I sent a validation notice to a collection agency handling a utility bill from 1995-6. They sent a letter back today stating that the account was validated in 1999- untrue. The account was initially disputed with the creditor in 1996 under the FCBA because I was not living at the residence when the bill was accrued- I never received any response from them, however. Letter also stated that this account could not be removed from credit report. What is my next step?
Next step would be to send estoppel letter. Under the FDCPA, if you request validation, they need to provide it, and cannot make any collection efforts in the meantime, and they also have to notate the account as being in "dispute" on your credit report(s). Send the estoppel, wait till you get the green card back (usually 1-2 weeks), then dispute with the CRA, if they verify it, and cannot provide you with validation, that's a violation. You could also pull a copy of your cr report, and if after they received the estoppel, they did not notate the account as being in dispute, that's another violation.
But they say they have already validated it-- is that although they have not, is it eough for them to say it is validated to justify not validating it now? What do they have to have to prove it was validated previously?
Okay, so they say they validated. Then they should no problem proving to you that they indeed validated the debt to you. I.E. mail you copies of what they originally sent to you (validation of debt) -It's not enough for them to just say "oh we validated this already"... let them try and pull that in front of a judge.
Nice reply. Even if they send the 99 info that don't mean it is validated. 1/A lot of things can change in 3 years. 2/The so called 99 Val.may very well not have been a proper Validation.
I'll send an estoppel and dispute-- I just wasn't sure how to respond to this claim that they validated it (I didn't even know what validation was back in 99)... this was probably their point - they wanted to throw me off the scent for a while.
From the FCRA: Section 623 (a) (3) Duty to provide notice of dispute. If the completeness or accuracy of any information furnished by any person to any consumer reporting agency is disputed to such person by a consumer, the person may not furnish the information to any consumer reporting agency without notice that such information is disputed by the consumer.
THANKS!!! So this is something that CRA's and CA's usually violate, right???? (At least in my case!!!)
CA's do it all the time. CRA's lie about verifiying. They're all crooks. Having a paper trail is how you bury them both.
1*Should we always believe everything a CA tells us ? 2* No=Where is the Validation? 3*Simple send proper Current Validation.
I was referring to during the process, not after the 30-day timeframe. Even if they do validate (ha-ha), during the time period from when they first received the validation ltr, to the point when the send you validation, they must note the account as "in dispute"
I think this happens to just about everyone (when they are too naive to know better)... my lease was up 1995, the guy who was moving in asked that I keep the gas on for him so that he would not have to wait for the gas man to come turn it back on- he assured me that he would transfer the account to his name first thing- i believed him. Moved into a place where the gas was included in the rent, so I never checked into whether he actually transferred the account- HE DIDN'T. Almost a year later (when I moved again)- the gas company said I owed them this money- I said NO WAY, they said YES WAY... I disputed the bill told them to contact the landlord about the lease dates- never heard back, naively figured "matter resolved". Skip to now... a CA is reporting this as a collection account on all my credit reports- I sent a letter to validate the debt, also mentioning the billing dispute was never resolved. They said they validated this in 1999 - absolutely not... I just sent them a "you are violating my rights" letter and will not hesitate to sue them becasue (1) I don't owe the money and can prove it, and (2) you never contacted me about the account (no 30 day notice), and (3) you refuse to validate. Hope it works!
