I received a letter out of the blue three weeks ago from Mitchell N. Kay stating their offices were collecting for Asset Acceptance, the "creditor" for an ancient, paid in full, closed account I held at Fortunoff's in my maiden name. This is the first time I was contacted about this, not that "this" is even a legitimate debt. I paid off that account twenty years ago and closed it. To date, there is nada, zip, nothing on my credit reports but an excellent credit history and excellent scores. There is, however, an "inquiry" dating back at least a year, perhaps a little longer, place there by Asset Acceptance. Obviously this is just a sleazy attempt to intimidate me into paying something I don't owe anyone, much less these bottom feeders, but I am concerned because of the appalling track records of Mitchell N. Kay and Asset Acceptance. I am worried one of these sleazy operators will attempt to get a default judgment behind my back. I immediately (same day) sent strongly worded DV/CC letters to Mitchell N. Kay and to Asset Acceptance via certified mail, return receipt requested. Haven't heard a word from Asset, but I got a letter from Mitchell N. Kay stating they were "obtaining the information requested" and they'd foward it on to me once they had obtained it. Now, we all know there is no information to obtain, so I'm wondering what this stall tactic is all about. Has anyone had any experience along these lines? What is Mitchell N. Kay's next step from here? I can't spend the rest of my life monitoring my credit reports in case they attempt to create a new entry for this alleged debt on my account, nor do I want to find out about some bogus judgment after the fact. What is my best next move at this point? BTW -- I did put security freezes and fraud alerts on all three credit reports. I don't know if that protects me from any underhanded activity from these folks, but at least I've noted that I suspect something illegal may happen in the future. Also, Fortunoff's went out of business fairly recently. I wonder if either Asset or Kay got hold of some old databases and are just throwing these letters out there and hoping something will "stick".
Report 'em to the postmaster for mail fraud. Report 'em to the State Attorney General for trying to defraud you by trying to collect on a debt that was paid and closed. Heck haul 'em in front of a judge on a civil suit (FDCPA, etc.). The best defense is a strong offense. If you bark loud enough, they'll go find an easier fish to fry (and you might even get some money out of the deal).
Oh, I did. I immediately filed complaints and copied the FTC, the appropriate AGs offices, the USPS mail fraud criminal investigation unit, and, in Kay's case, the appropriate division of the NY State Bar Association. I also copied my father, a US District Judge in Manhattan, on Kay's letter. I still got the second letter, although those letters from Kay's offices look like they're automatically computer generated in bulk, so some lackey probably got the DV/CC letter and just automatically sent the response letter. I'm CCing all the above mentioned agencies every step of the way. Still, I don't think these guys care. I mean, if the FTC, the AG of NY and the NY State Bar haven't shut these guys down yet, they ain't a-goin' to, you know. The reality is guys like Kay and companies like Asset generate millions of tax dollars for local, state and federal government. Also, I tracked the campaign contributions of the major officers of Asset and they donate a LOT of money to various politicians. The more I dig into this, the more I see pure evil at work. Seriously. This junk debt business is essentially government and court aided and abetted organized crime.
