ravenrose88 Posted October 22, 2008 Report Share Posted October 22, 2008 Hello all We had an old Orchard Bank Mastercard that was charged-off in May of 2006 and we were making payments here and there with the last one being of January of this year. About a few months ago we received a dunning letter from RAB Performance Recoveries about the remaining balance ($2325.00) and stupid me never did a DV and then about a month later we get another letter from Messerli & Kramer and this time I did a DV and in the mail today all they sent was a typed sheet of what we owe, charge off date, last payment etc and also enclosed was the cardmember Terms & Conditions agreement with the sue part underlined. My question(s) is this: Was this proper validation? I am not sure because when I have DV'd a CA I never got a response. Should I send a settlement offer to RAB or Messerli & Kramer? I was also thinking if either one don't accept it I was planning on just mailing payments to Orchard Bank directly. Sorry for all the questions, but we can't afford for them to sue us. Thanks so very much in advance for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LUEser Posted October 22, 2008 Report Share Posted October 22, 2008 Does Orchard Bank still own the debt and RAB and M&K are acting as collectors for them or does RAB own the debt now? If the latter, my personal opinion is to not make them an offer for crap, as they're acting as a JDB and are paying pennies for the right to bother you for a debt they never even lost anything on other than the cost they paid. If, on the other hand, Orchard still owns the debt, then you may want to look at other options. Possibly settlement, or possibly if Orchard offers it, a TL rehabilitation. And if you do decided to settle, you should always ask for some kind of TL suppression, either through a PFD or a NDA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admin Posted October 22, 2008 Report Share Posted October 22, 2008 They fulfilled the debt validation requirements. The next step is to do the 623 method or pay for delete. I doubt if the OC still owes this. Did you make all the agreed payments? I got that impression. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravenrose88 Posted October 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 Does Orchard Bank still own the debt and RAB and M&K are acting as collectors for them or does RAB own the debt now? If the latter, my personal opinion is to not make them an offer for crap, as they're acting as a JDB and are paying pennies for the right to bother you for a debt they never even lost anything on other than the cost they paid. If, on the other hand, Orchard still owns the debt, then you may want to look at other options. Possibly settlement, or possibly if Orchard offers it, a TL rehabilitation. And if you do decided to settle, you should always ask for some kind of TL suppression, either through a PFD or a NDA.The paperwork we received stated the original creditor was Orchard and now the creditor is RAB. When I checked the CR it still had Orchard Bank listed and noone else. We have settled with other CA's and this is first time that I come across a JDB that retains an attorney. I believe I read somewhere (Bud Hibbs?) that Messerli & Kramer does sue quite a bit. I am a bit worried they will take his military pension and disability plus his regular paycheck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravenrose88 Posted October 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 They fulfilled the debt validation requirements. The next step is to do the 623 method or pay for delete. I doubt if the OC still owes this. Did you make all the agreed payments? I got that impression.I made the payments up until 2006..and then payments off and on like a dummy and then it was charged off. They are not on the CR (at least TU) and we just can't afford a PFD...what is a 623 method? Is that something like a settlement letter? Thank you all for your help and have a great night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravenrose88 Posted October 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 I forgot to ask this earlier..wouldn't the OC Terms & Conditions be null and void if they sold it to a JDB who in turn is now the creditor or does it get passed along? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LUEser Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 First off, we know now that you're dealing with a JDB. Orchard is out of the picture. The debt is now entirely owned by RMJ. It's more common than you think these days for JDBs to hire attorneys. More people are wising up to the DV process, so they bypass the whole thing sometimes and go straight to litigation. No worries though, you can beat this. As far as your credit report is concerned, what you're seeing is RJM isn't reporting but Orchard still is. Event though they sold the debt, they still get their seven years unless you dispute it off. What you're looking at now is two statutes. FCRA and FDCPA. As long as Orchard is showing the correct DOFD and a zero amount with the c/o notation, they're not doing anything wrong. If RJM starts to report, then you may be able to get them bumped off. Now as for the lawfirm. Well, you've DV'ed them. Good. They've "validated" at least they're giving you the impression. Now, they may or may not have verified with the OC. You say it's just a typed up letter. That may be good for you, but you won't know until you get to court. So I ask now, what is your goal. Are you just trying to get it off your reports, or are you looking to beat them in court too? As far as your husband's income goes, I'm not sue about military pensions, but they can't touch his disability, it's a protected income source. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admin Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 Your plan of attack is simple: 1. Can you settle with the collection agency for 25% or less? (I think it's very possible)2. DV the new collection agency Choice number #1 would end all of your misery if you can pull it off. Worry about Orchard later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravenrose88 Posted October 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 Good Morning! My goal is to settle with the CA and get this off our list. Should I draft the settlement letter directly to RAB Performances or to Messerli & Kramer? We can settle for that much or up to 35% but would have to be in payments. Also, once I have a settlement letter set up I would like some of you to critique(sp?) it, but not sure if collections would be where to post it, so if the mods could kindly point me in the right direction, I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you everyone, your advice is well taken. Have a good day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravenrose88 Posted October 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 Hi again! Spoke to DH and he feels more comfortable just paying the orignal creditor. Since we did it before with a First Premier and they just forwarded the payments to the CA, he feels this is a the best way to take of it and that we won't get hit with a 1099 which will make a mess. Any advice will be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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