jennieb Posted November 13, 2007 Report Share Posted November 13, 2007 DH received a notice from a CA (one of LVNV's many tentacles) in April with regard to an account that went delinquent almost 2 years ago. We sent a DV explicitly saying that telephone contact was not convenient & that all communication was to be through the USPS. They went away without ever providing any validation or response. This CA has offices in 3 states. Yesterday, there's a message on the answering machine from the same CA except they're located in a different state than the branch we sent the original DV to. In addition, they called my in-laws (who also live in another state) & told them they were calling about a debt, how much it was, & what a deadbeat their son was. After that little intro, they proceeded to try to get our phone number out of them (which they obviously knew because they called a few minutes later). They've called the in-laws in the past & my father-in-law told them that he no longer wanted them to call him or have any contact with him or he would sue them for harassment (the one collector told him he was an a--hole & hung up).So I have some questions:1. Since a DOV was sent to one branch of this organization, doesn't that encompass all branches?? 2. Isn't it a violation to contact third parties with regard to debt?3. Do I send a DOV (again) to this branch or do I send a letter telling them they violated & include a copy of the original letter?4. Do I just sit back & let them violate? Or do I answer the phone & scream "Gotcha"?This all started because we had to buy a new car & I'm sure they were watching our credit reports. Any advice would be much appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodhi Posted November 13, 2007 Report Share Posted November 13, 2007 Check to see if your state is a two party permission recording state. If it is not, buy a recording device and record all phone contact with them after answering their calls with "This phone call is being recorded, please hang up if you do not wish to be recorded." If it is not, buy the recording device and record away without telling them.Let them stack up the violations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennieb Posted November 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2007 My in-laws live in another state that does not allow for 2-party recording. Both of my in-laws will sign affidavits with regard to the CA's calls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analog_kid Posted November 13, 2007 Report Share Posted November 13, 2007 If they continue to rack up violations you need to make them pay for it or they will never stop. And discussing the debt with your in-laws is a huge no-no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennieb Posted November 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2007 I know, but the CA is so stupid, they keep doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadMonkey Posted November 15, 2007 Report Share Posted November 15, 2007 My understanding is they can contact third parties if there trying to locate you, that's it.However, if you sent them a "GPSL", (go pound sand letter) and it clearly states that they can only contact you by USPS, and you have a postal reciept with the signed return green card you have them on violations. The wording in your letter also has to be carefully written to not allow them any loop holes. Mine were pretty specific, for example I stated, you may contact me and only me vie USPS as allowed by fed and state law in accordande to fair debt collection practices. You are not allowed to access my credit report for any reason, nor alter it, and the big one, you are not allowed to sell or assign the debt to any third party when it came to SOL debts. One thing you have to remember when you send GPSL's, you need to send them to the corporate office not to a local branch. The reason why is these companies set up seperate corporations in varies states so they can hide or play dumb. ie, branch B says, we never recieved a letter from John Q consumer because were not affiliated with branch C in state #2, blah blah. However, the corporate office is responsible for all the branches. How you get them on this, is the mere fact that they will Trademark there name, which makes the corporate office responsible for any company that uses there name and are in the same line of work. The Ostrich Head in the Sand defense won't work.I would file small claims action against them. Check with your state and find out who the agent of service is if they have one and serve them that way. Once there served send them a certified return letter giving them the opportunity to pay 75% prior to going to court. If you end up going to court you use that letter and there signed return that you attempted to work something out with them, Judges love that kind of stuff, especially when you come across as the good guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennieb Posted November 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2007 Would you believe they called the house again this morning???On their website, they specifically say they have a branch in the state they're calling from so is it safe to assume that this is not a "franchise"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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