

Is that under sample letters?

 

Can they do this?
kseab
++++++++++++++
As long as people let them.