I recieved a collections notice from a CBE Group dated 2/16/08. They are trying to collect on an alledged debt to Zales. NCO and LVNV is also trying to collect this debt. In this thread I posted that I received a call from CBE prior to any mailing from them. I told the person who called it was inconvenient for me to receive calls at any number then later that day I get a call from another agent of theirs who admits the account was noted that I did not want to be contacted verbally. On the 20th I mailed out my validation letter to them and also a letter to the bond unit of the State of New Jersey they need to have a $5000.00 bond on file. According to This page "Anyone who is operating a collection agency or is in the business of collecting or receiving payment for others of any account, bill, or other indebtedness must annually file a Collection Agency Bond Application. The application will attest that a $5,000 bond has been filed with the State of New Jersey as required by statute." The letter from the CA showed 131 Tower Park. Suite 100 PO Box 2547 Waterloo, IA 50704-2547 as their address. I received notification back from the bond unit that as of March 4th the CBE group does not appear on the records of the office. From what I understand this means they can not legally collect this debt. I did send them a request for validation as well but I have not heard anything back from them.
I'd love to be able to help, but I don't see anything that's really actionable. 1) do you know that LVNV and NCO are actively pursuing collection activities or did they have the account, put it on your credit report, and then just sell or transfer the debt and "forget" to clear it off your report? If they are on your credit report(s), have you validated these through the CRAs? (do you have written proof of this?) 2) If the agency is not operating legally, then do you have standing in that? I can see how, if they tried to sue you, you could use that as a defense, but I don't know (i.e. you would need to find out) if their not having a bond is your problem or the states board of licensing, compliance, or some such. 3) Have you sent your "inconvenient to call" letter by mail or did you just make the phone call? Did the call after the day you told them? Two calls in the same day could be a bona-fide error from miscommunication. Subsequent calls might be actionable, however. 4) RE not getting back to you, they don't have to. They do have to stop collection activities until they provide validation. You should be getting copies of your credit reports to verify removal and reinstatement of any entries. When I was in the middle of this, I was pulling my credit every day to be able to track when they pulled the trade line and reinserted it. (PITA, but I had a hardcopy trail of their activities). The first thing would be to review the FDCPA and make sure you've followed the procedures described and that you have documentation for all the times they haven't. Good luck!
1) Within the past 45 days I've received letters from CBE, NCO and LVNV in reference to the same Zales account from Citi. I am unable to access my Trans Union report online but only LVNV is listed on my Equifax and Experian report. NCO & CBE are NOT showing on my Equifax or Experian report. NCO & CBE have NOT responded to my validation requests. The only one to respond was LVNV and they did not provide anything from the OC. 2) I don't know if in New Jersey I can take action against against a CA who does not have the required bond. I can't find anythingshowing NJ has their own version of the FDCA. 3) Both calls were on the same day. it was the first I heard from the CA. They called on a Monday and said the letter went out Saturday. The second agent did see the account was flagged after I brought it to their attention. 4) I thought showing the account on my report was considered collection activities and once I request validation they are not able to report until they send me something from the OC .
You have no standing under Paragraph Number Two above absent some private cause of action expressed in that Act.
That's correct. The process should be: 1) you get notice from the CA informing you of their collection account and your rights under the FDCPA 2) you dispute the debt and request validation, HOWEVER, if the original letter included the name and address of the OC, the debt can be presumed "validated" so far as the FDCPA is concerned. 3) If the original letter did not include any validation information, the CA must notify the CRA(s) to pull the collection entry and then request the validation information from the OC. 4) After they receive it from the OC, the CA needs to send it to you and then then can put the collection entry back on your credit report. After #2 or #4, depending on where you got the OC info, you can then follow up with the OC to figure out if it's your account, the result of fraud or identity theft, whatever. Only if the CA is a JDB would you follow up with the CA. If you're going to sue, there are a couple of ways to approach it. 1) prepare a flimsy suit (i.e. bluff) and hope they just go away (and maybe pay you a nickel or two) that might work, or they might call you on it and sue you for the debt. You have to guess how strong their evidence is and how motivated they are. or 2) prepare a solid case with lots of documentation and make their life miserable (to the extent it's not miserable already, anyway). Option 2 is a lot more work if you're filing Pro Se, so again, it's a question of motivation. When I filed my suit (in small claims court), I was researching case law and court procedures for months. My settlement hardly compensated me for the trouble, but I was motivated (i.e. pissed) which goes a long way. But I also had a reasonably solid case that was well documented. I don't know how much this mattered (probably not much), but it helped me. In the end, we negotiated a settlement without going to trial (as is often the case). If you're going to file a suit Pro Se, I'd strongly recommend reading some previous cases to see what sort of violations got what sort of response and then see how your case fits in there. ALSO, commit the FDCPA to memory, if you're going to sue for FDCPA violations. You can do it, but it's a lot of work (the first time, anyway).
