I am getting information that the validation stuff is backfiring. Most of the complaints are from people who are getting judgments from creditors. They sent validation letters based on info from MARIE AND LIZARDKING initially .....here and at yahoo groups(?). I urge anyone who plans to try this process, please make sure you are certain of the process and consequences. They are suffering in silence. Sorry if that sounds melodramatic That is all I have to say. roni
Don't Blame Marie Or LizardKin I haven't been at this board very long and I still have tons to learn! But... from my understanding those validation letters are catered for Collectors/ Collection Agencies Not the Original Creditors. Unless you are a victim of Identity Theft, such as myself, and can send the Original Creditor proof, Police Report. It is best to stay away from them! Please don't put the blame on Marie or Lizardking....
There you GO! No one is blaming anyone. I am stating a fact. I am trying to warn others who may not have the info correct in their head before they start out this process. Do NOt put words in my mouth... roni
That's what one gets for using sophistry and bluster with no substance to it and no knowledge of what to do with it other than whip it up on your computer and fire it off, thinking that that's going to be the end of it, that it's some kind of silver bullet that will slay all the werewolves. Just because you have an airplane sitting in front of you does not mean that you even know how to pre-flight it, check out the weather, know what squawking is, lay out your flight plan and take off and land safely. If you did get it onto the active runway and the tower calls you and tells you to squawk 9600, you wouldn't even know what they were talking about unless you had a flight instructor there to help you and teach you. Just about the same with validation letters. Just because you found one somewhere and thought it was a cute idea, so you "flew" it off, what are you going to do when they come back and claim they have the proof? Run? Commit suicide, financial or otherwise? Clean your drawers? Cry because it didn't work? Collection Agencies are not fools. They are professionals at what they do and if you are going to beat them, you are going to have to either know more than they do, be smarter than they are and definitely more professional than they are. Your report does not surprise me in the least. It had to happen, and it was just a matter of time. Bill Bauer
was she actually served? On your other post you said "Someone on this Board (Kelly) had problems with the validation process. She has confided this problem to me thru IM and Chat. She validated and they threatened to get a judgement against her. I dont know all the details etc, but she asked for help on this site and didnot really get a response. She asked for help in Chat and got blowed off too. I dont know ANYTHING about this stuff so I am no help." if she posted questions I didn't see them as I'm traveling again and not able to read or post very often anymore. I was on the Sun night chat for 20 mins or so but I don't recall if she was there then... I certainly would've answered anything I could have...of course, I'm not an atty So did they provide the validation information??? or did they just scare her into paying? I don't know her situation personally. Maybe we can learn from this. Validation is a right you have under the FDCPA. you can exercise it or not. A collection agency can't sue you (or take any adverse action) while they're validating a debt. If they can validate it, then that's different (although I've not heard of one who has validated properly but that doesn't mean it hasn't been done). We all know they can try to take us to court My guess is they contacted her to scare her and didn't even try to validate the debt. Did she even get served? and if she got served did she even get a lawyer's advice??? Certainly if she decided to pay it then that's her choice. Always remember: The collectors are very good at their jobs and their main weapons are fear and then blackmailing us through blemishes on our credit reports. I haven't seen this issue much on the yahoo board, but those who were threatened with litigation mostly called the bluff and weren't taken to court. There are 2 people I know of who actually were sued, they showed proof they tried to validate the debt and the collection agency didn't respond... and the 'debtors' won. Also there were other affirmative defenses involved. Certainly you can be sued over a debt but even if you haven't requested validation before the lawsuit, and regardless of whether or not you request validation or not, they still have to prove it's your debt in court. By the way, I certainly do recommend that, if people are going to take advice posted here or anywhere, that they know what they're doing. Any advice. there is a bit of due diligence we all should exercise. For instance, one could actually read for themselves the FDCPA and the FCRA. Before posting here at all I actually read every old post (and at Yahoo too) so I wouldn't ask a question that had been answered 50 times before Also, Kielsky's free info tells a lot about validation. I certainly would advise anyone that they should do their own preparation as well. And of course, when push comes to shove, certainly a lawyer might be a good call. If someone had threatened to sue me, I would've at least talked with a lawyer. Well, on the bright side, at least that debt is now paid. She at least got them to concede to removal of the negative credit entries, didn't she? I hope so.
Good Stand up to Ur detractors You are right on target with that one. Anyway, the thought that original creditors are not subject to attack through validation letters is only true some of the time. There are those situations in which one most definitely needs to send one to the original creditor. You just need to know why you are sending original creditors a validation letter, not just shoot it off because you can. Your posts are right on target. Bill Bauer
my validations I used the validation letter originally, then the 2nd letter LK posted to use if they don't respond. It was to a CA not an original creditor. I'm not sweating the small stuff, as it will fall off my report in Feb 2002 and the SOL has passed. Also I have in my hand Guaranteed Credit by Arnold S. Goldstein, JR, PHD, so I didn't rely soley on this board. I did NOT blame anyone, I just opened a can of worms, I should have left alone. Christi
Marie ACTUALLY she paid more than the amount owed b/c they kicked her good. It was her husbands account btw. The last thing he said above was that she should have negotiated it if she paid it. Marie, she could have done that in the first place. That is the kind of stuff we were talking about long ago---negotiating deletions for payment. It has worked for me. PAINLESSLY roni
Sorry Roni I didn't mean to come across like you where blaming Marie or Lizardking. Maybe my title come across wrong. But... I totally agree...... people need to know what they are doing before they jump on new ground! I can honestly say it has taken me a year before attempting what I Know Is Not Mine! P.S.... I did not think I am putting words in your mouth..!!
Christi. You shouldnt think that I was talking about you and the book thing. If you had adequate knowledge before you started how did this get messed up and why are you asking questions now. That is my point. I like to have the fighting strategy all figured out, "before I jump in someone face to kick their ass"....I am talking about the creditors here... roni
Marie.. This was not an original creditor. It was a collections agency. No need for everyone to get all defensive. This board is about knowledge. And I will TELL IT.... roni
Re: Marie.. Yes, Roni. but Marie's post was right on target and I didn't see anything she wrote that looked to me like she was trying to put you down. Maybe I missed something? Bill Bauer
Re: Marie.. Not marie defensive...the second statement was for another comment. That is obvious. read the thread. Marie if you misinterpreted that as well, sorry. You did not come off defensive at all. roni
Roni........no prob Hey, I appreciate you looking out for "US" newbies. I might should have dug a little deeper. I'm not saying you are wrong at all, at least you are trying to help figure out what went wrong, probably me...lol. Christi
