I received a letter from Bank One today in response to my previous letters to them. In my last letter to them I asked them who they were collecting on behalf of and what contractual obligation I had to them as I recall nothing. The letter I received from them stated that "they are regulated by -and comply with all state and federal laws. You agreed to pay when you opened the original account, and amended thereafter. This Agreement represents a contractual obligation blah blah blah....., As you are aware your account was opened in November 1995 and payments were received until 2003. Your use of the account signifies the acceptance of the terms and conditions. The debt will not be forgiven or eliminated." Well folks I never asked for the debt to be eliminated. My letter to them was short sweet and to the point. I basically asked what was owed and to whom or was it their subsidiary. I basically disputed this debt as I had back in August 03 and they now are writing me trying to throw this crap out here. I've asked for proof of the debt and they are saying well you used it so that's proof enough. Well, I did not use it..........maybe the ex-wife used it and maybe she paid on it. But I CLOSED this account when I closed the chapter with the ex---in 1998. Since then there's no way it could have been charged on and I don't for the life of me know if she was paying on it or not but I am not real sure of how to proceed. Please advise since Bank One seems to be refusing my request-I suspect they have no proof of the debt and they're trying to fool me or strong arm me into paying. But until they send the proof I am not paying a NICKEL. Any ideas on a response letter to this late development would be very helpful.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR REPLY...but I need PROOF that I owe this alleged debt...you provided no proof of signed charge slips or statements addressed to me at my address...MY TIES TO THIS ACCOUNT WAS ENDED IN 1998 WHEN I CLOSED THE ACCOUNT!!! MY RESPONSIBILITY ENDED WHEN I PAID IT OFF...IF YOU REOPENED IT WITH MY EX...THAT IS YOUR PROBLEM...
You said you don't know if your ex paid on it or not. Was there a balance when it was closed? If so, and if you were a joint account holder, you are responsible for the debt. So if she stopped paying they will come after you. That said, you still want them to tell you what the status is, because you want them to not be able to prove it. I would send a letter something like this: Thank you for your recent correspondence. However, you failed to answer my concerns. You mention an account being open and charges made. I have no recollection of this account (or, if you've admitted to having the account, you could say something to the effect that as far as you can recall, this account was paid in full and closed). Please provide me with copies of my initial contract and a full statement of account, including all charges and payments. (If you're admitting to the account, you could say something like "this account was closed on [whatever date] and I expect to see no charges after that date."
Thanks for the suggestions.......sorry I have been out of town for work a few days. Here's what I've put together prior to reading these responses. Please give me your input. I don't want to sound too smart but not to dumb either.......BTW I have not admitted anything regarding my liability for this debt. Am I coming on too strong? This is in response to your January 3, 2004 letter to me. It seems each time I write your company I seem to get no response from the person who I write to. This begs the question of whether your company is involved in some type of scheme to try and trick me into paying something that I have repeatedly made you aware, may not even be my debt. I have repeatedly asked in every letter to your company, for a copy of the original signed cardmember agreement and a thorough accounting of the debt itself. Please provide me with copies of the initial contract and a full statement of account, including all charges and payments. Regrettably to date Bank One has not provided this information. Is it because it is non-existant? Is it that you have me confused with another person of a similar name? You mention in your letter something about an amendment, a copy of which I have never seen or have knowledge of either. You stated that I am aware of this account opened in 1995......how do you know what I am aware of? If youâ??ve ever been through a divorce, you learn many things you did not know previously. You state the current balance is $1258.39 and payments were made until June 2, 2003. Thatâ??s wonderful, does it mean that I made them? Furthermore you said that my â??use of the account signifies your acceptance of the terms and conditions associated with the account. The debt will not be forgiven or eliminated.â? What is that supposed to mean; my use????? Whatever account you are talking about could not have been used by me as I do not have a credit card that carries your name and now I would never even consider doing business with your company. Thus far your company has been notified by certified mail return receipt requested two times that this matter is disputed and yet your company has declined to offer an proof to the contrary of my assertions. The tactics of your company thus far have been, illegal as it is against the law for a debt collector to report improperly after it is notified of a dispute, which Bank One was notified. Please donâ??t tell me you are not a debt collector under applicable laws, the letter sent to me from John Simons your attorney indicates otherwise. I have a copy of all original correspondence from Bank One and copies of my letters to you as well as copies of my credit report which clearly demonstrates Bank Oneâ??s reckless reporting and total disregard for applicable state and federal laws. I believe that the violations committed by Bank One and the associated penalties and damages far exceed the $1258 you claim is owed.
Just a suggestion . . . I always write my letters with the intent that a judge may ultimately be reading them. As such, I highly recommend that they be keep short and to the point. Personally, I would not mention anything extraneous that they could grab onto in an attempt to prove their case. I don't think that it is relevant to the situation that you are divorced and that your ex-wife might have been using the card. Let them figure it out on their own. As far as I see, the points of your case are: -- I paid this account in full on [insert date]. Include any documentation you might have of the final payment (statement following full payment, cancelled check, etc.) -- I closed this account on [insert date]. (If you have any documentation of this, include it. If not, at least mention that you closed it via a telephone conversation on the specific date or via a letter, etc.) -- At that time I destroyed the card. (Not sure if this is the case, but if you did, mention it. If you did not destroy the card, but remained in possession of it I'd still say I destroyed it. If your ex-wife actually has/had possession of it, I wouldn't mention this point.) -- I have not charged anything on this card since I paid it in full and closed it on [insert date] -- If you have evidence to the contrary, please provide. Otherwise, please delete the derogatory information associeated with this tradeline. Please do not delete this tradeline in its entirety as it provides a x year history to my credit file and deletion will result in a lowered FICO score. Just my two cents.
