Hi everyone, CA received request for validation and then made two collection calls after that date (per return receipt). Is this grounds for a suit? I also sent a partial cease and desist (no phone) on the same day but havn't received that return receipt. Are collection calls made during the 30 days after a request for validation was received grounds for a suit? I thought collection activity during that period was illegal. If so I'd file in federal court (per advice on this board). If it turns out they did indeed receive the partial cease & desist that same day, are those separate violations? Thanks! Mike
You can't expect them to cease communication on the very day they got it. You have to allow for a reasonable period for it to filter down. They cannot take further collection activity until they provide documentation if your request was timely. Was it?
Define collection call. They can call as long as they do not ask for the money. Technically, the day the receive the notice they are not suppose to continue collection activity. If it were a one person shop, you might have a chance in court, but something like NCO, it will take a couple of days to get into the system. If this is the only violation, even though you would be technically correct, the courts may have a differing opinion.
yes, my request was timely. Still havn't received the return receipt on the cease & desist. I'd really like to get the calls stopped since they are calling in-law's place. To add an additional complication, they now have a second account from the same OC, which cancelled both accounts when just one went into collection. They have only sent a letter for the first account, so that is the account I referred to when I sent validation and cease & desist. I guess I'll need to wait for the other letter to get that account number, unless I call them. In the end I plan on paying these using the Oasis program but I'd like to stop the harassment. Would it be better to send an outright cease and desist for "all accounts from American Express"? The amount is around 5K, I doubt they'd file suit on that. Then I can just pay when I'm ready (and rack up violations if they keep harassing me). Not sure how to go on this one.
You'd be mistaken if you think they wouldn't sue you for 5k. I would simply wait for the requests to filter down.
I once watched a lawyer bring in a live witness from the business that hadn't been paid and the amount was forty something dollars. They had two things against the person, but this was a live witness for less than it might cost to eat dinner and go to a movie. I suspect they'll sue for any amount. And, by the way, if the person wondering about this brings his scores up so they are really good, I would take a wild guess that that would increase the odds of a suit.
Ok, one more question. If they are calling about account 1, for which they sent a letter and I responded with a c&d along with validation, they are in violation for continuing collection activity during the validation period. And they are in violation for violating the c&d. If they claim they have been calling about account 2 during this time (and therefore not committing violations listed above), then they are in violation for calling me about account 2 and then not sending a written request within 5 days of the first contact regarding account 2. Can i go into court not knowing which violation is valid? If its account 1 then thats one set of violations. If its account 2 then its another. Again, I'm trying to reduce the daily calls to me and my family members. I cannot pay this account for a few months, so I'm concerned that actually calling and discussing this with them may not result in a satisfactory resolution since they are not likely to accept a promise to pay in a few months.
RE: Suing. Before you get all fired up to go to court, you might look at some FDCPA suits that have worked their way through the system. All of the federal cases are available on line, you just need to sign up for an account because it costs about $0.08 per page to read-em. If you don't like reading legal documents then filing pro se might not be something to look forward to. The complaints in these suits give you an idea of what each plaintiff felt worthy of a suit. Some of the trivial ones were dismissed by a very upset judges (you could tell by the ruling that they weren't happy to see such a stupid case in their court) who then proceeded to award the defendant their legal fees (i.e. to be paid by the plaintiff). The docket history gives you a good idea of how the suits progressed and how the defendant responded. Some of the cases seemed to have actual merit and for the most part those never went to trial. One can only assume that the defendant made them an offer so it would all just go away. If you file a suit, pro se, that's probably the best deal you'll get because, the FDCPA has a statutory limit of only $1,000. The real money in those suits is the legal fees, which, if you're pro se, you won't have. I don't know what the situation is in your case. It might be seriously annoying or you might be just looking for a "payday." I'm not judging one way or the other because I just don't know. I will say that even if you have an iron-clad case, filing a suit that will carry some weight takes some effort and having an iron-clad case is still no guarantee of victory. Them calling a couple of times a day might be a nuisance, but I'm thinking that it's pretty harmless in the eyes of the court. (Of course, harmless or not, if they haven't validated, it's still a violation). Then, if you go to court, you'll need to know all the relevant court rules so you don't trip up and lose on a technicality. The courts seem to be rather lenient on pro se litigants, but that benevolence has a limit. My point is that you need to decide your plan. If you have any intention, however remote, of filing a lawsuit, then you need to wrap yourself in the FDCPA and know what you must do and what the CA must do, then make sure you document how you are toeing the line every step of the way and also document how the CA is not. If you don't know what each of you must do, then it's possible you'll miss something (either way). If you're dealing over the phone, then you might get an old-school answering machine or some recording device (check you state's legal requirements for using these).
Just received written notification of second account. So I'll ask for validation and do another partial c&d. Hopefully that will result in a pause in the daily phone calls to my in-laws.
