Before I send a validation out to a CA- If the dept is still within the SOL, will this cause them or the OC to sue me just because I validated the account with them ?
Suing is collection activity under Heintz v. Jenkin's (U.S. Supreme Court), so just because you ask for validation they can't immediately sue. Because 809(b) prohibits collection activity before they have obtained and mailed the validation requested by the consumer. Now, if they obtain and mail the validation, then there is always the chance that they could try to sue sometime *AFTER* they have validated the account. You need to decide the risk of that happening on a per-account basis. Consider the amount of the account, how far they are from where you are, and you can get a good idea as to the Cost/Benefit analysis that the CA will go through to decide whether it is worth attempting to sue for.
thank you for the reply- will have to mull it over some-- None of the CA's are local but two of the accounts are over 15,000- so def worth their time. I am really not trying to get out of paying- just trying to buy some time. Thanks again Learby
