Please read and offer any suggestions. I am kinda in a hurry and need to fax this over asap!! Mr. : I am in receipt of your letter dated September 25, 2002 in regard to my letter of September 17, 2002 stating my intention to sue The Credit Store due to violations of the of the FDCPA and the FCRA. Your contention that The Credit Store is not required by law to provide validation of this debt based on the FDCPAâ??s requirement that the debtor request such validation within 30 days of the receipt of written notice of the debt that contains the verification requirement notice is incomplete. Unfortunately, the law assumes that the collection agency (The Credit Store) will provide such notice as is required by law and provide the consumer with the opportunity to dispute the debt within a reasonable period of time. The Credit Store has provided no such notice and as I was not given the opportunity to dispute the validity of the debt upon receipt of a written notice from The Credit Store, I decided to exercise my right to do so upon noticing your negative trademark on my credit reports. Further, failure to provide such written notice within (5) days of initial communication with the consumer in connection with the collection of any debt is your first violation. § 809. Validation of debts [15 USC 1692g] (a) Within five days after the initial communication with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt, a debt collector shall, unless the following information is contained in the initial communication or the consumer has paid the debt, send the consumer a written notice containing -- (1) the amount of the debt; (2) the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed; (3) a statement that unless the consumer, within thirty days after receipt of the notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector; (4) a statement that if the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, the debt collector will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against the consumer and a copy of such verification or judgment will be mailed to the consumer by the debt collector; and (5) a statement that, upon the consumer's written request within the thirty-day period, the debt collector will provide the consumer with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor. Your contention, that my opportunity to dispute this debt ended many months ago, is also patently incorrect. c) The failure of a consumer to dispute the validity of a debt under this section may not be construed by any court as an admission of liability by the consumer. Further in all of my correspondence to our company I have clearly referenced the request for validation of the First National Bank Brookings Mastercard Account # . Your constant reference to providing validation for a Ballyâ??s account which by your own admission I do not have, completely escapes me and could be construed as an attempt on your behalf to confuse me of my rights regarding this issue. Should this be the case please be aware of NYS Fair Debt Collection Practices Law which states: Chptr. 20, Art. 29-H, Sec. 600, et seq., of the New York State Consolidated Laws (Debt Collection Procedures), prohibits specific debt collection acts which involve consumer transactions. Acts prohibited include: 8. Claim, or attempt or threaten to enforce a right with knowledge or reason to know that the right does not exist; Finally your offer to note my Experian and Equifax credit reports as being in dispute is unfortunately far too little to late. This should have been done over the previous six months that I have been communicating my dispute to The Credit Store and requesting validation to alert potential creditors that this account was being disputed and to abide by the FDCPA, which you apparently feel you are not required to do. It wasnâ??t and I have the credit reports to prove it. Further making the notation at this time does not absolve you of your liability for violating the FDCPA in the previous six months since I have been disputing this account. Should you have any doubts about the validity of this claim please reference the following: From the FDCPA: § 807. False or misleading representations [15 USC 1962e] (8) Communicating or threatening to communicate to any person credit information which is known or which should be known to be false, including the failure to communicate that a disputed debt is disputed. § 813. Civil liability [15 USC 1692k] (a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, any debt collector who fails to comply with any provision of this title with respect to any person is liable to such person in an amount equal to the sum of -- (1) any actual damage sustained by such person as a result of such failure; (2) (A) in the case of any action by an individual, such additional damages as the court may allow, but not exceeding $1,000; or From the FCRA: § 623. Responsibilities of furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies [15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2] (3) Duty to provide notice of dispute. If the completeness or accuracy of any information furnished by any person to any consumer reporting agency is disputed to such person by a consumer, the person may not furnish the information to any consumer reporting agency without notice that such information is disputed by the consumer. On June 2, 2002 The Credit Store again reported this alleged debt to Equifax without providing notice that the account was in dispute.
Continued... § 616. Civil liability for willful noncompliance [15 U.S.C. § 1681n] (a) In general. Any person who willfully fails to comply with any requirement imposed under this title with respect to any consumer is liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of (1) (A) any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure or damages of not less than $100 and not more than $1,000; or (B) in the case of liability of a natural person for obtaining a consumer report under false pretenses or knowingly without a permissible purpose, actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure or $1,000, whichever is greater; (2) such amount of punitive damages as the court may allow; and (3) in the case of any successful action to enforce any liability under this section, the costs of the action together with reasonable attorney's fees as determined by the court. (b) Civil liability for knowing noncompliance. Any person who obtains a consumer report from a consumer reporting agency under false pretenses or knowingly without a permissible purpose shall be liable to the consumer reporting agency for actual damages sustained by the consumer reporting agency or $1,000, whichever is greater. (c) Attorney's fees. Upon a finding by the court that an unsuccessful pleading, motion, or other paper filed in connection with an action under this section was filed in bad faith or for purposes of harassment, the court shall award to the prevailing party attorney's fees reasonable in relation to the work expended in responding to the pleading, motion, or other paper. § 617. Civil liability for negligent noncompliance [15 U.S.C. § 1681o] (a) In general. Any person who is negligent in failing to comply with any requirement imposed under this title with respect to any consumer is liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of (1) any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure; (2) in the case of any successful action to enforce any liability under this section, the costs of the action together with reasonable attorney's fees as determined by the court. (b) Attorney's fees. On a finding by the court that an unsuccessful pleading, motion, or other paper filed in connection with an action under this section was filed in bad faith or for purposes of harassment, the court shall award to the prevailing party attorney's fees reasonable in relation to the work expended in responding to the pleading, motion, or other paper. From NYS Fair Debt Collection Practices (New York State Consolidated Laws Article 29-H) 5. Disclose or threaten to disclose information concerning the existence of a debt known to be disputed by the debtor without disclosing that fact S 602. Violations and penalties. 1. Except as otherwise provided bylaw, any person who shall violate the terms of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and each such violation shall be deemed a separate offense. The fact of the matter is I have now exhausted all possible means of resolution of this matter with The Credit Store. I have sent several letters requesting validation and registering my dispute of this alleged debt. The Credit Store has done nothing for six months to remotely meet the requirements of the law as it related to credit reporting and debt collection. While I realize that the judicial system is in place to provide resolution in cases such as these where none can be met independently between the parties involved, the reality of the situation is that going to court is an expensive, exhaustive and time consuming undertaking for everyone involved. With this in mind I am making a final demand for the permanent deletion of all accounts and tradelines bearing the names of and/or any affiliation with The Credit Store and First National Bank Brookings arising out of account # from my credit reports with all (4) major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, Trans Union and Innovis. Please be advised that I will take this matter to court should this final demand not be met, where you will be held to the full letter of the law as is described above. Should you wish to bring this matter to a close please do so within (5) business days of the date of this letter. Your response should be faxed to my attention at #and followed up with a copy to me via USPS. I thank you for your time and look forward to a speedy resolution of this matter. Sincerely, Robin
