Your DVL is your dispute. This is the exact language from the FDCPA: :::::If the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period described in subsection (a) that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, or that the consumer requests the name and address of the original creditor, the debt collector shall cease collection of the debt,:::::: They're inaccurately reporting the debt if there are two different DOFD's. I would challenge it from that angle.
Send a validation letter CMRRR. This is the template I use: Your Name Your Address LVNV Funding LVNV Address Account #: Date Greetings: This letter is to inform you that the validity of this debt is disputed. It is not a refusal to pay, but a notice that your claim is disputed. I do not have the complete account number. The account number I have is the one listed on my Experian, TransUnion and Equifax credit reports â?? which omits some digits. This is a request for validation made pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Be advised that I am not requesting "verification" that you have my mailing address, I am requesting "validation;" that is, competent evidence that I have some contractual obligation to pay you. At this time I will also inform you that if your offices have reported invalidated information to any of the 3 major Credit Bureauâ??s (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion) this action might constitute fraud under both Federal and State Laws. Your failure to satisfy this request within the requirements of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act will be construed as your absolute waiver of any and all claims against me, and your tacit agreement to compensate me for costs and attorney fees. Best regards, Your Name
Hello again all, First the good news: Since my last posting, my credit score has increased by 108 points! I largely credit all the wonderful information posted on these forums. Now, the not-good news: It's been a few months since I had done anything on this LVNV Funding account, but my last action was disputing through the 3 CRAs (via web). I never heard back and had almost forgotten about this issue until I just refreshed my credit report and this account is still being listed, but now with a remark of "Account information disputed by consumer, meets FCRA requirements." The balance has also increased by $33. None of the CRAs ever contacted me in any way to let me know what became of the dispute. Nor has Northland Group, LVNV Funding, nor Resurgent Capital Services ever responded to my DVL past the one from Resurgent that said "We are looking into this. If you would like to settle it now, please send payment <here>." Another interesting thing I just noticed is on the entry for this account on my Transunion report. My previous report on 1/9/14 showed this account being blanked out - Account #, Condition, Responsibility, Last Payment, Loan Type, Opened, Reported, and Remarks were all empty. Current Balance, Original Balance, Limit, and Monthly Payment all said $0. Status said Unknown, and Term said 'months'. I have proof of this as I always print my reports out as a PDF and save them. This was the main reason why I had put it out of mind - I figured it was in the process of being removed. NOW the account has filled out Account #, Condition, Responsibility, Current Balance, Original Balance, Limit, Monthly Payment, Status, Term, Opened, Reported, and Remarks. The scary thing is... in Transunion's little Comparison View they show what the previous report supposedly said... and they have filled out information for these fields from the 1/9/14 report that was absolutely, 100% blank. WTH? Is TransUnion in cahoots with these guys? I understand I may have dropped the ball in waiting this long after DVL, but is there anything I can do? Mrs. T, your template is fantastic. I already sent one back in August, though. Do I need to send another? Thank you all!
Update: Just ran another credit report on TU and it looks like this account is blanked out again. It's THERE... but it shows a blank Account #, Condition, Responsibility, Opened, Reported, and Remarks. Current Balance, Original Balance, Limit, and Monthly Payment all say $0. Status says Unknown, and Term says 'months'. My actual score remains unaffected since 4/2. What the heck is going on?
Check your e-mail box, if you dispute via WEB, most often you receive an E-MAIL which tells you to check the results online. This is another reason for not doing the dispute on the web. Pull the report on the web, then type a letter and fax it to them, then you have to get the paper results.
Jam, Thank you very much as always for your informative reply. I checked my email and found that while I do have a 'Request Received' email from "investigate" at transunion on 3/28/13 and an 'Investigation Complete' email on 4/12 (so I know what to look for)... but that investigation was for another thing entirely. I do NOT have one any time after that. So bottom line: I disputed the LVNV Funding account in question on 9/20/13, but was never sent a Request Received email or an Investigation Complete one. Luckily, I saved the Online Investigation Report page to PDF at the time, but I don't know what good that does me... Thank you again for your time.
Is what you saved the credit report itself, or the confirmation when you asked for the investigation? If you saved the confirmation screen you would at least have proof that you made a dispute on that day.
