I sent a c&d letter to a Mitchell N Kay Attorneys awhile back. Just recently I received a letter from MKM Acquisitions LLC about the same matter. Apparently MKM purchased this debt from the OC back in April 2000. Now this letter from MKM basically says that they received a copy of my certified letter that I sent to Mitchell N Kay and that they are currently the owner of this debt. Now at the very bottom of the letter it says: "The judgment balance due is $818.55." Now the word that I'm drawn to is judgment. Neither this company nor any other has ever received a judgment against me in regards to this debt. Is this falsely representing the legal status of a debt????? Is this a violation of Sec 807 of the FDCPA??? If so what should I do next???? Any advice is much appreciated. TIA
Send them a validation letter too. They have the one from M.K., they should have their very own personal copy as well - wouldn't want them to feel slighted would we? If they answer, it should have the info you seek. If they can't validate... In the meantime you can go to, or in many cases call, the Clerk of the Courts in your county and fed. court to see if there have been any judgements or even court actions entered in your name. 0
p.s. - since debtors can seek action in the county where debt was incurred, is it possible you've moved and didn't receive notices of hearings? As to the legality the FDCPA says: § 807. False or misleading representations [15 USC 1962e] 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: (1) The false representation or implication that the debt collector is vouched for, bonded by, or affiliated with the United States or any State, including the use of any badge, uniform, or facsimile thereof. (2) The false representation of -- (A) the character, amount, or legal status of any debt; or 0
No I haven't moved out of this county in over 20 years. I'm a regular Credit Watch report puller, I hardly doubt the big three would miss a judgment since they are listing my one and only judgment from a different creditor on my reports. This guy just mispoke on his response to my c&d letter to the Mitchell N Kay Attorneys collection agency. This thing is about 8 months past the sol in Oregon which is 6 years on revolving/installments etc. and 10 yrs on judgments. I'm just wondering if I shouldn't just respond to this guy by saying thank you for violating the FDCPA, forget about this debt, don't ever bother me about it again for as long as I live and I won't sue you for the violation. Instead of sending a validation letter. I just don't know if I'm splitting hairs here over his verbiage.
Well, I never sent a validation letter to Mitchell N Kay. I was well aware that this debt was well past the SOL and it should drop off of my report in April, 2003, and I just wanted to stop getting these letters from Mitchell N Kay. So I sent a cease and desist letter to Mithcell N Kay. Here's where it gets a little confusing to me because I sent my c&d letter to Mitchell N Kay, they apparently forwarded it to Citi Cards out of Kansas City MO. Citi Cards wrote a letter saying that Citibank no longer owns this account and that the account was sold to MKM Acquisitions LLC in April 2000. This letter from Citi Cards was included witht the letter from MKM Acquisitions that follows: MKM Acquisitions LLC is in receipt of a recent certified letter you sent dated November 12, 2002 concerning the above referenced account. Please be advised that MKM Acquisitions LLC has purchased this account from Associates National Bank (Deleware). In response to your certified letter, please be guided by the following. A Texaco Oil Corporation account was originally opened November 19, 1992 in the name of xxxxx xxxxxx, social security #:xxx-xx-xxxx. Last payment was posted April 18, 1996. We are your creditor as of April 2000. Additionally, enclosed please find relevant information in response to your letter. We have enclosed a postage paid return envelope for your convenience. The judgment balance due is $818.55. Please contact this office to discuss this matter. MKM Acquisitions LLC is not a collection agency. Very Truly Yours, Trevor Frederick Account Specialist Supervisor ***end of letter*** I know for a fact that there has never been a judgment granted against me for this debt. I have never been served papers on this and it doesn't show up on my credit reports. And we all know how anal EFX, EXP, and TU are at listing public derogs.
MKM Acquisitions, LLC 245 Eighth Ave. #272 New York, New York 10011 This is another division of the Plaza Associates and Mitchell Kay collection operations. Partners; Henry Markowe,Mitchell Kay, and Scott Matte make up this acronym of debt collector attorneys. Based on past dealings, you may want to ignore this organization of collection school drop-outs. NEVER give them any information on your bank/credit accounts, or post-dated checks. YOU WILL REGRET IT!!
I have absolutely no intention of giving them anything but the "bird". But that is interesting information about the partners. I know that they don't have a leg to stand on and can't do anything to me but annoy me like a little gnat in the ear, but I'd like to get them to drop off the face of the earth and never contact me again. And I thought that this might be a way to make that happen. Threaten a lawsuit for FDCPA violations and they might think twice about bothering you again. Doh, I bet I did send a validation letter to Texaco, who was actually Citibank underwriting the cc's and they forwarded it along to MKM at the same time that I sent a cease and desist to Mitchell N Kay. They both got there at the same time and now MKM is trying to get me to pay them 818.00 HA. Not in a million years. Thanks for the info Butch. Merry Christmas.
Just For The Record MKM Acquisitions, LLC Ownership Partners are Neil & Scott Matte and Brian Kay. Thus the "M K M" acronym. Henry "Hank" Markowe was never a partner or had any ownership in the Plaza Associates firm, or any of it's subsequent spinoffs. He was merely a salaried employee (Executive Vice president) of Plaza Associates until 2003, when he choose to leave the firm.
Most people who threaten these things are not prepared to act, and it's just a cost of doing business for debt collectors anyway. I think they won't be impressed with your attempt to bargin them into leaving you alone. You are correct to be careful with an actual suit. If you make utterly nonsense claims, you could be liable for various sanctions. Of course if you have even one winning argument, they will pay and they should have it explained that "frivolous" means you didn't make any serious arguments.
