I got a letter from a collection agency working on behalf of Chase bank for my 2nd mortgage. They were calling me daily. Within the intial 30 day timeframe I sent a letter to them (certified) demanding validation of the debt (original contract, et al). Since they received that letter 3 MONTHS AGO, I haven't gotten another call, nor have them sent me any validation. No correspondence at all. However, as of yesterday I checked all 3 of my credit reports and the collection agency is showing as "open collection account" for that Chase balance/acct. Since they have not validated the debt are they still permitted to report the acct as open collection on my credit file? What should I do now?
No, they can't do that because they broke the law (specifically the FCRA). Send a letter to their legal department advising them of this with a photocopy of the certified mail receipt. That should get them going.
Not so fast there... It doesn't appear that they've violated the FCRA (so long as what they're reporting is accurate) and, until you dispute this with the CRAs, the CA probably hasn't been violating the FDCPA, either. You need to dispute the CA account with each of the CRAs. The CA should either remove the account from the report OR send you validation (which, BTW, doesn't have to be a contract or any complicated thing that some other sites suggest. It just has to be verification from the original creditor. So don't be expecting a big box of documents from the CA until you're in the middle of a law suit and have demanded them in discovery and filed several motions to compel...)
Agree with ccbob. They can report it as a collection account. While they can't attempt to collect until they send you validation, there is no law that says they can't report.
This is a case where timing is everything. They can report it and leave it there forever (or until the 7-yr deadline passes). BUT If you dispute it with the CRA AFTER you have sent a DV letter AND BEFORE you get validation. They have to delete it from the CRA. If they validate it with the CRA before sending you validation, then it's considered a collection activity that is prohibited under the FDCPA.
