How should I handle this? NCO Financial saying Litigation will be filed tomorrow...

1. I don't know where the partial "cease and desist" comes from, it's not in the FDCPA as far as I can tell. You can try it, but I am not sure what it legally means.
2. Collection agencies don't want to contact you by mail. Why? Because they keep getting sued when they do that. On the other hand, when they call, they often get away with a lot.
3. If they don't want to write you, telling them they can only write you might get them to sue you in the same way that telling them not to contact you at all might get that. Of course there is no way to know for sure.
4. Regarding understanding what they might or might not do, you can visit your local court and see what they have done in the past. Using that as a guide to future behavior, however imperfect, is at least something, all information helps.

 

Its not a legal term, but a descriptive used by consumers. Many now recommend that a DV include a statement that it is inconvenient for them to receive phone calls. There are a couple of different reasons for it.

There are those that simply cannot handle the agressive tactics of collectors during phone calls, then there is the group that likes to attempt to rack up violations of the FDCPA, and use this as a tool - who knows if it would stand up in court.

(a) COMMUNICATION WITH THE CONSUMER GENER-
ALLY. Without the prior consent of the consumer given
directly to the debt collector or the express permission of
a court of competent jurisdiction, a debt collector may not
communicate with a consumer in connection with the col-
lection of any debtâ??

(1) at any unusual time or place or a time or place known
or which should be known to be inconvenient to the consumer.

 

It doesn't always have to.

Just like most CAs who go to court expect default judgments because the defendant (debtor) didn't show up in court, many FDCPA litigators expect that the suit will be settled out of court (depending on the defendant's history, of course). In and of itself, such a violation would not deserve much attention, however such violations often occur with others such as continued collection without validation, failure to send the required notification of rights, etc. So why not throw another log on the fire?

I believe that when someone who owes a debt they should pay it, but I also believe that if a collection agency is trying to collect, they should follow the applicable laws. The two actions are distinct and separate such that guilt or innocence with one has absolutely no bearing on the other.

 

True enough . . . good post.