Below is a letter I'm sending to two different CAs tomorrow. Assume one or both validates--what next? Or, if I hear nothing--then what? Do I contact the CBs in the meantime, or the original creditors? Thanks-- David Park Dansan 113 W 3rd Avenue Gastonia, NC 28053 Re: Acct # 9910101**** To Whom It May Concern: This letter is being sent to you in response a collection account placed on my Experian and Equifax credit reports. This is not a refusal to pay, but a notice that your claim is disputed. This is a request for validation made pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Please complete the attached form and follow its instructions and your claim will be processed as soon as this information is received. Please be advised that I am not requesting a "verification" that you have my mailing address, I am requesting a "validation"; that is, competent evidence that I have some contractual obligation to pay you. You should also be aware that reporting such invalidated information to major credit bureaus might constitute fraud under federal and state law. You may wish to consult with a competent legal advisor before your next communication with me. Please also be aware that the failure to remove invalidated negative information on my credit reports from your company or any company that you represent, this will result in my filing an immediate lawsuit against you and/or your client for 1) Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 2) Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 3) Defamation of Character, 4) Negligent Enablement of Identity Fraud. Pending the outcome of my investigation of any evidence that you submit, you are instructed to take no action that could be detrimental to any of my credit reports. I suggest you and Sprint get your records in order before I have to target you for legal action. It would behoove both parties not to let the matter escalate into a litigious affair over a nominal amount. Best regards, David C. Hill Page 2 CREDITOR DISCLOSURE STATEMENT Name & Address of Creditor: _______________________________________________ Name of Debtor: ____________________Acct #: ________________________ Address of Debtor: ________________________________________________________ Amount of Debt purported to be owed: _________ Date it became payable: ___________ Was this debt assigned to the collection agency or purchased? ______________________ Amount paid if purchased: __________ Commission for the collection agency if successful with assigned debt: _________ Please attach a copy of the agreement with your client that grants you the authority to collect on this alleged debt. Please attach a copy of any agreement that bears the signature of the alleged debtor wherein he/she agreed to pay the creditor. Please attach copies of all statements while this account was open. Have any insurance claims been made by any creditor regarding this account? yes / no Have any judgments been obtained by any creditor regarding this account? yes / no Have any negative trade lines been reported to any credit reporting agencies regarding this alleged debt? If so, please name the credit reporting agencies. _______________________________________________________________________ Please provide the name and address of the bonding agent for the collection company (insert name of collection agency) in case legal action becomes necessary. _______________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________ ________________ Authorized signature for creditor date Please return this completed form and attach all assignment or other transfer agreements which would establish your right to collect this debt. Your claim cannot be considered if any portion of this form is not completed and returned with the required documents. This is a request for validation made pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. If you do not respond as required by this law, your claim will not be considered and you may be liable for damages for continued collection efforts. Please allow thirty days for processing after receipt of your request.
getting first things first Let me point out a few things that might be wrong with this letter you are planning to send. One of the first things I would do is to take the letter to a 4th year or better law student or a practicing attorney and ask them for their opinion(s). You can usually get their opinion for free. Be safe rather than sorry later. Make up two letters, one the original as you now plan to send it in and then make the changes I suggest and let them tell you shich is better. Kill two birds with one stone that way, so to speak. This letter is being sent to you in response a collection account placed on my Experian and Equifax credit reports. This is not a refusal to pay, but a notice that your claim is disputed. Don't give them any information they might not already have. Don't mention the credit bureaus and don't tell them you are disputing. Simply demand they validate the debt and let it go at that. The reason I say that is because they usually come back and claim you disputed the debt, and if you didn't do that, you can make them look like fools, accuse them of making false statements about you and other things. It may help you put them on the defensive, which would be an edge you didn't have before. If you lose that edge, you have lost a tool that might prove very valuable later on. But even if it doesn't, you have lost nothing at all. ------------------------------ Your claim will be processed as soon as it is received??? That kind of language may have the effect of attempting to make them think you are some kind of a company or corporation with a staff of people who "process" things for you. They know better than that, so it may have the undesireable effect of getting them to laugh at your whole demand letter and just ignore you. --------------------------------- Please be advised that I am not requesting a "verification" that you have my mailing address, I am requesting a "validation"; that is competent evidence that I have some contractual obligation to pay you. Again, you are giving them too much information. Your focus should be towards getting them to fall into as many traps as you can. The above tends to leave the impression that you think they might have the word "STUPID" branded on their forehead. And being polite will "catch more flies" than making someone feel they are stupid. A better approach would be to simply say: Please validate the debt that you claim I owe. I am requesting a "validation"; that is competent evidence that I have some contractual obligation to pay you. That has the same exact effect and doesn't make them feel like you think they are stupid or something. Even then, it's still pretty weak, but OH WELL! --------------------------------------- You should also be aware that reporting such invalidated information to major credit bureaus might constitute fraud under federal and state law. How so? I may be as green as a gourd and as dumb as a fence post, but the last time I looked, fraud involved the act of obtaining money under false pretenses, not reporting something to a credit bureau. But then, what do I know? Maybe you should ask that question of your attorney. See which is right for yourself. ------------------------------ You may wish to consult with a competent legal advisor before your next communication with me. Let's see now, they are in the business of collecting debts, spend tons of time in court using attorneys and you are going to suggest that they are so stupid they don't know when to seek legal advice??? OK!!! Have a ball. Break a leg. _________________________________________ Let's see now.. You are going to tell them that you WILL file a lawsuit??? Please also be aware that the failure to remove invalidated negative information on my credit reports from your company or any company that you represent, You say it's invalidated information, but that don't cut much ice. They believe differently and they very well might just be able to prove it. Statements like that tend to be viewed as inflamatory, possibly bordering on your calling them bare, bold faced liars. While that may be the truth, people just don't like getting called liars. Collection agencies firmly believe that they are just as honorable as any other type of business and that they do nothing wrong. Starting flame wars with collection agencies is not the best way to do things. Continued next post
Re: getting first things first Continued this will result in my filing an immediate lawsuit against you and/or your client for 1) Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, How? Please explain. I'm as green as a gourd and as dumb as a fence post, so I need you to explain how it is that they violated the FCRA? 2) Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, What specific charges would you use to establish violation of the FDCPA?? 3) Defamation of Character, Think about this in the eyes of a court of law. If you are disputing bills that you did not pay, how much character can you possibly have that they could have damaged? What basis do you have upon which to establish the amount of damages that you would like the court to award you?? Movie stars, Politicians and others who have a valuable career reputation to maintain can easily establish damages and they have creditability to maintain. Someone who is in a common or more normal position in life simply cannot be damaged to that extent like famous people have. In my personal opinion, I think you would quickly become the Court Jester trying to claim your character has been damaged. There is a better way to go here. Defamation of Credit. Small change, big difference. You might actually have a chance to make that stick in a court of law unless your credit is already ruined in which case, your own credit history which they can easily obtain is your downfall in court. Why make statements you have little chance to back up. Doing so is not too smart. -------------------------------------- Now this I gotta see. What law covers this? Which ruling by a judge firmly establishes your right to make such a claim in this instance? While you would not want to quote the law to a collection agency in this particular point in your "fight", it might just be a good idea to make absolutely certain that you are on firm legal footing. And if you can't do that, don't know the law, then maybe you ought to take the letter you plan to send to an attorney you know or have reason to believe is a good one and will likely help you before you make serious errors 4) Negligent Enablement of Identity Fraud. --------------------------------------- I can go on and on, showing you what you might want to do different and why, but what you really should do is to take the letter you propose to send and go to an attorney or a 4th year of better law student and see what they have to say about it. Be safe before you make a mistake you may regret later. In most cases, no matter how good you think something may be, seeking competent help before you jump off the deep end is always a good idea even if it costs you a few bucks. Bill Bauer
The KISS principle The KISS principle almost always works better. Let me illustrate Which do you think is the better way to go? Use your own common sense and see what the correct answer is. This:-----> This letter is being sent to you in response a collection account placed on my Experian and Equifax credit reports. This is not a refusal to pay, but a notice that your claim is disputed or this???------> I would like to settle this matter at the earliest possible time. In order to facilitate that end, I must demand .....................blah blah blah In my personal opinion, the first looks like some bawlbaby caught with his hand in the cookie jar and throwing temper tantrums over his bad reports. The second one is short, sweet and cuts right to the point. It's much more businesslike, don't you think? Why not ask your attorney or 4th year law student which one they would recommend?? If you disagree, on what grounds do you disagree?
The Kiss principle again The whole of the 2nd page is pretty much the kinds of questions you should be reserving for your discovery motions. They are the kinds of questions your attorney might ask if it goes into the discovery phase. So if you demand all those answers now, what are you going to do for an encore? Keep It Simple and cut right to the meat in the very fewest words you possibly can. Even that will eat up a lot of space. You normally only want to present 1 issue per letter and that's your demand to prove the indebtedness. Don't clutter up your main issue with a lot of side issues. Keep your letters looking as professional a possible. Notice their collection letters. They are almost always just a 1 page letter with a simple demand and a couple other statements and that's the end of it. Short, sweet????, right on point, If you get off the point, you need to pull up the reins and get back on the point and stay on the point. Bill Bauer
