Call the Texas Attorney General's office. I believe Texas requires a bond, but I don't know if they require licensing. The AG's office should be able to tell you if Texas requires licensing, or bonding, and if so, who to contact to see if this CA has met that legal requirement. Unlike other states, Texas also has a specific requirement that CAs MUST validate within 30 days of receiving your request. You might discuss with the AG's office the "validation" affidavit you received, with nothing actually documenting the debt obtained directly from the original creditor, on a paid debt that even the original creditor shows on your credit reports as paid. There may be other Texas consumer protection laws being violated.
First American Investment Company LLC hase a BBB report showing 1 unresolved complaint since their file was started in Nov. 2005. Are you dealing with "Glove" or "Giove"? Giove Law Office has a BBB report. Based on web searches, Lenahan Law Office, Giove Law Office, and First American Investment Company appear to be related by interconnected complaints. You might look at ripoffreport.com.
You might also find this article interesting: http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20060723/1039756.asp "SPECIAL REPORT MERCHANTS OF DEBT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Buffalo collection firms are part of an industry that too often uses threats and lies to collect millions in unpaid bills By FRED O. WILLIAMS News Business Reporter 7/23/2006 Buffalo debt collectors are spreading havoc. They coerced Sally Beckmann to pay $5,300 in credit card bills - and it wasn't her card. They rained calls on Nadine Frankenfield as she tried to recover from lung surgery, then denied it. And they told Barbara Roan to pay her ex-husband's $7,300 debt or go to jail. ..." "... A few bad apples? The region hosts some 43 collection agencies, including an office of the nation's biggest, NCO Financial. The actions of a few companies shouldn't tarnish the industry's reputation, Costa said. "There are good, highly reputable firms here," he said. "There may be ones that are questionable, but that's not unique." But other collectors called for stronger enforcement to rein in harsh tactics. "The FTC and the attorney general haven't really done what they should be doing," said Joel Castle, a second-generation collector and a founder of the industry's Buffalo presence. "There have been people in the past that have crossed the line, [but] I've never seen it as bad as now with these law firms that are in collections," he said. Several collection offices that operate as law firms around Buffalo are using abusive tactics, according to regulators and consumer lawyers around the country. The owners of Lenahan Law Offices went bankrupt in December under the weight of court penalties for collection abuses. Giove Law Office was banned from collecting in Idaho for threatening debtors with criminal charges. Collins Law Office agreed to stop calling Maine consumers after a crackdown by state consumer officials. ..." "... Even worse, the pressure isn't reserved for debtors. A growing number of people say they're being hounded for money they don't owe. At the FTC, 42 percent of complaints charge that collectors had the wrong person or demanded extra money. Paying another's bills Seattle-area resident Sally Beckmann paid $5,300 in credit card charges in 2004 after a collector convinced her she was on the hook for her sister's bill. "They threatened to garnish my wages and put a lien on my house," the supermarket worker said. "They had so much information, I just believed it." The collector said her sister put Beckmann's name on a credit card application, but the sister denied it and took the collector to court. Beckmann wound up getting her money back when her sister settled with Giove Law Office in Niagara Falls. The incident tore a rift in her family, she said. "I had put out $5,500, so I was a little irked," Beckmann said. "We wanted to retire - this put a wedge between us. It was bitter for a while." Rodney A. Giove denied wrongdoing in court papers and didn't respond to inquiries. ..." "... Nadine Frankenfield was resting at home in Bethlehem, Pa., after lung cancer surgery when a collector barraged her with angry calls. When she told him to stop because she was short of breath, the man said he "didn't call to hear about your lungs," she said in court papers. The company, National Action Financial Services in Amherst, denied making the calls, but phone company records showed seven calls on a single day in 2003. Frankenfield's court case turned up a training booklet that urged workers to exploit "gray areas" in rules against false threats by using "hypothetical statements" instead of explicit threats. Company officials didn't respond to questions. ..."
If you paid this debt off through a re-finance, wouldn't it show up on the closing statement for the loan? Did you pay through escrow/title or after you got the $$$. just a thought???
I looked them up for you guy. First American is neither licensed or bonded in this lone star state, however the law office of Mr. Giove has satisfied both requirements. First American has "assigned" this debt to Giove is what your letter stated.
They may be licensed and bonded in Texas, but if they fail to validate within 30 days, they will have violated Texas consumer protection statutes. If you win a judgement against them, it should be more straightforward to collect, since if necessary, you can collect from their bonding company. What they sent was the name of the original creditor, which you can also requiest under FDCPA. If what they sent was not obtained directly from the OC, it is not validation, however. First American Investment cannot be the original creditor unless they purchased the debt before it went delinquent. It would be false to represent anything they provide as validation.
