whoisjohnny2004 Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 Hello collection agency experts, I have a HUGE favor to ask of you all. I am writing to request some help/assistance/advice on what my next course of action should be (legal or not?). I will outline below what has happened thus far. I received a letter from a CA (their FIRST communication with me with NO 'you have 30-days to dispute etc.' statement on the letter) last April 30th threatening 'legal action' if I do not respond to them within 10 DAYS(!) of the DATE ON THE LETTER. Unfortunately the letter was DATED April 15th(!) and they didn't even MAIL IT until April 28th...kinda makes it hard to reply within their time window if they don't even MAIL it out until AFTER the window has EXPIRED, right? Then I notice an 'hard' inquiry was done by this Collection Agency April 27th on my EXP report. I SHOULD Have 30 days to dispute this after their initial contact, right (even though they acted like we had been in touch before)? Well, on May 8th, I received a 2ND LETTER stating that they will be suing me very soon...I immediately sent out a DV letter disputing the validity of the debt and their right to collect on it, etc... (within 30 days of their initial communication with me via mail). By now they were ONLY reporting to EQ and TU but not EX. After I had the CMRRR green card that proved their receipt of my letter, I disputed this with EQ and TU to start the 30-day window...And then the CA VERIFIED (!) with EQ and TU after receipt of my letter and NEVER sent me ANYTHING (validation or even an attempt at validation). I immediately sent out a 2ND DV LETTER demanding validation after the 30 day window passed and immediately disputed AGAIN with EQ and TU after verifying that they had received my 2ND letter. Lo and behold, they VERIFIED for a 2ND time(!). By this point (2 DV letters), they STILL HAD NOT EVEN MARKED THIS ACCOUNT AS IN DISPUTE. Well, 2 months after RECEIVING my 2ND DV letter (~ 3 months after initial communication), they sent me an 'Affidavit of Indebtedness'-type letter (a poorly xeroxed copy), stating that they had purchased this from another JDB. I was also unable to verify the licensure of the notary that had notarized it with the State they were allegedly a notary in. The OC that this CA is (allegedly) linked to is reporting a DOLA (and has verified this themselves via numerous disputes) that would put me WELL outside of the SOL for collections. Therefore, I recently sent them a 3RD DV letter disputing the nature of the debt, etc., and also informing them that this alleged debt was well outside of the SOL (according to the OC that they claim this debt was purchased from). I then immediately disputed this with EQ and TU after obtaining proof of receipt (green card #3). Well, lo and behold, after 30 days they VERIFIED for the 3RD time and STILL did not MARK THIS ACCOUNT AS DISPUTED BY CONSUMER. ALSO: They had now REPORTED THIS INCORRECT DEBT to EXPERIAN! (and didn't even mark it as disputed). Summary: 3 DV letters 3 disputes with EQ & TU 3 verifications by CA with EQ & TU 0 accounts marked as 'in dispute' with EQ & TU 1 EX account added after all of the above occurred QUESTIONS: What should my next step be? Should I attempt to obtain an attorney? Send an ITS? I am REALLY getting fed up with these corrupt people. I pulled my real FICO scores the day BEFORE they added it to EXP and the same day that they posted it and my real FICO score dropped 23(!) points from just this single TL (this was the ONLY difference). Should I apply for a credit card, etc., to get rejected and claim additional damages? Thus far I have applied for a Wal-Mart card and got denied because of 'collection accounts' on EQ. [This is the ONLY CA on EQ, by the way]. Please, give me some advice on what my next action should be (legal or otherwise). Also, any examples of letters, cases, etc., that I could use would be most appreciated. Many thanks, -WIJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retmar Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 Send them an ITS. Be sure and include copies of each letter and green card. Make it quite clear that if they don't close, delete, and go away, you will sue them. You will also tell them the debt is timebarred and they have no legal recourse to the debt. Add the statement that, in some states, it is considered a Felony for Fraud/Extortion for even attempting the collection of a timebarred debt. Assure them you are filing complaints with your AG and their AG, along with the FTC, BBB, and any other State or Federal Agency that governs CA's. Give them 10 days from receipt of your letter. Use date on green card to count. You might even include a copy of a Claim from the Court. Just fill it out, but, don't file yet. You can get copies either on line or at the courthouse. Just be sure you have the papers for the correct court. Follow your State's laws along with the Federal to determine which court you will use. OR, hire an Attorney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoisjohnny2004 Posted November 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 Thanks, retmar...any suggestions on how I could do this for the state of FL (as far as sending the court copy prior to filing?)Thanks again for your great suggestions...If anyone else has suggestions, please add them!Thanks again, all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoisjohnny2004 Posted November 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2004 Hello retmar (and/or anyone else who wants to answer),I just wanted to follow-up again with you about your suggestion from last week. Retmar wrote: "You might even include a copy of a Claim from the Court. Just fill it out, but, don't file yet. You can get copies either on line or at the courthouse. Q: Any idea WHERE (websites, etc.) that I could obtain a copy of a Claim from the Court (e.g. websites for the State of Florida)? I am unsure exactly what these look like/consist of and would like to find an example. Also, is it LEGAL to send one of these (copy of Claim from the Court) ahead of actually filing it? Or would this be some sort of mis-representation?Retmar wwote: "Just be sure you have the papers for the correct court. Follow your State's laws along with the Federal to determine which court you will use."Q: What factors would I need to consider when deciding WHICH court to use?Thanks again, all! -WIJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. White Posted November 15, 2004 Report Share Posted November 15, 2004 here is a website of the florida court system....it should have an internal link to court documents and such...check under 'what's new'...i believe that is where i checked...also...do a google search for court documents....claim documents relevant to your state ofcourse...also try these websitesfindlaw.comlawdog.comand just search for your state...county...etc..i don't know if the secretary/department of state website will help or not...but it is definitely a good website all in allhttp://www.dos.state.fl.us/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoisjohnny2004 Posted November 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2004 Thank-you VERY much, rcollins! I appreciate you going to the trouble of finding this for me. I will look into it right now...-WIJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. White Posted November 16, 2004 Report Share Posted November 16, 2004 you're welcome! hope it helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts