Hope some people here can give me some advice Here are the circumstances: 1. I have received my first Dunning Letter> ie first form letter from the collection agency. 2. The letter is close to the form permitted by the Fed Codes but off a bit. 3. The debt is not legitimate but hey does that stop them no!!! 4. I have sent a dispute letter already and asked for validation>verification> there seems to be some confusion on what this is. AND dispute the debt OR any part of it. 5. The suppossid debt is from a contractor I hired that did not finish work and also did it not per code> also contractor is not licensed where I have filed a complaint with the state contractors license dept and AGs office 6. Also the origincal debtor ie contractor has sent me alot of 4 letter faxes which I have sent to AG s office 7. To get the contractor off my back I sent certified letter with check AND letter saying this is what I think you did and what I am willing to pay IF YOU CASH this check payment is considered by you in FULL that is also on the check. 8. He cashed the check and then next day ran down to the local CA and started collection. The only reason I am dealig with this is that my credit is very very high around composite score of 795 and cannot get a derog on my credit even with a dispute letter attached to CRA. ok WHAT SHOULD I DO from here??? SKI
Did the contractor disclose that he was unlicensed before accepting your job? Was the dollar amount of the job sufficient to require state licensing? What did it cost you to complete the job, and did you use a licensed contractor to do that?
It sounds like you could show in court that he accepted your offer of compromise. If he is unlicensed, and required to be licensed, he might not want to appear in court himself to try to collect from you. He, or his suppliers or subs if he has not paid them, might still have some claim for the amounts of supplies used in the job. You might follow up with your state AG, and file another complaint against both him and the CA. You should also dispute the debt in its entirety with the CA, CRRR, including that he legally accepted your payment as payment in full on an uncompleted job, that he was unlicensed to perform the work in the first place, and that you have filed complaints with your state AG. They probably don't want any part of this mess.
Hello Ontrack> to answer your questions 1. No he did not say he was unlicensed in fact he stated his credentials and gave the impression that he was. 2. The amount owed ie credit agency collecting on is $150. 3. The amount I sent to him on check and PAID in FULL is $85 4. I think with the correct letters to the CA I can get them completely off my back but am afraid of the any negatives on the Credit. I am certain the CA does not care one bit about the circumstances and that fact the debt is not valid. Any other comments pls post SKI
The CA does not care unless it hurts them not to care. Regarding the requirement that he have a license, you might check with your state's department of consumer affairs, or equivalent. They would know what board or commission is responsible for licensing that area, and they might be more territorial in defense of that requirement than the state AG, since often those boards include people from that trade, even if the state AG ultimately supports their legal actions. Your position is that the "contractor" misrepresented his credentials, in violation of state law. He obtained your business by deception, and failed to perform the work in accordance to code. It is possible that for amounts as small as $150 no contractor's license is required. Did he represent to you that he routinely performed jobs of the type and at the price level that would have required a license, thus leading you to believe he had one? Did he represent that he had a license, either in some other licensable area, or with someone else's license number? You might check that. The contractor also misrepresented the legal status of the debt to the CA, since by accepting your offer and cashing your check, he accepted that the debt was paid in full. In fact, this may be your strongest card, considering that the work was not up to code, poorly done, and not finished. The CA will assume that the amount claimed due is correct, but if in your timely notice to them that the amount is disputed and in fact nothing is due, you include copies of your offer and his acceptance/cashed check, they can no longer pretend they don't know. If they post any TL for the account to your CR, they, and he, would be misrepresenting the status and amount of the debt. In addition, you may have a breach of contract. As you probably have found, dealing with contractors or subs is like herding cats, even if they are good ones. Find people you can work with, use the same reliable ones, and reduce everything to writing, especially whenever you agree to changes. Keep on top of all materials or supplies, and payments to suppliers and subcontracters, lest you get stuck with liens for unpaid bills after you think you have paid a contractor the final amount due. I am not an attorney.
Add a BBB complaint. People who choose to operate in regulated areas without the proper licenses would be wise to avoid a high profile from unresolved complaints. That is the trade-off they make by failing to obtain licenses.
On Trac > Yes very good stuff there. This was done in the state of AZ I live in CA And did all of this by phone calls for services in that state for my rentals there. Yes the silly contractor sent me no less than 3 qoutes toal of $1900 which is a clear violation of AZ contractors license requirement. He must hava license to even QUOTE above $750.00 just like CA. I really would like to set up the CA actually and let them validate and then in 33 days put a negative on my literally perfect credit where I use this to get construction loans. The damages in getting a lower rate loan would be pretty good. I am glad I came on this site for what I am finding is set the CA up ie let them violate then litigate for damages and fines. It is the only way it seems to get them off ones back. PS- I got a very strange call last week JUST AFTER this contractor sent the debt in to CA Someone called me and posing as a detective and then wanted me to verify SSNs for me, wife .....assests, bank accounts ect ect. I now am betting that this was the CA but I think this is strange just for $150. Any comments pls post here> SKI
One last question On Trac Alot of people on these boards say not to give the CA copy of the cancelled check and the certified letter I sent to the contractor stating if you cash this check then you are agreeing that any and all services you renedered are paid in full. Also I stated he did not finish the service , it was faulty ect ect ect. But many would say just let the CA ding my credit AFTER I ASK for validation. Then litigate litigate litigate. Do you really thing the CA will back off if I give them this info and do they really care???? It seems they just use the reporing agencies as a lever whether they are right or wrong. SKI
I hope you provided no information on SSN, bank accounts or anything else. What excuse was given, to indicate why this "detective" was asking for that information? Who did they claim they were working for, the "police", your bank? Anyone with legitimate right to that information can either obtain it by subpoena, or sue you and have the court order you to disclose assets. I would file a police report, or report it to your local DA, as it would fit under the definition of trying to obtain financial information by "pretexting", a federal crime.
If the CA dings you with copy of the contracter's processed check, letter, and CRRR docs in hand, you can claim willfull and intentional. The contractor acted in bad faith, and now the CA is also acting in bad faith, as his agent.
On Trac that is a good idea to file a complaint with my local DAs office. Do you have a code or statutue that in fact it is FED crime to ask this type of info??? I would like to reference that. The "Dectective" as she called herself hung up very quickly as soon as I asked her name, phone number and place of BIZ. I did not get anything from her at all. I did not confirm any info to her. I have never had a call like this The fact that I got this call THE SAME TIME THE CA is processing the BOGUS DEBT greatly suggest the CA or OC has responsible for the call. SKI
