Paid collection (new info)

[BuildingForMortgages]

OK. I have been helping out a friend of mine with his credit repair. We sent out a DV letter on 8/2/04 and received the following letter on 8/19/04:

_____________________________________________________

Dear Sir,

This letter is in response to yours dated or postmarked 8/2/04. This account was closed at this agency when it was settled in full on 3/8/04. We have been advised by counsel that any obligations arising from this former account under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act have expired.

Please note this account has been reported as settled in full to the major credit bureaus.

_____________________________________________________

My feeling is that they are speaking about the part of the Act that states that they don't have to validate if the account is paid. The account was removed from Experian and Equifax, but remains as a paid collection on TransUnion.

I don't think I should send this letter to TransUnion because they could use it against me. It could probably be interpreted a few different ways, but I don't want to chance them realizing what it really means. We need to get this account off of my friends report to get his middle score over 580 (he is currently at 575 on Experian). Any thoughts on how to get it removed? And quickly?

I'm thinking about sending an ITS letter based on the fact that they didn't properly validate. I know that they may again try saying that they don't have to, but they may just give up and delete it. Any other ideas??

Thanks alot!

[Ravenous Wolf]

First of all, that pig-eyed lying sack of [EXPLETIVE DELETE] is totally wrong.

The FDCPA says:

§ 809. Validation of debts [15 USC 1692g]

© 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.

However, I would defintely use the letter that they sent you and explain to the Trans Union that this outfit refuses to validate this debt and is violating federal law.

And I would recommend that you browse through the Debt Validation Forum. It is loaded with plenty of posts and threads of this exact situation...