I have a couple of quick questions... A friend of mine got a collections letter in the mail and I told her she should request validation. I looked over the letter and it does not have the "you have 30 days..." statement on it. She said she may have got a letter or two from them before but she has always thrown them away. Can she still ask for validation & dispute or is there another route she needs to go since she missed the CA's "30 day dispute" period? Second: My mother is getting collection calls now because my cousin used their address at one time for an auto loan before he moved away. I guess their address got tacked onto his CR. She has told them before he doesn't live there, has never lived there and they have no way to contact him. They still call. Can she send a C&D letter to them? If so, how would that be worded since they have no account information and it's not even something they are involved in (other than the daily harrassing messages & phone calls)? Thank you guys!!
If they are unsure whether they sent something because it looked as if it were JUNK mail; then have them send a validation letter, referencing that this is the first letter that they've received. You can *ASK* for anything, there is no guarantee that they will provide anything if its not 'timely'... However the validation request does dispute the debt, and requires that they mark it in dispute. Ma's Name Ma's Address Ma's City, State ZIP DSDA Collections DSDA Collections Address DSDA Collections City, State ZIP DSDA Collections President/CEO/Compliance Officer (or all of the above). My name is Ma's Name; your company has been harrassing myself leaving messages for someone who does not, and has not resided at my address. It is inconvenient for your company to communicate to myself regarding an account which is not mine, or anyone who resides at my address. Your company is demanded to cease any future communications with myself after the date that this letter is received. (Edit to make it sound the way your Mom would write it - have her read it, and rephrase it as she would say it.) If you need help finding the names to address it to let me know the company name privately, and I can try to track them down...
Jam, thanks for the reply & information! I'll be seeing my parents this weekend and will have this ready to go for her to send out. I think I found the addresses - it's Alliance Interstate (with a 206 area code) and Redline Recovery who keep bugging them. I told her to write down every number they leave as well as the caller ID number and to save any msg's they leave on the machine & note the date & times they call for me to look over when I'm there. I sent my bud copies of the validation letters and told her to go for it - she has nothing to lose - I figured this was the case but I have never let a CA's thirty day dispute time elapse, I just wanted to make sure there wasn't something else she should do in this case. Thanks!!
On the Cease and Desist, include her phone number, and that they are also to cease calling that number. Send Certified, return receipt requested. Log all contacts (date, time, phone number, any remarks or abuse from the caller), and tell all callers that they have already been notified to stop calling, then hang up. If calls continue, file a complaint with both your state AG, FTC, and BBB. Keep copies of everything. She can also file suit under FDCPA. Even though they are not trying to collect from her, they are calling to collect a consumer debt, so they must comply. Continuing to call after she has both told them she has no contact information, and that they should stop calling, is harassment.
There is another approach, particularly if your mother is "elderly" (over 65, say), and this is upsetting her. If they are making any threats ("If you don't have xxx call us, you could be arrested, you might have to pay the debt, we have the right to call you until we reach xxx...", or any other threat or abusive statements, their behavior might fit within the bounds of criminal elder abuse, depending on your state law. In that case it would make sense for you to contact your local district attorney on behalf of your mom. Recordings might help clinch it.
They ARE calling my elderly semi-bedridden grandfather who lives with them (he has his own phone number), but he wouldn't know if they are threatening him or not - he's basically deaf and just gets excited to hear the phone ring... I will look into that when I visit them though. My mom just doesn't answer the phone when they call... she doesn't give them the chance to be rude and nasty. I can only hope they call when I'm there!!
In addition, if your relatives have health problems, you don't want their phone access tied up. Are they calling both your grandfather's phone number, and your mom's number?
My mom casually mentioned it one time when complaining about the calls she was getting for my cousin. I'm not sure of the status at this time, but I'll call her this afternoon and see what she has to say. If they are still calling him, it must be some interesting calls. Unless they are SCREAMING SLOWLY into the phone, he won't understand a word!
