Hi, About a year ago I set up a monthly automatic payments with UCLA medical center. The last payment was on 07-01-2014, checked my bank account. Today I received a letter from a DEBT COLLECTION agency demanding the payment of the rest of the debt. Nobody called me, didn't received a letter and I'm quite upset. So, first I want to get read of the agency, will a C&D letter do? GENERALY, does any company can go today to a collection agency? No need for judgment? I had once an argument with a car insurance office, $70. After a few days I received a call from a collector. Thanks, Yoji
Anyone can go to a collection agency at any time. There are dangers to sending a letter demanding all communications to cease. The only options then are the following communications. (1) We're ceasing communications. (2) We're letting you know that we're evaluating our legal options. (3) We've evaluated our legal options, you're being sued. While you only wanted #1 to occur, they could easily choose #3, if the amount of the account is worth the cost of bringing the suit. Personally, I would do the following, if it was me. 1) Contact the OC, in writing CMRRR, state that I am dismayed that they are in breech of our oral contract to accept payments, despite the fact that they just accepted said payment on July 1, 2014. Their hiring of an outside collection agency is in violation of that agreement, BUT as a gesture of my goodwill, if they recall the account from the collection agency, I will be gracious enough to overlook the breech as an oversight which was never intended to occur. Now. MY second prong would be the following. 2) Contact the CA, in writing CMRRR, that I am perplexed by their communications, and that this matter has already been resolved between you and the alleged original creditor more than a year ago. I demand immediate validation of their claims, and if it is the matter which has already been resolved between myself and the alleged original creditor, I will seek all legal recourses available under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and they will be entangled in a very messy lawsuit between myself and the alleged original creditor. Please be advised that all phone communications are inconvenient.
Thank you for responding, What I meant is if the CA can do anything, like connecting my employer, without suing first ? ! The whole debt was $750 and there are $250 more left + $28 to the CA. I called today the billing department. I was told that my account was sent to collection because I PAID (! !) $50 a month instead of $62.50. Regarding contacting OC, I told my story on UCLA's Facebook page. No respond so far.
All these answers and more are in the FDCPA. In regards to contacting third parties - (1) to find out how to get in contact with you; or (2) to speak with a third-party at your consent; or (3) with the court's permission; or (4) to try enforce a judgement. So, until they HEAR from you, they can still claim that they are trying to make sure that they have your valid contact information. So theoretically, if your work information was on the clients account records, or in your credit file, they could possibly contact your employer to try to verify your contact information. Were the drafts being made by YOU or by THEM? (And of course, wouldn't it have been good customer relations to send a letter after the first payment saying, "We were expecting $12.50 more on the payment dated xx/xx/xxxx.")
Oh, the one thing that they can't do when they contact a third party is have them leave a message. If they disclose enough information that the third-party could essentially write a dunning notice on their own handwriting, they've way over-disclosed what they're allowed to disclose. (I had a CA which had a neighbor write a note and place it in the mailbox to "CALL MR DUMB-A$$ AT DADS - 1-800-IAM-DADS x 2DUMB ---- CALL MR DUMB-A$$ AT DADS - 1-800-IAM-DADS x 2DUMB"; YES, he actually hand wrote the message not once, but twice... BTW: They did hear from me almost immediately, in Federal Court...
