I get a letter yesterday telling my CAMCO purchased my old Citibank debt and I owe them $2600.00. So I call them today and say I didn't have a Citibank acct. A manager gets on the phone and tells me the debt is from '92 and that he will give me a deal and settle with me for $500! I say first of all it's way past the SOL, and second of all it would be illegal to attach this to my credit reports. He said "we pulled your reports and you have several other outstanding debts" and I say you better not have, or I'll sue you. The FDCPA strictly forbids you as a collection agency of doing so. He says this debt will follow me around for the rest of my life unless I pay it. I said I will follow up with a validation and intent to sue if he tries to collect. He says they by law can collect. What a roller coaster. Time to have some fun. So help me if they pulled my report, they are gonna owe me! Thoughts???
Did you tape it? Follow the proper procedure(validation, 2nd and 3rd letters, etc.) and if they act up after that, ream 'em!
I'm working on a letter now. I was too anxious to call them and forgot to tape it (I won't do that again) I'll post the letter here for you all to critique when I am done in about two hours.
Remember that camco is in illinois. It is a 2 party consent state. I would ask them if I could tape and then point out of they have nothing to hide it should be ok. Or maybe you could do what they always say. 'This call may be recorded for quality assurances or training purposes'. Be careful with these scumsuckers and make sure they have your current address. They are famous for sneaking through default judgements by having your address you lived in 10 years ago served.
If you live in a one party consent state you can record calls if you make them and if you recieve them regardless if the other party lives in a two party state..
Here's the letter I'd like to send from the above issue. Please let me know if you think it's too harsh!! CAMCO Capital Acquisitions and Management Company PO Box 158 Sycamore, IL 60178 August 23, 2002 RE: Account #XXXXXXXXXX Dear Sir/Madame: I was contacted via USPS mail by your company, Capital Acquisitions and Management Company, which stated I am indebted to you for $XXXX.XX on a purchased debt. After calling XXXXX XXXXXXX at your company to dispute the alleged debt, a manager informed me that this debt is from 1992, and that your company would settle for $500. The following Federal laws were broken by CAMCO during our conversation: 1.I was not informed that it was â?¦â?an attempt to collect a debtâ?¦â?? at any time during the phone call, as required by the FDCPA Ã?807 (11) 2.The manager made reference to the fact that CAMCO pulled my credit report for review and then made derogatory comments in reference to my credit history with other accounts (not held by you) in an effort to defame and belittle my character. This is strictly forbidden by Federal law as stated in FDCPA Ã?807 (12) In addition, you may also be in violation of FDCPA statutes with regards to obtaining my credit report without my consent or knowledge, serving neither in the capacity as the original creditor or creditorâ??s assigned agent. 3.The manager stated that if I did not assume to resolve this alleged debt with payment to CAMCO, this alleged debt would continue to â??follow meâ?? and that there were no guarantees that another agency wouldnâ??t try to collect on this alleged debt. This is in violation of FDCPA Ã?806 (4) and Ã?807 (6) As you know Ã?605 (a)(4,5) of the FCRA strictly prohibits old (or alleged) debts from being re-inserted or re-aged on a credit report or credit file: â??(4) Accounts placed for collection or charged to profit and loss which antedate the report by more than seven years. (5) Any other adverse item of information, other than records of convictions of crimes which antedates the report by more than seven years.â? Ã?616 and Ã?617 of the FCRA states penalties due to the consumer for civil liability for willful or negligible noncompliance of the above laws in the amount of $1000 per occurance, court costs, attorneyâ??s fees, and punitive damages. Take notice, this letter will serve as your legal notice under federal law, "The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act," to cease all communication with me in reference to the above account. If you fail to heed this notice, I will file a formal complaint against you with the Federal Trade Commission responsible for enforcement, the state Attorney Generalâ??s Office, as well as the American Collectorâ??s Association which monitors for noncompliance. This letter also serves as dispute to the validity of this alleged debt. This debt does not belong to me. By your own statements this alleged debt is more than 10 years old, I have not been previously contacted regarding this alleged debt, and you purchased this alleged debt from another collection agency. Additionally, the Statute of Limitations has been expended, and collection activity on this alleged debt cannot be upheld under law. What you will do in response to this letter: 1.Cease and desist all further contact with exception of written notice that you will discontinue all further contact and collection activity. 2.Remove any trade lines, information, or inquiries CAMCO or your affiliated business partners have entered onto my credit reports. 3.Pay me damages not less than $1000 per FDCPA and FCRA violation occurrence, resulting in $3000. (This could be potentially more) Non-compliance with the above resolution to this issue will result in a suit filed against CAMCO in the state of Kansas. All subpoenas will be directed to the representative named above, her manager, the president of the company, and any individuals associated with the attempt to collect on this debt. Sincerely, «Signature» «Your Name» Anybody have any thoughts???
Mike: You're combining several letters/defenses into one letter. Not sure, but it seems that the vets advise step by step each letter/concept at a time, each with CRRR, etc. to build your case. Just my 2 cents...Good luck!!!
I got the same letter from CAMCO for $26,000. I sent them a dispute letter a few days ago. They also ran a INQ on TU...the TU rep says it's soft. My debt was in 1989 and the SOL is 4 years. There was a post here last week about CAMCO buying as bunch of old debt.
Camco is all over other forums. I have seen them hit people that the sol expired in 1980. They are sueing people right and left and nobody ever seems to either a)get served properly or b)show up. This should be illegal and someone should do something about it.
I think it this letter is quite acceptable given the situation. The reason why it is recommended that we do the validation process in steps is because we are trying to get a CA to slip up and we want to have documentation for it. Mike, on the other hand, has tons of documented violations already and there is no reason for him not to send this letter.
I agree. Send it. This is a situation that needs to put out to pasture now. Also, I would file complaints with your state atty general, their state atty general, the ftc, the bbb and whoever oversees ca compliance in your state.
Thanks LKH, rblues, and picantel. I was just a little over the top last week, and had an unexpected weekend get-away, so was unable to respond until today. Thanks for your help and the links. I'll let you know what comes of it.
