mikep Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 after reading the threads on this board, i think arbitration may be a good venue to resolve my dispute with amex. i quit making payments a year ago. the account has been with several collection agencies, most recently with zwicker for 3 months.nobody has validated the debt. amex still owns it according to my recent credit report.zwicker doesn't have an office in my state, sc. and i just got a letter from an attorney licensed in sc saying they are now collecting the debt for their client amex. reading about zwicker here, it sounds like this may be positioning to file suit....but zwicker is not mentioned in the letter from the new attorney.they claim the debt is 30K. i opened the account in the 80's. i would like to settle it for 50-60% of that. i am getting ready to send the new attorney a DV letter. is there language i can use to say that if they move forward, i elect arbitration...without admitting anything?does this sound like the proper time to elect arbitration, or should i just ask for a DV? thoughts anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingair41 Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 What does your alleged agreement say regarding arbitration? Read up on that. It will spell out how you can proceed if you decide to go that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikep Posted March 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 my agreement has arbitration 9with jams) as an option. i am just wondering if not is a good time to elect it, since i believe the attorney is getting ready to file suit.i just got the letter and i am preparing to send a dv. mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyt293 Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 My experience has been 100% positive in regards to electing arbitration in a DV letter. My last encounter was with a law firm representing LVNV who bought the debt from Chase. I received a phone call from a "non-lawyer" who attempted to collect a debt. I told him once I received their letter that I would respond with a letter disputing the amount of the debt and that I was electing arbitration. The collector informed me that the letter had already been sent.Sure enough, I received their dunning letter the next day and called the firm back to obtain their fax number as it was not listed on the letter. I gave my case file and was informed that the account was already sent back to LVNV.I know that they are some members on this board who feel that electing arbitration in a DV letter is like admitting to the debt, but I disagree. My feeling is that there is nothing wrong with coupling a general denial of the debt with a specific demand for arbitration.Unfortunately because far too many people do not understand their rights or have the wherewithal to fight back, it is easier for a collection agency to go on to their next victim than to respond to a fight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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