I've been hearing and reading about the "Mini-Miranda" notices that creditors send out, worded like, "This letter is an attempt to collect a debt, blah, blah, etc..." I thought that every statement they send out was an attempt to collect a debt! So what make a Mini-Miranda special? Also, what's the deal with having 30 days to respond to one? Thanks!
There isn't anything all that special about the mini-miranda. It's a name that attaches to the statement that must be somewhere on every letter sent to a debtor for collection purposes. The miranda law is 439 pages long and it don't say anything about "mini-miranda" per se nor does it specifically deal with debts, debtors or indebtedness that I can remember. Miranda is in fact, mostly hot air and hogwash and you have to wade through about 300 or more pages before you ever get to the real meat which deals with the criminal aspect and arrests. Mini-miranda comes from FTC and FDCPA which demands the statement be placed on collection letters, and so it is in it's essence, a miranda for debtors. As to the 30 days rule, they have to give you 30 days after they send out their letter to the you to respond. During that time, they cannot put it on your credit report, but it has no real bearing upon the amount of time you have to dispute or you are out the window. It isn't like that. It only applies to what they can do during the first 20 days after sending a demand letter to the debtor, but it places no hazard or limitation upon the debtor that I know of.
So are you saying that it's basically a warning that says, "We're about to report some negative info on you?"
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm#807 : A debt collector may not use any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt. Without limiting the general application of the foregoing, the following conduct is a violation of this section: ... (11) The failure to disclose in the initial written communication with the consumer and, in addition, if the initial communication with the consumer is oral, in that initial oral communication, that the debt collector is attempting to collect a debt and that any information obtained will be used for that purpose, and the failure to disclose in subsequent communications that the communication is from a debt collector, except that this paragraph shall not apply to a formal pleading made in connection with a legal action.
Seems as though, by the time you get their letter, they've already added to your reports. Think of it as blackmail. They try to ruin your credit, and so you pay to try to get them off it. By the way, a lesser known tactic is that a collection agency will keep putting inquiries on your report. Even if a collection tradeline isn't on your reports, a collection inquiry is still picked up by the models as a collection warning. A collector wanting to blackball you from better credit will just keep adding inquiries. They can either innundate you (and kill the score w/numbers of inquiries as well) or they can just put 1 every 2 years or so and the models see "collection" and you get killed. One lesser known inquiry code is "DTC". that's a collection inquiry. there is an ftc opinion that, by the very nature of collection inquiries, the inquiry itself acts as a collection tradeline that isn't disputed before the fact... in other words, the FTC acknowledges the negative impact a collection inquiry has on us.. and the fact that the collection agency can put it on without notice.
Marie: I totally agree with what you have to say above. And that's just another reason to go after the collection agency the way I do. After I get done with them, they don't dare do something like that because then they would have violated their agreement with me and then it really would be a case of "Katy, bar the door." And the "firefight" would really start in then.
Marie! Pls clarify Mini-Miranda ? Marie, Just a quick question - I'm curious about your comment regarding DTC=collection inquiry. I just wondered how firm your source was on that. I have a few DTC inquiries on my report - but 2 of them are from my 403(b) huge mutual fund company - and I actually have money there rather than owe! When I spoke to one of the wonderul customer serivce people at Equifax - she said DTC wern;t viewable by others - but I realize that source is not very reliable! Any feedback would be appreciated. Cheers, Tom
I didn't mean to scare anybody! I was just searching old posts and I came across this one. I didn't mean to invoke the specter of bbauer! Still - if anybosy knows more about DTC I'd appreciate it Thanks, Tom
