txtrouble Posted August 29, 2007 Report Share Posted August 29, 2007 Hi All,While perusing the many threads, I just wanted to ask for verification on something: Is there a time you should NOT DV? Namely, I'm wondering if a debt is within SOL, is yours. I have 2 accounts in collections where the SOL will run out in January of 2008 and May of 2008. Should I just ride it out and let dogs lay? Or should I DV them? They are calling my house usually daily with an auto-dialer. They are with JDBs. One is Palisades and the other is Merchants or something like that (I think its Merchants). The debts are mine and I'm not trying to not pay what I owe, but I had legitimate grievances and feel I do not owe them. One is for AT&T, back when they first implemented the GSM network, they were extremely unreliable. Calls would get dropped pretty often, often I couldn't even dial out for hours at a time, etc. In addition, they were billing me incorrectly (had a family line that I got under a special and they were charging the normal price). Anyway, AT&T customer service really sucked at that time, each time I called I was on the phone for 2-3 hours at a time, NO KIDDING. I wrote letters and all that jazz. I got so fed up, I went to the AT*T store, dropped off my cell phone and told them to cancel. Of course they wanted to charge the early disconnect fee of $275 per line, which totalled over $500. Wrote many letters to no avail. I don't feel I owed it as they were not providing the service I needed and there customer service dept was awful (stores wouldn't help either, they claimed they only sold the phones, didn't deal with issues).The other issue was BofA charging overdraft fees when they weren't supposed to. They charged a few (5) overdrafts of $30 or $35 each. Only thing was I had a savings account linked for overdraft protection that didn't kick in for whatever reason. We argued back and forth and got it straightened out or so I thought. Don't have anything in writing. Never heard from them until a CA apparently purchased the debt and contacted me 2 years later. I guess I was just trying to explain I'm not tryign to avoid paying what I feel I do owe. So my question is, I've been getting phone calls daily from these guys, it doesn't bother me. Shoudl I DV them? Or should I just let it go and them once SOL comes, send a FOAD? Another option is I can afford to pay it, they have offered half too. BUT, I don't want to pay it on moral grounds, I feel I was treated poorly, didn't get the service I was paying for and thus don't owe it. Otherwise I would pay it b/c I've had really good luck on some med bills the past year or so for PFDs. Thanks as always! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moriah4 Posted August 29, 2007 Report Share Posted August 29, 2007 I personally would let sleeping dogs lie if your not going to be doing a major purchase house or car in the next few months. One is only 5 months away the other less than a year. It really is a personal choice. I have a medical hanging that will be off in mid 2008 the incompetent folks didn't file the claim when they could/should have and want me to pay for their incompetance so I understand your feelings. I am so just waiting them out but it irks me none the less.Good Luck whatever you decide! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdk003 Posted August 29, 2007 Report Share Posted August 29, 2007 This close to running out the clock? I'd let things sit. They may well already be aware of the deadline, and are ramping up to try to get a settlement before it expires. Or they may already be planning to sue, although if it's a small amount, I doubt they'll bother. More likely they'll sell it on the next sucker.One tactic you might try is to wait, and DV right before the SOL expires. With any luck, you might be able to tie them up with responding to that and they'll miss the chance to file.Also, keep alert to any FDCPA violations, like, say, calling your house every day (sounds like an unreasonable amount to me), or using auto dialers to call your cell phone (illegal under the TCPA). If you get anything good on them, you can spend the entire time until the SOL expires arguing about it (you complain, they deny, you complain to the state AG, they lie, you send an ITS letter, they deny everything, etc.). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divemedic Posted August 29, 2007 Report Share Posted August 29, 2007 DV. Always DV. If you do not DV within 30 days, you basically lose the right to ever DV.If they are gonna sue, they are gonna do it whether you DV or not. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler74 Posted August 29, 2007 Report Share Posted August 29, 2007 If the debt was out of SOL and I missed the 30 days from the date of their letter, what should I do? I forgot to add that DOLA was 9/6/94. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachmonkey Posted August 29, 2007 Report Share Posted August 29, 2007 I dont think you ever loose the right to DV, simply because they do not send out their letters certified. You can simply state that you pulled your CR and this is the first you know of it and ask for proof it is yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merkurfan Posted August 29, 2007 Report Share Posted August 29, 2007 wait.. DOL is 1994??????? Dispute for past reporting.. way past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjohnstud4200 Posted August 29, 2007 Report Share Posted August 29, 2007 wait.. DOL is 1994??????? Dispute for past reporting.. way past.LOL! Obsolete my friend! Depending on where the OP lives, he might still be sued though. I think there are a few 15 year SOL out there! OUCH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler74 Posted August 29, 2007 Report Share Posted August 29, 2007 One last question.....I'm going to be applying for a mortgage within the next 2-3 months, which is why I didn't just pay it. It's only $180 dollars, and even with this mark on TU, I'm at 773. Won't this hurt my score? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjohnstud4200 Posted August 29, 2007 Report Share Posted August 29, 2007 One last question.....I'm going to be applying for a mortgage within the next 2-3 months, which is why I didn't just pay it. It's only $180 dollars, and even with this mark on TU, I'm at 773. Won't this hurt my score?That answer will be all speculation, but it's possible to see a drop in score if a CA is deleted. You might lose history, however, IMO, it's a risk worth taking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler74 Posted August 29, 2007 Report Share Posted August 29, 2007 I guess I'm just miffed that this was way over SOL and shouldn't be on CR anyway..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myscoresawful Posted August 29, 2007 Report Share Posted August 29, 2007 One last question.....I'm going to be applying for a mortgage within the next 2-3 months, which is why I didn't just pay it. It's only $180 dollars, and even with this mark on TU, I'm at 773. Won't this hurt my score?if your score is 773 and the only thing you have on it is a $180 collection, then don't pay it right now. A mortgage lender will not turn you down for it, but you will have to show that it was paid BEFORE they extend the home loan.Paying it now, could/would lower your score, though probably not by much. If it is over 7 years old, dispute with all reporting agencies that are showing it and get it off first anyway, otherwise, go with the above advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txtrouble Posted August 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 DiveMedic - so you think always DV no matter what? I can see your point, if they are going to sue, they are going to do it no matter whether you DV or not. I just figured though if I laid low, they may think I'm an uninformed consumer, take their time to file a suit, then it would be past SOL. I am way beyond the 30 days considerably, but I understood Texas was different. That you could DV anytime and they were required to respond. Is that not correct for Texas residents? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyssarene Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 DiveMedic - so you think always DV no matter what? I can see your point, if they are going to sue, they are going to do it no matter whether you DV or not. I just figured though if I laid low, they may think I'm an uninformed consumer, take their time to file a suit, then it would be past SOL. I am way beyond the 30 days considerably, but I understood Texas was different. That you could DV anytime and they were required to respond. Is that not correct for Texas residents?TX SOL is 4 years. And yes, they have to respond based on the TFC. Did you mean DOLA was 1994 or 2004? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler74 Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 if your score is 773 and the only thing you have on it is a $180 collection, then don't pay it right now. A mortgage lender will not turn you down for it, but you will have to show that it was paid BEFORE they extend the home loan.Paying it now, could/would lower your score, though probably not by much. If it is over 7 years old, dispute with all reporting agencies that are showing it and get it off first anyway, otherwise, go with the above advice.OK, submitted online dispute with TU. The have the date closed of 12/04 which is incorrect. Does that mean I need to DV with the CA, then take that to CRA-TU if they even respond? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txtrouble Posted August 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 TX SOL is 4 years. And yes, they have to respond based on the TFC. Did you mean DOLA was 1994 or 2004?Hey Lyssarene, the DOLA was January of 2004. The last payment made to AT&T was around January 15, 2004. But the account was considered "deliquient" I believe even at that time. The reason being that I was being overcharged and I tried straightening it out but couldn't so I paid what I should have been charged instead, starting in November of 2003. So I had a balance each month of probably around $20 b/c I wasn't paying the full bill, I paid what I was supposed to be charged. Yeah, it was passive aggressive, but I had been paying the full amount for a few months, they could never fix their billing problems, customer service was crappy (hold times were hours long), so I just said screw them, I'm deducting the over charge myself. So January 15, 2004 was my last payment. I brought the phone back soon after that. So I figure worst case, SOL begins in Feb of 2004 instead of Jan of 2004. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divemedic Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 Remember that while a CA must respond to a DV any time under TX law, that does not give you a violation under the FDCPA.Why would you voluntarily give up such an important tool? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txtrouble Posted August 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 Hey DiveMedic, I didn't think about that. Are you saying that if I don't DV within the first 30 days, I will never have any recourse if they break any of the rules? I figure that they can call all they want since I never DV'ed... is that what you are saying? Or are you saying if I DV beyond the 30 days, they can still do whatever they want and I'll never have recourse?This is the reason I ask, it pertains to another CA. I ignored this CA for about 3 months. I was trying to buy time basically. But I DVed b/c they were calling family members, telling them about the debt, etc. Does that mean I wouldn't be able to sue them for that if I wanted to? They did stop contacting after I DV'ed and they never produced anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divemedic Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 What the law says is that if your DV is not timely, they do not have to cease collection after your DV. This effectively allows the CA to ignore your DV. That does not mean that the CA can ignore the rest of the FDCPA. Third party contact is a violation whether your DV is timely or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts