I sent a collection agency a 30 day validation letter on Jan 23, 2002 with no response.Then I send them a estoppel letter on feb 28, 2002.They just sent me a bill with my name on it stating they have verification.Is this a good validation or not?If not I want to take them to court. Good idea or not.Plus what vviolation do I have on them.Your advice is greatly appreciated.
A statement of charges alone does not constitute validation. Did they send anything with your signature. Who's letterhead was the statement on? Here is the FTC staff opinion letter regarding this situation: Jeffrey S. Wollman Vice President and Controller Retrieval Masters Creditors Bureau, Inc. 1261 Broadway New York, New York 10001 Dear Mr. Wollman: This is in response to your letter of February 9, 1993 to David Medine regarding the type of verification required by Section 809(b) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. You ask whether a collection agency for a medical provider will fulfill the requirements of that Section if it produces "an itemized statement of services rendered to a patient on its own computer from information provided by the medical institution . . .â? in response to a request for verification of the debt. You also ask who is responsible for mailing the verification to the consumer. The statute requires that the debt collector obtain verification of the debt and mail it to the consumer (emphasis mine). Because one of the principal purposes of this Section is to help consumers who have been misidentified by the debt collector or who dispute the amount of the debt, it is important that the verification of the identity of the consumer and the amount of the debt be obtained directly from the creditor. Mere itemization of what the debt collector already has does not accomplish this purpose. As stated above, the statute requires the debt collector, not the creditor, to mail the verification to the consumer. Your interest in writing is appreciated. Please be aware that since this is only the opinion of Commission staff, the Commission itself is not bound by it. Sincerely, John F. LeFevre Attorney Division of Credit Practices
If your sent a copy of your phone bill would this be validation enough, it has same phone number I have now , I changed providers and kept the same number I paid off the old bill but that was a couple of years ago and have no proof now a ca wants 246.00 plus 86.00 interest.
So is the paperwork I got today from RMA- sears statements with my signiture a validation for RMA? I was under the impression that RMA had to have my signiture on thier documents.
