First give me a little info and I can tell you which way to go. Have you had any dealings with Midland pertaining to the FCNB account? The advocate called in response to letters so I don't think contacting her will do you any good if there has been no previous communications. Plus she contacted us as a last resort to lawsuit, so if you jump the gun and call her she probably would not be able to help you. I am not holding out info, I just want to make sure you go through the right channels and build your case first
Hi tnobles, No,the account never left FCNB internal collections. I paid it in full in March 2001, and the last late I had on it was in March 2000. On TU it is reporting perfectly, on Experian it is reporting 2x30 days late (most recent is March 2000) but on Equifax.... it is 6x30 days, 5 x 60 days, and 7 x 90 days. :-( Again, on that report, the most recent is March 2000. I called FCNB in 2001 and demanded proof that I was late as they said, and they haven't proven it (I truly believe that this is inaccurate, btw). I have disputed this 8 times with Equifax and it comes back verified but not updated as "account in dispute". I got the name and number for Spiegel's generlal counsel (Robert Sorensen, I think) but I haven't had the guts to go to court over this. I was just hoping to be able to write someone inside FCNB bank over this "nutcase" style and hope that they take care of it. I don't know how affiliated Spiegal's general counsel (in Illinois) is with FCNB's bank (in Oregon). Thanks for any help you can give,
O.k. first of all, the lady that called me would not be able to help, she said that Spiegel is completely different. My suggestion is send an intent to sue, I faxed it attn: leagal dept. File with the BBB, that got their attention as well. Then we can go from there
I apologize for the delay in posting this information, work has been kickin' my butt this week! Here is my letter (in which I take the approach that FCNB is responsible for Midland's violations) & the fax number. I'm with tnoble, in that, this approach may not work if Midland or some other CA wasn't involved after the charge-off. Good Luck to you! __________________________________________________ November 1, 2002 First Consumers National Bank 1000 Station Drive, Suite 222 Du Pont, WA 98327 Facsimile 503-641-2772 Re: Acct # XXXXXXXX NOTICE OF INTENT TO FILE LAWSUIT Dear FCNB: This letter shall serve as formal notice of my intent to file a lawsuit against your company, due to your deliberate and unacceptable disregard of the law. Please be advised that I have kept detailed records of all of my letters to your company and companies claiming to be affiliated with you (IE: Mitchell N Kay, FMA Alliance Ltd and most recently Midland Credit Management). When called, FCNB has not been able to â??find me in the systemâ? and all requests to validate this alleged debt sent to both FCNB and the above companies have gone unanswered. To bring you up to date on the most recent violations, please review the information below. On 9-20-02, I sent a demand for validation and cease communication letter to Midland Credit Management. This letter was sent certified mail (70020460000182770369) and was signed for a Midland employee on 9-24-02. On 10-1-02, I discovered that Midland placed this alleged account on my Experian Credit Report as a collection account. On 10-2-02, I sent a second letter via certified mail (70020460000182773285) advising Midland of their violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, in trying to collect this alleged debt without validating and reporting to the Credit Reporting Agencies after receiving a validation request. I requested that Midland remove this derogatory information from my credit report within 10 days of receipt. This letter was signed for by a Midland employee on 10-7-02. On 10-10-02, I received a copy of my Trans-Union and Equifax Credit Reports and discovered that Midland had also placed this alleged account on both reports as a collection account. To date, I have not received validation of this alleged debt from Midland or from FCNB, as both you and Midland have chosen to ignore all of my letters. On 10-30-02 Midland verified this alledged account with all three credit bureaus! The FDCPA states you must cease collection activity until you have produced verification of the alleged debt if so requested. As per the FTC, this includes reporting to the credit bureaus, which you obviously have done illegally. It is quite evident that no such proof of this alleged debt exists or you would have provided it immediately when requested. Also, when an alleged debt is disputed, a notation must be entered on the debtors credit report showing the item as in dispute. Again, this was not done. Iâ??m sure you are aware of the consequences in violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act as well as the multiple violations your company is now responsible for. If not, let me point them out for you. FCRA 1. § 623. Responsibilities of furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies [15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2] (a)(3) â?? Duty to provide notice of dispute. 2. § 611. Procedure in case of disputed accuracy [15 U.S.C. § 1681i] (5) Treatment of inaccurate or unverifiable information. FDCPA 1. § 805. Communication in connection with debt collection [15USC1692c] (c) Ceasing Communication 2. § 809. Validation of debts [15 USC 1692g] As per the FDCPA: § 813. Civil liability [15 USC 1692k] (a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, any debt collector who fails to comply with any provision of this title with respect to any person is liable to such person in an amount equal to the sum of $1,000 (1) any actual damage sustained by such person as a result of such failure; (2) (A) in the case of any action by an individual, such additional damages as the court may allow, but not exceeding $1,000 If you wish to resolve this matter, this will be your last opportunity to do so. The above referenced item must be deleted from my credit files with the four major credit reporting bureaus (Equifax, Experian, Trans Union and Innovis) within 72 hours or by November 4, 2002. Additionally, you are to forward a letter to me via U.S. Mail stating it has been removed and will not reappear on my credit reports again by you or another collection agency. Please be aware if this account is not deleted by November 4, 2002, I will be filing a lawsuit for multiple violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. I will be seeking civil liability in the amount of $1000 per violation. Please also be aware I will file a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, The California State Attorney General, and the Better Business Bureau. Thank you for your prompt attention to this final request. Sincerely,
My dh's account is almost EXACTLY like Marci's (paid in 2001, reporting reallyyy badly on one) so can I join up with y'all and see if we can't lick this thing. I was wondering if he shouldn't start with an estoppel letter....I believe it to be inaccurate too, he just paid it to get rid of them. It was a no-pay for 6 mos thing, and then they went nuts reporting him as late. He didn't get a bill til they said he was 3x90 days too. I think they deserve a court case, but we just want it off. (It was spiegel btw) Amy
I will give ya'll a little tidbit the advocate did share with me. They do not have records of signed reciepts. But she also told me that they do know that validation would require a signed app. (which she said they do keep, I do not know if she was b.s.ing though) and all statements to include charges incurred. So they do know what validation of the account consists of. But she was very apologetic for Midland's behavior that is why they put a c&d on the accounts themselves. (in other words they were scared of getting their pants sued off b/c of Midland.)
