I was DV-ing a matter with Professional Collections and they responded with a letter from a lawyer that holds a lien. Professional Collections did NOT have the correct amount listed on the CB and they don't seem to be the agency responsible for the debt anymore however, they are the middle men when I inquire on the debt. Can I get them to be removed from the process since they don't seem to be part of the process? Or do I have to deal with them as well or JUST the lawyer (firm)?
What did the response from the law firm say? Are you sure the law firm isn't just representing the CA in this matter? If Professional Collections is reporting something incorrectly on your credit reports, they're still responsible for it whether they've sold your debt to someone else or not. Have you disputed the incorrect info. through the CRAs?
It's hard to tell, but it sounds like the CA is collecting on a lien that the lawyer was holding (perhaps as a result of some earlier law suit?). In that case, they just sent you the validation in the form of a letter from the laywer who wants the money. So. You were notified. You DV'd. They resonded. The ball's in your court. They can now continue collection activities so you need to decide what you want to do next. Negotiate. Ignore. Wait to be served. Hope they go away. Good luck!
It was a bill from cingular. Professional Collections didnt buy the debt. They seem to act as though they do.
OK. That's confusing. I had something similar and sent a letter to Cingular (the OC) asking for confirmation that the CA had authorization to collect. At the same time I sent the CA a letter saying as soon as I heard from the OC that I should pay them (the CA), I would. The CA got all perturbed and said that the OC sold the debt to some other outfit who had contracted with the CA. I said, "well so you say." "I'm not going to send money to anyone who calls and sends me a photocopy of a bill unless I have some written confirmation from the OC that they have sold or transferred the account." That was the last I heard from them. If it's a phone bill that's over two years old, it's even questionable that it's within the federal SOL. So it could be that if you huff and puff enough, they might just blow away.
I lost the case in court against Cingular and the law firm has the case. So why would the CA try to even claim they are part of it? Like you said, I will contact them and see if they have written confirmation that they sold the account to them. Great idea and thank you.
