Hey LKH, I realize you have had some great success against Gulf State.. I would like to do something similar against a CA as well. The situation is this: the CA purchased a debt from nations bank (which was bought by bofa). Now. bofa does NOT appear on any of my CRA's. However, the CA does appear on one last one (since my other 2 are clear now) I requested validation, sent estoppel, etc. The CA responded by saying they will check with the original creditor to validate the debt.. all I got were 2 statements that showed the account was 'transferred'/sold. I then received a letter from the attorney of the CA stating that they have now verified the debt and will continue collecting again. When I sent a validation letter to the original creditor (bofa), they just stated the account has been transferred and sold. Now my question, what should I do? I already sent a letter saying I was going to threaten the CA and can post that if you think.. but they have not budged. What should I do at this point? Or would you like to see the letter I wrote?
First off, go to the ftc website. Under FDCPA opinion letters, there is a letter there that states a statement alone is not validation (I found it, posted below) I would send a letter to the ca and the atty. advising them that what they produced is not validation of the debt. Send the estoppel with it and a copy of the letter below. Advise the shcmuck that if they continue with their extortion attempts (collection) you will file a lawsuit against them for willful violations of the fdcpa. See what they have to say to that. Then if they don't properly validate, but continue their b.s., then sue them. Dear Mr. Wollman: This is in response to your letter of February 9, 1993 to David Medine regarding the type of verification required by Section 809(b) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. You ask whether a collection agency for a medical provider will fulfill the requirements of that Section if it produces "an itemized statement of services rendered to a patient on its own computer from information provided by the medical institution . . .â? in response to a request for verification of the debt. You also ask who is responsible for mailing the verification to the consumer. The statute requires that the debt collector obtain verification of the debt and mail it to the consumer (emphasis mine). Because one of the principal purposes of this Section is to help consumers who have been misidentified by the debt collector or who dispute the amount of the debt, it is important that the verification of the identity of the consumer and the amount of the debt be obtained directly from the creditor. Mere itemization of what the debt collector already has does not accomplish this purpose. As stated above, the statute requires the debt collector, not the creditor, to mail the verification to the consumer. Your interest in writing is appreciated. Please be aware that since this is only the opinion of Commission staff, the Commission itself is not bound by it. Sincerely, John F. LeFevre Attorney Division of Credit Practices
Excellent advise. I will do as you suggested and see what type of response I get. Then, I will point out that the 'alleged debt' they are trying to claim is due to fall off my report 8/2002 (based on the original tradeline they are trying to collect for) anyway and advise them to remove their tradelines immediately to avoid litigation and damages if they don't. I will also ask them to send a copy of the UDF they mail to the CRA's as well. I will post what I will be sending in my next msg.. let me know what you think. Thx..
Only if they are trying to collect their own debts under a different name. Example: Capital one is trying to collect under Capital One Collections, Inc. Then, it would apply. If Cap one tries to collect as Cap one, then no.
LKH - do you think this same letter can be used against the original creditor too? What are your thoughts?
Only if they don't know the law. Original creditors don't fall under the FDCPA unless, they are using a different name for the collections.
Well I was hoping to use it against AmEx.. they would probably know the law. lol. I actually plan on using your FTC advice for 3-4 collection agencies.. and also sending them a draft of the complaint I will be filing if they don't clear the items up. If they don't, I'll file against all 3-4 in district court using your 10 minute draft as an example. I'll post those onec I get to that step.. this will help me permanently get rid of those items on my CR. Then once I win those, I'll target the remaining CRA..
