Okay, I sent the following letter to a CRA on 5-20. I pulled my report today and found that they have added the following note to the account (note that the account is not in dispute) Your Statement: Account under dispute by consumer, meets requirements of the FCRA. Here is the letter: To Whom It May Concern: This will be my last letter before I file suit against XXX for continuing to report false and unverifiable information on my credit file. I have sent numerous letters of dispute along with supporting documentation to have this account removed. I have disputed the validity of this alleged debt with both the creditor and the collection agency only for my requests to be ignored. I am well within my lawful right to request validation of the alleged debt as per the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). I have requested validation of this alleged debt on three separate occasions (see-enclosed letters). Not once were my letters answered nor even acknowledged. The FDCPA states the debt collector does not need to supply validation to the debtor AS LONG as all collection attempts are ceased. The mere reporting of a debt to a Credit Reporting Agency is considered continued collection activity (this also includes verifying the debt with the Credit Reporting Agency) (see-enclosed Cass 12/23/1997 FTC Opinion letter). XXX is regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The FCRA clearly states the Credit Reporting Agency may only report completely accurate information that can be verified (see-enclosed FCRA excerpt § 607. Compliance procedures [15 U.S.C. § 1681e]). On numerous occasions I have notified XXX that this information is not accurate and I have submitted documentation as well. If the debt collector can not provide me, the alleged debtor with proof that this account belongs to me or that it even exists then surely they can not verify its accuracy with you. The FCRA also states that the Credit Reporting Agency must except and review all documentation submitted by the consumer (see-enclosed FCRA excerpt § 611. Procedure in case of disputed accuracy [15 U.S.C. § 1681i]). As I have previously stated, I have submitted this documentation to you on several different occasions, however you have chosen to ignore my documentation and continue to report false information. Your actions clearly demonstrate both willful negligence as well as willful non-compliance and constitute a blatant attempt to injure or ruin my credit rating. Seeing as the debt collector has clearly demonstrated an inability to validate the alleged debt and has subsequently attempted to coerce payment all with XXX knowledge and you continue to report this information knowing it violates my rights. I have drafted a lawsuit against XXX for the following: 1. Violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act 2. Defamation of Credit 3. Willful non-compliance 4. Willful negligence 5. Loss of opportunity 6. Injunction seeking immediate court ordered relief from further credit damage Should you wish to settle this matter prior to the lawsuit being filed, you must contact me by no later than the close of business on Friday, May 24, 2002. Should you delete this account from my credit file by then I will agree to drop the lawsuit and not seek the damages to which I am entitled. If I do not hear back from you by this deadline I will assume you have no intentions to settle this matter amicably and I will proceed with the lawsuit. I can be reached by FAX at: XXX or by E-MAIL at: XXX I look forward to hearing from you soon. Sincerely, XXX ENCLOSED: 7 PAGES The statement was not there yesterday. How do you think I should handle this from here? The account is truely inaccurate. The balance is completely incorrect and they keep verifying it. What do you guys think?
I have always used short, blunt letters stating what I wanted and give them proof. 9 times out of 10, I get it. A long letter stating this and that, just doesn't seem to work. I know I won't read a letter like that.
Donna, it sounds as if you have ample evidence to file a suit for violations against the CRA and the CA. I recommend you send that letter with only 2 sentences..."Suit filed 5/24/02 for violations of the FCRA and FDCPA case #XXXXXXXXXX. Delete it now, or pay me and delete it later". Then serve em. I always figure the "This is the last letter before I sue" letters are far less effective than a case#. Good Luck -Peace, Dave
Thanks Nave, I don't want to stir up the creditor too much as I'm not quite out of the SOL yet. I sent a letter to the OC back in September. Shortly after they received it, they then sent it to collections (hadn't been sent yet). So then I sent validation to the CA in October and another letter to the OC in November. No one ever responded. The CA has NOT reported it to the bureaus. When I disputed it with the other 2 bureaus the correct balance was updated so I'm sure this CRA has not really tried to investigate it. Should I re-fax a shorter letter in the morning? If so, what should I write? Thanks!
No I fully understand about the SOL situation, and I think if you do not want to stir things up, then that letter would be good to send the the CRA. Sometimes a letter like that will get some action where others in the past have not. I also agree that if you send it, you could shorten it a bit, I like to make my point in under 1 page if possible...but then again the tone and amount of evidence you send (attached pages) could get someone thinking she will bring this evidence to court if we do not comply. Why not give it a try? When is the SOL up by the way? Are you close? -Peace, Dave
Dave, The SOL is up in about 8 months. I have already sent this letter on the 20th, I'm guessing it caught someones attention because of the "your statement" that was added. What do you think now?
Sorry Donna, I see the "I SENT 5-20" now :O You say you validated with the CA and the OC...if the OC can not supply the information, then the CA has no leg to stand on. You could send a procedural request so that you have ammo for the suit. But I can see no way of dealing with this unless you confront the CA with Estoppel and lawsuit if they still can not validate. Again if the OC can not provide the proof, then you have a good shot they can not validate. If it is not that large of an amount I would risk the SOL and begin attacking with Estoppel/Court...if it is alot I would wait for the 8 months before I attacked in the courts. -Peace, Dave
