I just received a CMRRR from our District Magistrate that a civil complaint was filed against me by Palisades Collections an assignee of Chase for an old Bank One account. I disputed this account years ago and never got anywhere with it. On Sept. 1, 2006, I got a letter from Wolpoff & Abrahamson saying they were giving me a further opportunity to pay this debt. It didn't have the usual 'you have 30 days to dispute' notice on it, just a tear off coupon for my payment info saying that its an attempt by a debt collector to collect a debt.' Then on Sept 12, I got another lettter from them saying that they've decided to initiate litigation against me. Still no 'you have 30 days to dispute.' What's the deal? No one ever replied with valid verification of the debt when it was with Bank One, and now I'm being sued without having the ability to dispute. Someone tell me what to do! Please.
You have to be prepared to fight them in court. Have you received a copy of the complaint? As for "valid verification" that will be an issue in the court case.
I'm willing to bet $1 (the most I ever bet) that Palisades is NOT an assignee. If this is the first communication from them, they do need to comply with the laws. So why not countersue for FDCPA violations?
I think that I am going to countersue them. I will have to see how that is done. I'm assuming that I do it through the same District Magistrate's office. These are the first two letters that I have received from them, and as I mentioned, not one of them says anything about giving me 30 days to dispute. Also, they were not sent via CMRRR, so technically I can say that I never received ANY notice from them. Does that sound legit? Do you think that I should initiate the countersuit and that if I do that, they will decide not to pursue litigation? Not sure what to do here. Help!
I checked the letter again, and nowhere does it say that I have 30 days to dispute the debt. Doesn't that mean that they violated the FDCPA?
If you had requested validation from Bank One when they were the original creditor, they would have had no obligation under FDCPA to provide it, since as the original creditor they were not a debt collector. They would have been obligated to respond to CRA disputes, however, and they could have at least had the courtesy to have sent a statement. Who owned the account when it changed from current to delinquent?
It was owned by Bank One at the time that it went delinquent. I realize that they didn't have to validate, but didn't this Wolpoff and Abramson have to give me 30 days to dispute the debt in the letter that they sent? The letter that I received on 9/1 simply requested money and said that this is a letter from a debt collector. It did NOT say that I had 30 days to dispute. Eleven days later they sent me an Intent to Sue letter, again, with nothing about giving me the right to dispute. Had I received a letter that said that I had 30 days to dispute, I would have. I thought it was just some lame letter being sent by someone trying to get money from me but that would disappear. Can't my defense be that they did not give me the right to dispute?
Yes they did have to send you that letter. And yes you should have requested validation and disputed whether they said you could or not. You will still want to do so immediately if you have not already done so, but you will still need to reply to their suit, and if necessary, request that the debt be proved thru discovery.
"Had I received a letter that said that I had 30 days to dispute, I would have. I thought it was just some lame letter being sent by someone trying to get money from me but that would disappear. Can't my defense be that they did not give me the right to dispute?" Is this your debt or not, or do you even have enough information to know? If it was your debt, is the amount they are attempting to collect accurate?
I don't believe it is. I had an account with Bank One in college and my credit line was only $600.00 and never got any higher than that. The balance they are quoting is $1800 plus interest plus filing fees. Should I hire an attorney or should I go on my own and say that I was never given the chance to dispute as I should have had? I'm in Pennsylvania, do I have a right to discovery if I am being sued through the local Magistrates office? Also, if they are trying to collect, shouldn't they have tried to call me as well as send me a letter? I haven't received any calls from them, just the two letters. I have Vonage and I show no calls from them whatsoever. Please help.
