Just fired off a DV letter to a CA that I've been dealing with for some time. I spoke w/the OC yesterday and the amounts they sent off for collections don't match the amounts I'm hearing from the CA. I sent off the CreditNet two-pager and, of course, sent it CMRR. Just the first step of many I plan on taking in the next few months.
If you have been dealing with the collection agency for some time as indicated, your validation rights are now "limited." Beacuse the validation pesiod runs 30 days from the INITIAL contact FROM the collection agency, they are not required to reply at this point. They can simply stop collecting. If the info is not correct, ie they are collecting on an account they dont "have" or that doesnt exist, dont waste too much time with them. The original creditor, IF THEY DID NOT SELL the account, is ultimately responsible for the account and collection activity. THIS IS A GOOD REASON TO CALL THE COLLECTION AGENCY. GET ALL THE INFO ABOUT THE ACCOUNT YOU CAN, record it if available. Make sure they have your mailing address because you want all the paperwork from them as possible so you can show the inacuracies between the original creidtors files and the collection agency. ***** THIS IS IF YOU PLAN TO FILE SUIT!!!! If you just want them to stop collection, send a letter of cease communication or refusal to pay.
The only reason I decided to send them a DV is because after talking to the OC, the amounts due don't match up. I want to find out exactly what this CA is trying to collect from me. It's about 1/2 paid at this point and I did plan on continuing. I just want to know for what I'm paying.
