I posted awhile back with a problem with a Debt Collector. They claimed to have been a third purchaser of one of boyfriends old accounts that is in default. We only found them because of doing credit report checking. Anyways, to make a long story short, we requested validation of the debt and we just received a response today and I am wondering if their letter is valid. It looks like a typed up piece of paper from their office with his name, social, address. They have the original account holder's name, account number, date established. Then they have the second purchaser's name, account number, date of assignment and balance at assignment - 6,600.78. The last is the current owner's name, address, account number, balance at purchase - 6,600.78. Then they have the current balance....claiming - 13,701.37 as of May 4, 2006 and their phone number. Their is no date of assignment listed on their account and they never contacted us to let us know they had the account. We only found them when we checked his credit report and questioned that account. Then we get doubled whammied by them! How can they charge us double when we had no clue who owned the account? Anyways, does their validation response sound like it is valid? Thanks
If this information is all in their letter, it may be accurate, but there is no way of determining whether they actually obtained it directly from the original creditor in response to your request for validation. It might also have been passed along with the account from prior CAs. Are you disputing that it is your account? You would want an application with a signature, some other receipt with a signature, and/or copies of bills showing transactions, sent to his name, at his address at the time. Discrepancies in any of these would tell you it is either misidentification or id theft. Are you disputing, or do not trust the accuracy, of the amount, including any fees that may have been added? You would want an accounting showing how they arrived at the amount in collection from a statement likely to be accurate, such as the last one showing transactions and payments. You might also want a copy of the original contract or application, to show what fees or interest can be added. Do you want to confirm that it is past SOL? Aside from credit reports that might show the original default date, you would want the last statement they can produce that can show either a transaction or a payment made. In all these cases, copies obtained directly from the OC would be needed to show they are accurate. A letter from this particular CA, regardless of what it contains, does not validate the debt. It only meets the other FDCPA requirement that they provide you with the name of the original creditor. What did you specifically request? See S809(a)(4), and S809(a)(5) http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm#809 Is this past SOL, how much money is involved, and what are you trying to accomplish?
"They have the original account holder's name, account number, date established. Then they have the second purchaser's name, account number, date of assignment and balance at assignment - 6,600.78. The last is the current owner's name, address, account number, balance at purchase - 6,600.78. Then they have the current balance....claiming - 13,701.37 as of May 4, 2006" Are you saying they purchased it with a balance of 6600.78, but it increased to 13701.37 while they owned it, yet this is the first you have heard from them? When did it originally go delinquent, when did this owner purchase it, and how long have they owned it?
If the information they have provided bears no indication that it was obtained from the original creditor and then sent to you, there may be a reason. For an alleged debt of 13K, if it was still within SOL, you would think it would be worth their while to obtain copies of the records to validate the debt and then sue. Why just send you a letter they made themselves? What is SOL for this kind of debt in your state?
Hello OnTrack, Thank You so much for responding. You were the one that gave me advice when I first posted. You might remember the case. We know it is my boyfriend's account and that he did default on it. We just didnt know what happened after the OC sold the account. We found that Credigy bought it after doing a credit report check. Then they called us and asked for 13,000. They sent a letter 7 days after the first call. We want to know how they can double the amount when we didnt know they had the account. They never contacted us since they bought the account, the purchase date is not even listed on their letter. The original account opened in 8/1999...then sold in 2/2002.....now belongs to Credigy, but no date purchased. Do we send them another letter demanding to know the date they purchased the account, and how they claim the new amount they want? By the way, our initial Validation Letter was what you said we should write....It said....The alleged debt is disputed in it's entirety and strict proof is demanded. Also, what was strange is that after disputing this specific account with EXP and EQ.....Equifax removed the account but Experian left it with the new balance of 13,000 showing. What do you think we should do?
Also, the SOL in Ohio is a mystery. Some charts show it as a question mark and some show it is 15 years, the longest of all states. So it is probably in the SOL time frame for Ohio. Like I said, we aren't disputing the OC...just this doubled amount the third purchaser claims and why the didnt contact us when the first bought the account. The EXP report claims the Credigy Acct. opened in 8/1999 ( which is the date the OC acct. opened) and that they reported since 9/2001. Can they claim THEIR account opened the same time the OC account opened? Doesn't that look like they are putting 2 accts on the report for the same acct? We don't understand the dates they claim...they dont add up. You suggested talking to a lawyer before, which we are putting off. We really can't afford that right now and we wouldnt qualify for free help either. What can We do on our own to deal with this?
You need to realize that you have potentially $13K at risk, if this is within SOL in Ohio. Whether you can afford an attorney or not, you might be forced to, or be stuck paying amounts you might not even owe. Since SOL is likely to be critical to knowing how to handle this, you might look for a lawyer with FDCPA experience in Ohio (perhaps thru naca.net), and see if they are willing to spend a half hour discussing this with you up front for free. Perhaps one would respond to an e-mail inquiry, or there might be law clinics available that are associated with a law school in your area. It's worth doing some checking.
I think I am going to contact one of those lawyer from naca. Maybe they can tell us what to expect next. Thank You for your insight.
I'm a retired attorney. If you want you can send me a copy of the document at byronkuenzel@hotmail.com and I will look it over for you.
Re: Re: Validation Response Hi Bykuek, Not sure how I missed you, but wanted to say ... welcome aboard. : )
Do you want just the validation response letter? We would really appreciate it if you could give us any advice on this matter. Thank you
Bykuek, I tried emailing you the verification response letter but it said your email account did not exist. I would really like you to take a look at it. By the way, email would be coming from markw@ncweb.com, in case you have spam blocker, you might need to add our email to your unblocked list to receive it.
