Lost in space!!!! Help

[justaillusion]

I'll be as brief as possible...I got into dept about 3-4 years ago and just ignored it all!!! collections and everything. I did get a CR and it's big and nasty. Where do I start? I bought the "Good credit is sexy book". I'm someone who cant register everything when I read but if you show me how to do it then I'm golden. I just need a step by step process. I also still have a car and a motorcycle that nobody repossesed. (crazy I know) but i just dont know how to go about it. I bought the 3 in 1 CR and there are are some things that are different. (different balance,high balance,date opened, account status Experian says open and TU says closed)...here's my main questions.

1. Do i write a letter to the all 3 CB's (hand written) as well to the CA? Or just use and send the forms that I have received when I bought the book?

2. Is DV my best way to go about this? What do I send to the CB if i send DV to the CA?

I know I have a lot of things to learn and I know people on this board have been in a bad situation like I am. Thank you all for your help in advance!!!

[LUEser]

Let's break it down for ya

First things first, let's not get our two statutes mixed up.

For dealing with collectors, you're primarily going to be using the FDCPA.

For dealing with "creditors" and information furnishers on your credit report, you'll be using FCRA.

So, a few questions to get the ball rolling. Are you still getting phone calls and letters from collection agencies?

If yes, Validation of Debt Letter. Even if it's past the 30 days from initial disclosure, this can never hurt as long as you're not in court yet.

Do you have any summons to court?

If yes, you need to file an answer or get a lawyer to do this for you.

Now for the CRA part.

When you're dealing with the credit bureaus, you send them a dispute letter under the FCRA 611. At this point you're not sending letters to the collectors or creditors under the FCRA.

Once your dispute letters reach the CRAs they will either delete the items you dispute, or they'll "verify" them. With this they will send you a copy of your credit report. Use this rather than the 3 in 1 for a more accurate picture of what's going on.

You can still use the 3 in 1 for checking for changes before you get the CRA response letters though.

In the event that the CRAs report that the information is verified as correct, you have still more recourse. Under 611(a)(7) you can request the method of verification from the credit bureaus. They have a timeline in which to provide you with this information. Use it to your advantage.

Your third route of recouse in cleaning up your credit report lies in sec 623. Under 623(a)(7) and (8), you are given the right to dispute directly with the furnisher of the data, be it a collection agency or a creditor. The specific procedure on how to do this is found in 623(a)(8)(i-iii).

And that's the rundown of getting started. Hope this helps. Don't hesitate to ask questions when you need help, there are several very knowledgeable people here who are willing to help you out.

[justaillusion]

LUEser, thank you for your response.... I'll answer some of ur questions...

Are you still getting phone calls and letters from collection agencies? No, I haven't receieved a call from anyone since may 09...but that is for a motorcycle that they still haven't repossessed. I sent them a DV since it was a collection agency and they stopped calling. But prior to that I haven't received a letter since JAN 08...haven't heard from anyone... But now I have some cash together and would love to fix my past mistakes.

Do you have any summons to court? No

Ok, now one more question for you now. As I mentioned above I have a motorcycle that hasn't been repossessed or had a payment made on it since July of 2006. Obviously it can't be registered so it sits here. I want to pay it off then sell it. The OC gives me the CAs #....is there a way I can deal with the OC in this case? The account is closed and in the comments it says "transferred to another lender or claim purchased" any advise on how to go about this? I want to pay the debt, make sure I have a clear title with it either from the OC or the CA, then sell it to pay other debts. Again, thank you for your time

[LUEser]

LUEser, thank you for your response.... I'll answer some of ur questions...

Are you still getting phone calls and letters from collection agencies? No, I haven't receieved a call from anyone since may 09...but that is for a motorcycle that they still haven't repossessed. I sent them a DV since it was a collection agency and they stopped calling. But prior to that I haven't received a letter since JAN 08...haven't heard from anyone... But now I have some cash together and would love to fix my past mistakes.

I admire you for wanting to fix your past mistakes, not a lot of people here want to make things right, and a lot are just trying to get out of paying an obligation they actually know they owe. That's not to say that getting out of an obligation is ilegal, only that some people feel it's immoral. I don't particularly feel that using the law to get out of an obligation is unethical, as the banks have been perpetuating fraud and unethical behavior on their own for years. But I digress from the intent of my response. You say the CA stopped calling and it's been nearly 2 years, they may have taken your DV as a Cease and Desist, as many of them do when you use a partial non-communication clause in your DV. If your sent something like "It is not ok to contact me by phone at any time, please keep all communication in writing," many CAs are assuming that you're issuing a full C&D and will stop contact all together.

1.) Did your DV have similar wording?

Do you have any summons to court? No

This is a good thing, no summons means you're still in the pre legal stages and as such you may have some room for settlement outside of the courtroom.

Ok, now one more question for you now. As I mentioned above I have a motorcycle that hasn't been repossessed or had a payment made on it since July of 2006. Obviously it can't be registered so it sits here. I want to pay it off then sell it. The OC gives me the CAs #....is there a way I can deal with the OC in this case? The account is closed and in the comments it says "transferred to another lender or claim purchased" any advise on how to go about this? I want to pay the debt, make sure I have a clear title with it either from the OC or the CA, then sell it to pay other debts. Again, thank you for your time

To answer your question, as far as I know or remember, there isn't a specific law that says that the OC has to deal with you once they've assigned rights to collect to a CA. However, you have other means to persuade the OC to deal with you directly. A letter to the BBB and the state board that governs businesses (specifically CAs) stating that the CA is acting in bad faith and will not negotiate a settlement with you (assuming you have tried to settle with them and they have refused) can do wonders in getting the account pulled back to the OC. Many original creditor have policies for either reassigning a collection agency or dealing with you directly in the event they think the CA may be doing something wrong. Again this is only speculation and is not guaranteed to work. If you do go this route, I suggest forwarding a copy of the letter sent to the BBB and State agency to the OC and CA to see if this will get worked out.

What strikes me as particularly interesting is the wording "transferred to another lender or claim purchased." This would indicate to me that the actual rights have been sold to a Junk Debt Buyer. It may not have been, it may have been assigned to the CA on behalf of the OC, but I'd focus on finding out who actually owns the security instrument. If the OC sold it, they are no longer the holder in due course of the financial instrument, and as such they have no financial interest. To find out who the lender is, I'd send another DV asking specifically who is the current creditor and who the previous creditor is. If it's been sold, then you don't owe the OC a dime, and they can't work with you at all unless they buy back the account from whoever they sold it to. Looks like it's time for a scavenger hunt.

So first, find out who the current creditor is. If the OC is out of the picture, and a JDB is holder of the loan, I don't advocate paying a JDB ever. I think they are scum and the worst kind of bottom feeders. Again, just opinion.

So find out, and then report back and we'll see where we can go from there.

Cheers,

LUE