Re: library kickin' my rear! Help/L first letter Unique National Collections 515 Michigan Avenue Jeffersonville, IN 47130 [Date] Re: Account #XXXXX To Whom It May Concern: This letter is being sent to you in response to a conversation I had with your agency on (date) with (name) in response to a listing on my credit report. This is not a refusal to pay, but a notice that your claim is disputed. This is a request for validation made pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Please complete the attached form and follow its instructions and your claim will be processed as soon as the information is received. Please be advised that I am not requesting â??verificationâ? that you have my mailing address, I am requesting a â??validationâ?, that is, competent evidence that I have some contractual obligation to pay you. You should also be aware that reporting such invalidated information to major credit bureaus might constitute fraud under Federal and State Law. Also according to an opinion letter of the FTC: â??â?¦if a dispute is received after a debt has been reported to a consumer reporting agency, the debt collector is obligated by Section 1692e(8)1 to inform the consumer reporting agency of the dispute.â? Pending the outcome of my investigation of any evidence that you submit, you are instructed to take no action that could be detrimental to any of my credit reports. Under the FDCPA, once a consumer requests validation of an alleged debt, all collection activity must cease and desist. This includes listing any account with a credit reporting repository that is inaccurate and invalidated. If you do not respond to this validation request within 30 days from the date of this request, all references to this account must be completely removed from my credit file. I would also like to request, in writing, that no telephone contact be made by your offices to my home or to my place of employment. If your offices attempt telephone communication with me it will be considered harassment and I will have no choice but to file suit. All future communications with me MUST be done in writing and sent to the address noted in this letter. Regards ------------------------------- 2nd letter Unique National Collections 515 Michigan Avenue Jeffersonville, IN 47130 (date) Validation of acct Dear Name: In my initial letter to your organization dated xxxxx, I requested validation of the alleged debt that you are reporting to certain credit agencies. I received your letter threatening me with the fact that my â??credit may be adversely affectedâ? and in addition, a sealed envelope from the library with a computer printout of the alleged charges. If you cannot provide me with acceptable proof of debt pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1681 and written guidelines from the Fair Trade Commission, I submit to you that this debt is unverified and reporting it to any credit reporting agency is a violation of the FDCPA. At this point, you are quite obviously reporting a debt which your agency cannot validate. I must remind you that your duties as a furnisher of information to credit reporting agencies are bound by 15 U.S.C.§1681s-2. Computer printouts of alleged debt does not prove debt by a preponderance of evidence or even by substantial evidence. I, again, request specific and acceptable validation of this alleged debt from your agency according to standards established by Spears v Brennan in your home state of Indiana, to cite a specific example. I also request that your company immediately abide by the rules and regulations of the FDCPA and cease all collection attempts on this account, including, but not limited to, removing any listing on my credit file that may be damaging to my credit status and verifying this information with credit agencies. I also remind you of the right of consumers to sue third party debt collectors for violations of the FCRA and the FDCPA. Each infraction merits a statutory award of 1000.00 and this does include cases where collection agencies fail to validate correctly, ignore validation, or attempt to collect following being asked to prove the alleged debt. Collectors are obligated under the law to provide proof of the debt and report disputes to the agencies as well. I have enclosed another copy of my validation request. You now have 15 days to respond before further action is taken on my part. Please answer all questions accordingly, including providing the information that I have requested. Further violations of compliance will be documented and copied to The Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services in Oregon in addition to the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau of your state. Sincerely, (name) cc: Federal Trade Commission CRC-240 Washington, D.C. 20580 The Better Business Bureau 844 S. 4th Street Louisville, KY 40203 -2186
Re: library kickin' my rear! Help/L DanceRat, no, I didn't get the emails. Must have gotten lost in cyberspace...but thank you so much for taking time to post letters to the board. That's a positive, though, this way the letters are available to possibly benefit other "Library Criminals." A few questions... how long between the time that Unique Collections posted collection activity to your CR's and the time that you sent them the first letter? how long between your first letter and their answer back to you? what happened after your second letter? did Unique collections remove their collection account from all of the CRA's ? on mine, I had disputed with all three CRA's, first as not mine, and second time as inaccurate info **** thanks again,
