Trojan Professional Services

I guess if you pretend the request didn't happen you don't have to follow the law. Cute.

It signals their frame of mind, and that they may be likely to make other deceptive claims as you deal with them.

The least sophisticated consumer would assume from their communication that they do not have to validate unless he or she does whatever they claim. What are the odds they will also claim the time to validate is now passed, so the debt must be assumed valid, even if you now were to send a letter with your signature.

If the FDCPA requires that they take certain actions when you make a request as provided in the FDCPA, they are not allowed to add their own requirements. I don't see anything in the FDCPA requiring a signature to make a request for validation, nor would they even be able to use a signature to verify that you are who you say.

They could just as legally, or illegally, required a signature, notarization, a copy of your passport, your original passport, your full identity information including mothers maiden name, or whatever.

Did they originally send you a first contact letter, including the legally required text stating that you could dispute the debt, and that if you requested information on the original debt they would provide it?

 

Did they send you any letter before your DV request? Was your DV letter sent in response to a letter from them, or from seeing their tradeline on your credit report?

 

Your next step is to dispute thru the CRAs. Otherwise they can claim it was just a CRA error, for which they are not responsible.

If they don't verify to the CRA, the CRA should remove. If they verify to the CRA, they have done so without validating to you, which is continued collection. They have also not sent you the required letter within 5 days of initial contact that notifies you of your right to dispute, regardless of whether you are already disputing. In effect, their response to your request for validation is a misrepresentation of your FDCPA right to request validation, by claiming to place restrictions on that right that are not in the law.

Did their letter refusing to validate include that it was from a debt collector and that any information provided would be used to collect a debt? Since they are in effect requesting information from you, even their reply to you should have this information, separate from the issue of notification of right to dispute.

How strong is your hand, if push comes to shove?

What information do you independently believe you have on the debt, and is there a basis for you to believe it is either not your debt, or not correct, due to an incorrect amount, payments not accounted for, unknown fees or interest added, etc? Do you know enough, or can you be sure it is even your debt, and that paying it off would even cancel a debt you actually owe, based on any account information or original creditor on your credit reports?

 

They can't claim they didn't receive your request for validation, since they sent you your own letter back, along with their letter indicating they were not going to validate. That is even better than a green card, as it shows they not only received it, but read it, and it probably nullifies any attempt to claim a bona fide error, since they are claiming it is their "policy" not to validate without a signature.

 

Separate from the FDCPA violations, what is the strength of their position in collecting the debt? Is it your debt, from an account you opened, or not, is the amount correct, or are you unsure?

In other words, if you sued for violations, and they sued to collect, what would the likely range of outcomes be?

 

Are there any issues around the correctness of the debt claimed, such as insurance not billed correctly, an amount billed in excess of allowed by contract between insurance and dentist, etc?

Did the dentist bill to your correct address before sending to collections?

 

Just a little background on Trojan Professional Services in case anyone cared. They actually have a database of all the insurance companies in that region so dentists can quickly find there patients insurance info. great service IMO.

They also do collections. It only costs 15 dollars to send someone to collections, no percentage fee. The reason they can do this is because the dentist pays around 90-100 dollars per month for the insurance database.

well there you have it, useless info.

 

Is there any error on the part of the dentist in billing that resulted in this bill being sent to collections? Is there any basis for getting the bill pulled back from collections, and paying or settling with the dentist?

 

Was the account assigned, or sold, to the CA?

 

You might try a nicer letter to the dentist. I had my dentist remove this CA a few years ago. The billing mixup was cleared up and they had the CA delete right away. I wouldn't get into the validation part with the dentist because you simply don't have to. Also, you don't want the dentist to do all he can to "help" the CRA such as provide accurate dental records etc.

Plan "B"

Send the CA a follow letter stating that you will not provide them your signature for "obvious identify theft prevention reasons" Add that since they are trying to collect the alleged debt, they must by law provide YOU a copy of your signature on the instrument contracting you to this alleged debt. Remind them that you understand your rights under the law (FDCPA) and they are in violation. Tell them that you are disputing with the CRA's and that any further collection activity will result in legal actions being taken against them.

Be prepared to sue.

Good luck!

 

Your best channel to settle with removal is the dentist, particularly if there is any mixup, and you approach the matter tactfully. The CA has no interest in your future business as you are not their customer. The dentist does.