I sent a DV to a CA just a week ago so imagine my surprise when a 1 1/2 inch envelope arrived in the mail from them today. This debt was for an old cell phone. What they sent me was a bill on their letterhead along with the name of the original cell company. They also sent me copies of 4 months of my phone bill. It states they are requesting a response in 10 days. No where on here does it state they have the right to be collecting this debt. As far as I know, they found copies of my bills in some dumpster. So, what now? Isn't the purpose of a DV to prove they have a right to be collecting on this debt?
The purpose of the DV process is to make sure they are dunning the correct person for the correct amount. The FDCPA mentions nothing about "right to collect". If you can prove they have no right to collect, then use that as a defense if they sue.
What is the text of your DV? What is the text of their response, aside from the strange phone bill copies?
The text of their letter shows my name, the dollar amount and the name of the original creditor. All the letter says is "Enclosed are the documents you requested. Your response is requested within 10 days. This is an attempt to collect a debt. Any information obtained will be used for the purpose." That's it! Below is the letter that i sent to them with the names and account # XXXX out. I took this letter from this forum. RE: Account #_XXXXXXXXXXXX Thank you for your recent inquiry. This is not a refusal to pay, but a notice that your claim is being disputed. This is a request for validation made pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Please complete and return the attached disclosure request form. Be advised that I am not requesting a "verification" that you have my mailing address, I am requesting a "validation;" that is, competent evidence that I have some contractual obligation to pay you. Also, please let this serve as notice that I am requesting all phone contact to me or anyone associated with me, cease regarding this matter. Your failure to satisfy this request within the requirements of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act will be construed as your absolute waiver of any and all claims against me, and your tacit agreement to compensate me for costs and attorney fees. Sincerely, XXXXXXXXXXXXXX Enclosure : CREDITOR DISCLOSURE STATEMENT CREDITOR DISCLOSURE STATEMENT Name and Address of Collector (assignee): _________________________ Name and Address of Debtor: ____________________________________ Account Number(s): ____________________________________________ What are the terms of assignment for this account? You may attach a facsimile of any records relating to such terms. Have any insurance claims been made by any creditor or assignee regarding this account? YES/NO Has the purported balanced of this account been used in any tax deduction claim? YES/NO Please list the particular products or services sold by the collector to the debtor and the dollar amount of each: Upon failure or refusal of collector to validate this collection action, collector agrees to waive all claims against the debtor named herein and pay debtor for all costs and attorney fees involved in defending this collection action. ________________________________ Authorized signature for Collector __/__/__ Date Please return this completed form and attach all assignment or other transfer agreements that would establish your right to collect this debt. Your claim cannot be considered if any portion of this form is not completed and returned with the required documents. This is a request for validation made pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. If you do not respond as required by this law, your claim will not be considered and you may be liable for damages for continued collection efforts.
From the phone records they sent, was the phone account actually yours? Are the phone records sufficient to determine what amount is owed? Does it show all payments made? Does that match what they are attempting to collect? How old was the debt? When was the last payment made? Is it past SOL, and is it past the 7 year credit reporting period?
Pale, actually the purpose is two-fold. #1) to prove that they have the correct person. #2) to prove that the amount, character, and legal status of the debt, is 100% complete, accurate, and verifiable, without any amount (incidental charges, collection charges, interest, service charges, late fees, and bad check handling charges) unless such amount is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law. TRJAZ: The form letter that you use is one which has been discussed at length; and is the basis of one of the only accurate parts of ACA's "Chaudry" article about what validation is, and isn't... There is no requirement that they provide anything which doesn't go towards the two above; the only caveat would be situations where multiple CAs are simultaneously attempting to collect the same account; or otherwise there is verifiable confusion as to whom the true collector is. The later is a significantly rare occurrence, but it can happen... I've had a gold mine letter from a CAA where the attorney admitted in writing that there was enough confusion as to whom was the active collector for an account which they had just sent the initial collection letter regarding; because one of the prior CAs began appearing on my credit report months after they had sold the account to another CA, who sold the account to the CAA's 'client'... And I currently have a nice little oopsie, where a major CA 'validated' then 'closed' an account after sending the validation, when they hadn't had the account which they provided the validation on for months, and the account was transferred to another CA while it was unvalidated... The only motivation for them to 'validate' was that they had received a nice little Express Mail CMRRR civil action for the account involved. Typically, them being able to provide validation is enough proof that they are the current collector, however there are more than enough times where the CA requests the validation from the onset, and instead of contacting the OC to obtain the validation, they provide the validation that they already have. Unless you have proof, that there are multiple CAs attempting to collect the debt at the same time, assignment records aren't going to be considered anything except confidential work-product.
