The debt is 8,000-ish. The Attornies are 2000 miles away. According to OC, they SOLD it after it was written off about a year ago. The second owner passed it off to a third that told me they almost immediately sold it to blah and associates (the attorney's office) due to "restructuring" of the business. The attorney says it is not theirs, but belongs to Great Seneca, who has not contacted me (the attorneys line has debt collection disclaimers on their answering machine). I am about to request validation, but I have been advised by the attorney that I must deal with them. They have "Great Seneca Financial Corp/third owner that supposedly passed it on/OC" listed as their client. I have NO IDEA what is going on. The third said it's not theirs(they are using a different name than on the atty's letter, but a Rep. under the new name says they are an agent) I did not dispute previously, but am within the time-frame to do so now according to the attorney's initial letter. They offered a settlement of 69%: half up-front, half divided by 6 months payments and this is the best I would get. A little more info: The debt is unsecured, referred to as a credit card, but was actually a loan, the promisory note being a check signed by me. I have issues beginning with the OC welching on agreements, but I stupidly got nothing in writing. I figured there wasn't much I could do except stop paying and hope to get them to settle. Up until now, I have handled things sub-optimally to say the least. The Atty. is hinting at the OC being helpful and being in a very strong position to litigate (RE: history, ability to validate). Should I risk losing the ability to settle and avoid paying court, Atty. fees by dragging my feet with validation, etc. and pissing them off?
Interesting. Sounds confusing to say the least. Due to the "selling" circumstances, I would most certainly send a DV CMRRR. Also, if it is showing on your credit report once you get the green card back do a dispute with the CRA's. Might as well start racking up some violations of the FCRA to help you on your side.
Send the letter to whoever sent you the collection letter--probably the attorney. Have they sued you, or are they just threatening? makes a difference in how to attack it.
Threatening. Do they need that signed check to sue successfully? If I understand correctly I should a)request validation from the Atty. by certified mail b)a week later dispute with the CRA, correct?
Sounds like a good start. Keep records of everything. If they threatened a suit and don't follow through, that may be a violation right there.
