Hi. Can someone please advise me on what to do? I checked my credit reports, and found an entry from 2005 by Encore Receiv. I disputed it, and they changed it to "in dispute" on one report and re-aged it (I guess that's what you call it -- they changed the reported date to one year later, which now makes it stay on the report longer I think) on another. And then I get a letter from one cred rep agency saying that it's remaining, and then another letter from Encore with a form to send to the Identity Theft Bureau claiming that someone opened the account in my name. I never claimed identity theft. I said that it isn't mine because I hadn't ever received anything from ANYBODY on an overdue account. I didn't even have any idea what the account was. Now I get the form, and it appears that it's in relation to an old phone account (the account has my old number in it), that I paid when I closed it. These guys NEVER sent me any notice of the debt, never called me (I've worked at the same office for years, and my phone number hasn't changed), nothing. I only found out about it when I got my credit report. So what do I do? I am guessing they are just trying to intimidate me with this long form (it's such a bad copy I couldn't read it and fill it out if I wanted), but I'm not sure what I should do. Weren't they supposed to give me an opportunity to dispute the debt? Advice would be appreciated. I've got a loan pending, and the entry will really hurt. I can pay the amount (it's not much), but I don't even know if it's correct since nobody ever sent me anything. Thanks.
Changing the reported date does not change how long it would stay on your reports. Nor would paying it. The 7 year maximum reporting period starts from when it was first charged off, or at most 180 days after it first went delinquent. That's assuming it is even valid. Did you dispute with the CA directly, or did you dispute with the CRA? Did the CA send you any written communications, either now or earlier, notifying you of your right to dispute the debt within 30 days of their letter? What "Identity Theft Bureau"? "Now I get the form, and it appears that it's in relation to an old phone account (the account has my old number in it), that I paid when I closed it. " Have you tried contacting the old phone company to see if they show your old account having a balance due?
I disputed with the CRA. I've only gotten response back from one (Exp), and then the same day, got a letter from the agency saying thanking me for contacting them, that they understand i'm disputing responsibility for the account. No, they never sent me any letter notifying me of the debt or my right to dispute. The first contact I've had with them was this letter which just says "mail this form in to SBC. The form is an FTC Identity Theft form, asks for all my contact info, if I filed police report etc. The address they gave me to mail it to is SBC Attn: Identity Theft Bureau. Other than that, I've no idea who these people are, if the debt is correct or what. No, I have not contacted the old company. Should I do that? And even if they say I do, how do I get them to prove to me that the amount is correct. I thought I paid them everything I owed them when I switched carriers. I don't mind paying if it's truly mine. I'm just POd that they never contacted me, and so I've got this thing on my credit report unpaid for a year.
At this point you have disputed with the CRA. Even though the CA has sent you a letter saying they know you are disputing the debt, and they have not sent you the letter required by FDCPA, also send them a letter disputing the debt and requesting validation, to preserve your rights under FDCPA. In your letter to the CA, indicate that their letter, that you received on xx/xx/xx, was the first letter you have received from them on this matter. Indicate that your are disputing the debt. Specifically request the name and address of the original creditor, the original account number, and the name and address under which the account was opened, the date opened, and the date of last payment. Request copies of all statements starting with the last one showing a payment made. Request an accounting of how they arrived at the amount they are claiming is due, showing all charges and fees. Send it Certified, Return Receipt Requested. If this "debt" is related to a mix-up in switching phone carriers, your old and new phone records should show when you switched carriers. If SBC didn't process your change correctly, and continued to accrue charges for services they were not actually providing, their charges are not legitimate. If they won't reverse them, send a complaint to your state's public utilities commission, a complaint to FCC, and another complaint to BBB. Include a copy of your first new phone company statement to show when the switch happened, and when they were supposed to terminate their service.
Another question, if you don't mind....I sent the letter as you suggested, but never got the green card back. I checked with USPS and it was delivered almost two weeks ago. They told me they can print me a duplicate. How long does the CA have to respond? I still haven't heard a word from them directly -- not by phone, mail, nothing, and still don't even know if it was my account or one I paid off or what. It's reporting on at least one of my credit reports as "no status." Which incidentally, I can now prove how badly they damaged my credit for that year since that score took a huge jump from poor to excellent when it switched to no status. What do you suggest I do now?
Since you can document they received your request for validation, dispute with each CRA reporting it. If they verify to the CRA without sending you validation, they are violating FDCPA by continuing collection without validating. If they don't verify, the CRA should remove. You say the CR TL shows "no status". Does it also show "consumer disputes"? If not, another FDCPA violation. They may never send you validation, but if they don't, but continue to take collection actions, they violate. That is what you then use to take them to court. By the way, if you are in Texas, they have to valiate in 30 days, whether they continue collection or not. The validation you want should be statements showing when the account was terminated. If that is after you switched service to your new carrier (shown by your statements from your new carrier) then you use that to go after SBC for failing to terminate your account, charging you for services they were not providing, and selling the resulting erroneous debt, via your public utilities commission. Undermine the validity of the debt from that side, and the CA will be sitting on a "debt" SBC will no longer validate.
There is no time limit for them to respond, unless you state requires a response in a fixed amount of time. Now, there is caselaw in one circuit, that failure to respond in a reasonable amount of time is a false and misleading representation in the validation notice that they would obtain and mail validation.
Still have heard not a word from the CA. Two of my CRA disputes have come back -- Experian says "remains" but changed it to "no status," with no balance or other info, and Eq completely ignored that item on my dispute (I disputed one other error on the report, which they addressed, but they didn't verify, or delete, or even mention the collection acct in their response). What do I do now?
Both Experian and Eq have 30 days to finish their investigation. If the CA has not responded in that time, they must remove. No status, and no other info, implies the CA has failed to respond. Send each a reminder, at about 35 days, that they are continuing to report unverified information. If that doesn't get them off, file a complaint with your state AG.
