Okay, I need help!!! Today I received a call from "Marilyn" with RMA about a Capital One card that is in collections. I just received the letter yesterday and I sent off a dispute letter this morning (CRRR, of course). Anyway, my question is this ( and I know I may sound naive and I need to do more reading up) but, when I told Marilyn I would prefer contact by mail only and that I had mailed a letter off this morning she stated that "She didn't care what I was disputing." She went on to say, "Since this is now a collection issue, I have no rights. If I wanted to dispute the amount I should have done that while it was still with Capital One." Then she asked, "How did I plan to pay this today?" At that point I simply hung up. Please tell me she was not correct and that I still have rights!!! Also should I have hung up on her? What should I do when they call back?
WRONG! You have all the rights granted by the FDCPA tell them to contact you by mail only and hang up! Make sure you send the validation letter, and *limited* cease and desist letter requesting they only contact you by mail regarding this account. Send the above by Certified Mail - Return Receipt Requested
The simplest is to include the following one sentence in your validation letter. Customize it however you want, but this is a general idea... "All future correspondence and communications may only be made via mail to the address above." Two fold. #1) it is a partial C&D, but #2) you are hoping that they are dumb enough to stop reading at the 'validation' portion, and not notate it as a no-calls account, because, then you have them communicating with you in an inconveinient time, as per your writen instructions. $1,000.00 CHA CHING!
What did the letter say? If it contained the usual legally required notice that you can dispute, then your caller may have "overshadowed" what is legally required to be in their own letter. She may have also deceptively misrepresented that their obtaining the account ends any rights you may have had to dispute with the OC, or any claims arising from that, such as whether the amount is correct, whether payments have been accurately and timely applied, whether fees charged are allowed by contract, etc. Is the account yours and the amount accurate? Do you have enough information to determine this?
Thank you all for your replies! The letter was the usual legally required letter regarding disputes. What exactly do you mean by "overshadowing" her companies own letter? I think I understand but, I want to be clear. Her exact words regarding the OC were, "This is now a collection issue and you have no rights. If you wanted to dispute the amount you should have done so when it was still with Capital One we have the debt now and I plan to collect." She then immediately asked how I planned to take care of this today and without so much as a breath asked for my bank routing number. At that point I stated I again request to only be contacted by mail and hung up. She was an extremely unpleasant person. She was also rude and indimidating! I really do not have enough information regarding the account. I have a Capital One account that I make monthly payments on. I don't think this is the account in question which is why I requested the verification of the debt. Thanks for all you help!!!
ontrack hit something that i was just about to add myself. I was going to suggest memorializing Marilyn's comments in another letter to the CA, (with a copy to the Federal Trade Commission). Basically, what ontrack is saying by overshadowing. Is, in the letter you received, you were provided a NOTICE of your rights under the FDCPA, this is an attempt to collect a debt, any information obtained will be used for that purpose (mini-miranda); and unless you dispute within 30 days (validation). Now, along comes Marilyn, and basically says "You don't have no rights." Their letter gave you your rights under Federal Law, now, Marilyn calls you up and effectively "takes them away" to try to give you the impression that you have no choice but to pay the debt, NOW!
Did either the letter or the caller provide the Capital One account number they claimed to be collecting on? Are you receiving statements for the Capital One account you are making payments on? Do the statements show the payments being credited? Is the account in good standing? You could call Capital One and verify this.
One thing to remember, C1 also has a collection agency head (WestMoreland Agency) and sometimes their accounts could be listed as being just C1. Basically this is a sample of the memorialization. (You'ld also want to describe specifically everything about her attitude, and anything else, don't make any personal attacks, but just describe her politely, and accurately, but describe everything about her phone demeanor. -- think polite but kurt.) This is to follow up on the call which your employee Marilyn made to me on xx/xx/xxxx. When I told Marilyn I would prefer contact by mail only and that I had mailed a letter off this morning she stated that "I don't care what you are disputing." She went on to say, "Since this is now a collection issue, you have no rights. If you wanted to dispute the amount you should have done that while it was still with Capital One." Then she asked, "How do you plan to pay this today?" I am confused. Your company's letter dated xx/xx/xxxx, which I received on xx/xx/xxxx, and for which I mailed a validation letter to your offices on xx/xx/xxxx, which was received on xx/xx/xxxx, explicitly stated that I had rights, so why is Marilyn trying to tell me that I do not have any rights? I am sending a copy of this letter to the Federal Trade Commission for their opinion on this matter.
RMA is this Risk Management Alternatives ?? If so I dealt with them personally they violated the FDCPA & FCRA once I filed a complaint with the BBB and wrote a letter to the VP the acct was deleted. as far as CAp 1 goes you need to deal with their regulatory response team at 15000 capital one drive Richmond, Va office. if you are unsuccessful file a complaint with the Federal Reserve also located in Richmond , VA they will investigate your issue and give you their findings. after that go to ripoffreport.com and search cap 1 history there are lawyers that can add you to a class action suit should you want or need to go that far. cap 1 is very difficult to deal I have found that they don't back down even when they have NO proof to substantiate their claims. they report wrong info increase balances and refuse to justify those balances that they report. so rack up the violations if neccessary and get a lawyers advise. lawguru.com may help answer some questions. ck your states laws and other case info findlaw.com hope this helps you
