Lets try this again. First let me give you guys a refresher on what has happened here: I sent PAL a validation letter on a $2400 account they had purchased from Firstar bank, it was an auto loan. To make a long story short I have them on several violations but I wish to pay them something to get this thing done. Here is a mixture of a Settlement letter I found here on CN and in the second paragraph I go over what I will do to them if they refuse (ITS). Let me know what you think, by the way only reason I would offer money to setltle this is cause it was a car loan, I still have the car (in storage since 98) and I wish to get rid of storage facility (since I have new house with garage it is no longer needed). Heres the letter: Date: Creditor Address City, State, Zip Re: Account Number Dear Sirs: This letter is an offer to amicably settle the above account or give you notice of the court action to follow. It is not to be construed as an acknowledgment of my liability for this debt in any form. I have tried to obtain validation of this debt from your company: On 4/23/03 I sent a request for debt validation to you, it was picked up on 4/28/03 On 05/13/03 you placed a hard inquiry on my Experian credit report, which is considered furthered collection activity and a violation of the FDCPA to which the statutory fine is $1,000.00. You sent me a letter on 5/14/03 requesting â??additional informationâ?, I am not required by the FDCPA or the FCRA to give you more information, these laws restrict your collection activity that you have blatantly ignored. I placed the account in dispute with Equifax on 05/07/03. And you verified this debt with Equifax before sending validation to me. How could you do this without having received the â??additional informationâ? that you requested from me? This is also a violation of the FDCPA (another $1,000.00). By law you have to send adequate validation to myself before validating or otherwise reporting the debt to the credit agencies. The actions done by your company show proof of your total disregard for the laws governing your industry. I am going to make a settlement offer in order to try to settle the above referenced account This is done only as a way to try and avoid legal fees. If you do not accept this offer I will understand that it will be time to file suit. I will pay your company the amount of $616.75 as full settlement of this account. If you accept this agreement, I will send you a money order or certified cashiers check for the settlement amount of $616.75 in exchange for a full deletion of all references regarding this account from my credit profile and full satisfaction of the debt. This agreement is binding and will be void should you not hold up to your end of the agreement. Furthermore the debt will be deleted from my credit profile at all three credit bureaus or the bureaus your company has reported it to in the course of doing business. If you agree to the above, please acknowledge with your signature and return a copy to me. Upon receipt of this signed acknowledgment, I will promptly send you a money order or cashiers check in the amount stated above. Notice: This agreement is restricted. This is not a renewed promise to pay but rather a restricted settlement offer only. By signing below, you agree that the debt has not been renewed nor has any concrete written agreements been exchanged. Creditorâ??s Authorized Signature: _____________________________ Date:____________ Name Title : Sincerely,
Why do you have to settle with them in order to get rid of the storage? If they have violated, the amount you could get from a suit is more than you are willing to send them.
well 2 reasons, one is with the title I can sell the car for what I am offering them and it would be a wash. The other is I have nowhere to put the vehicle if I move out of my storage unit. I would have to abandon it. That with it being worth a little money, and my CR showing I owe a lot of money on it. I would like to see that change as soon as possible. I also thought of another reason, court sounds risky, time consuming and expensive.
I had no idea this board was so judgemental but NO I have not been hiding a car. I had a storage unit for several years because I lived in a Rental that was too small to hold all of my stuff. It just so happened that I put a good car in it that I just didn't happen to own free and clear... Sheeeez! Anyone have a comment on the substance of the LETTER?
Not being judgemental - First - I think you need to find out who is holding the title to this vehicle, before you offer to settle with a collection agency. If the collection agency does not have the title, and they are not the lienholder, then your plan should to be to deal with the actual lienholder, which in your case might be the state, if it is going on five years in the rears.
I agree, find out exactly who the lienholder is. Secondly, if you have to go to this settlement agreement, you need to add something about not selling the balance to any other CA.
I know the original lienholder is Firstar (now USB). They sold the debt to Pal but i have a strategy for getting title from the OC after the debt is paid through the CA. I did this once before on my wifes car, it was being collected by NCO. About 6 mos after I paid NCO through setllement (It was way before I found this site) I contacted NCO and asked where in the heck my title was. They said they had no idea and I would have to call the OC, when I did they were very helpful. I told them my situation and they said all they needed is a letter from the CA stating settlement amount and if I did not get a paid reciept (which I did not) all I needed was my credit card statement which showed a transaction that equaled the amount of the settlement. I sent this all to them and they sent an application for lost title along with the waiver of lien from USB.
There are laws regarding the lienholder releasing lien to any collection agency in any state. I would be very careful if i were you. If they were releasing the lien to the CA they would have to do it as a sale of a vehicle and the CA would have to pay sales tax on the transaction. The OC cannot just place the collection amount with a CA if there is a legal binding lien on the vehicle, without the sale and transfer.
And if you know all this already, then why are you asking us all these questions. You must be an expert if you have done this before, which I find hard to believe the way you explained it. Im not being hard on you, just be honest with us, and well be honest with you. Don't hide the facts.
OMG you have got to be kidding, "be honest" Give me a break. If I had the time I would write down all that has transpired in my life that has brought me to this point. But for one most would not read it and for two I doubt anyone would be able to make heads or tails of it. I have tried to condense to the heart of the matter. The last time I posted on this forum nobody responed , I assumed then it was because it started out with links to my previous posts that had to do with this same matter. And that it appeared disjointed and hard to follow so they gave up trying to read the whole thing and moved on to another post. If anyone has any more thoughts on the format style or substance of the LETTER then please respond here. No more lectures please.
