I have sent NCO the 1st validation letter, got the green card back....waited 30 days, no response, so I sent the estoppel, got the green card back, no response. Now what? I am dealing with a different branch of NCO then what everyone is talking about here. The original debt was in Hawaii for a telephone bill, they sold it to NCO, and I've been writing to their Hawaii Branch. They told me to forward all correspondence and payments (whatever!) to that branch so do you think thats ok? IThe green card was signed by the same person both times, but no response. Please help me with the next step. BTW, the debt is about 5 1/2-6 years old. Thanks, Jamee
I have not checked my states SOL. The debt was my husbands when he was in the marines, from his ex room-mate calling his girlfriend in Japan, its about 900.00. My husband got out of the marines and the phone was in his name, but didnt disconnect it at that time like he should have. His room mate just kept up the phone, used it and never paid for it. We never got any bills in the mail because we had then moved to another state. The phone was disconnected for non payment It is on the credit report, only trans union, we are in the process of buying a house, we've already been approved, but our broker says if all else fails, we MAY have to pay it at closing. This whole debt just urks me. Jamee
Have you disputed this NCO listing with the CRA's? If so, have you sent procedural request letters? If so, then you have them clearly on violations. If not, then I would do both of those things. Ignoring the validation process in and of itself is a violation, but continued debt collection practices (like verifying with the CRA during the validation period or sending demands for payment without proper validation) would make your case much stronger. If you have done those items, then I would file suit in small claims court for violations of the FDCPA immediately. Once NCO is served you should be contacted with a settlement offer which would most likely entail removal of the derogatory item in return for dismissal of the suit. They really don't want to go to court if you have such an open and shut case. If you need/like to up-the-ante in damages, you might also search for a post from Marie outlining some steps like "applying for credit you will be denied for" so that you can claim this listing is damaging your credit. -Peace, Dave
I have disputed twice thru Trans Union, it keeps coming back as verified. They just wont verify it with me. Is everyone here going to small claims court if the CA doesnts respond after the estoppel? I didnt want to do that because I dont know the fees or time involved. I was just following the advice from everyone here. I thought you then presented everything to the credit bureasu of your attempts or something. What is everybody else doing? Jamee
Jamee, You can try to send copies of the validation and estoppel that you sent, and copies of the green cards to the cra along with a letter telling them to delete based on the fact the ca has no proof. There is a letter I wrote that was added to the letter section http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttalk/board/showthread.php?s=&pgnum=1&postid=117173#post117173 that I used in this exact situation. It worked for me, but no guarantees. It is worth a try though.
NCO is very sloppy w/ adhering to the basic guidelines of the FCRA. Did they notate the account as in dispute w/all 3 CRAs during this time? If not, then that's a violation. Did they continue to send you correspondence seeking to collect after the first letter was received? If not, thats a violation. I did the same thing that you are going through w/ them-and they messed up on these and other requirements of the FCRA. Give em, enough rope, they will hang themselves. Then you can point this out to them via letter, and it will get deleted.
