My ex-wife allowed a vehicle that we both owned to be reposed in 12/01. A new CA has pick up the loan and sent me a letter dated 8/3/2006 from an attorneyâ??s office in Georgia requesting I set up a payment program. I have ignored the letter past 30 days. The CA has started calling everyday since last week however I have only talked to the CA once (love caller id). I live in Texas I have all my life. It is my understanding that the SOL is 4 years in Texas. During the one conversation with the CA he made reference to the fact I did not want to put my mortgage in jeopardy. I informed him that I live in Texas and the SOL had expired as well as Texas has a homestead exemption. From there on he started rambling louder at me and I told him not to call me again and to communicate with me by mail. This didnâ??t work as I stated before the CA is still calling. My questions are: 1. Should I still send a request for validation or is it too late? 2. Should I send a CD letter? 3. With the CAâ??s threatening remarks against my mortgage is this enough to file a complaint with the FTC or Texas Attorney General? 4. Do I need to consult with an attorney before I do anything? I would appreciate any guidance.
What exactly was he threatening to do with your mortgage? Pay it? Foreclose on it? Jeopardize it? Place a lien on your house, before or after getting a judgement? On a debt past SOL? Where was the car loan contract signed? In Texas? What attorney's office/CA in Georgia was this? You could send a letter disputing the debt and requesting validation. They might send it, or they might not, same as if you requested in 30 days. If your request is made after 30 days, they can assume the debt is valid and continue collection while they get it. Also keep in mind that the 30 days specified in FDCPA is from when you received their letter, not from the date they put on the letter, or the date they sent it: http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm#809 " ... (a)(3) a statement that unless the consumer, within thirty days after receipt of the notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector; ... (c) The failure of a consumer to dispute the validity of a debt under this section may not be construed by any court as an admission of liability by the consumer. " The consumer failing to dispute within 30 days does not make or prove the debt is valid. However, Texas law might be different. Since Texas law requires validation to be sent within 30 days of receiving your validation request, it would be worth checking on whether that still applies if your request was made more than 30 days after receiving their letter. In fact, based on the above threat regarding your house, it would be worth a call to the Texas AG to clarify that, and to determine if this CA is licensed and bonded to collect in Texas.
