RSB Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 (edited) I got a letter from Asset Recovery Associates. They say they own my Suntrust bank account.WELL..I have NEVER had a Suntrust bank account, ever. Did Suntrust have another name prior to being Suntrust?I think the letter is either a hoax, or an old debt of my ex husband's from 1988-1990.I found a lot of negative information about ARA on the internet. Soes anyone know anything about ARA?Thank you.edit to add:I have been researching Suntrust. I just don't understand why I got a collection letter.I have never had any type of account with Suntrust...no loans, mortgages, and no credit cards. And, I have never defaulted on any type of bank account, loan, or mortgage. Edited November 29, 2011 by RSB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyingifr Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 Send a Validation Demand CMRRR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiquedave Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 Don't ever assume its a hoax and ignore it, a lot of folks have gotten into trouble because they ignored letters and summons, definately send them a validation letter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSB Posted November 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 In 2002, I became unemployed and defaulted on three credit cards. SOL has expired. Perhaps it is one of those accounts. But, I never had a credit card with SunTrust. So, I think it is a hoax.ARA has the grade of F on the BBB website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoCares1000 Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 Even if you think it is a hoax, still send the DV letter CMRRR. This way, you are protecting your rights regardless of whether the card is a hoax or not. Otherwise, you can lose those rights if you find out this is not a hoax.Better safe than sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSB Posted November 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 At one time, my defaulted credit card debt was owned LVNV and AAC. I wonder if either of these companies sell to SunTrust?I will be sending a letter to SunTrust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyingifr Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Protect your rights - send it to ARA, not Suntrust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torden Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 Protect your rights - send it to ARA, not Suntrust.Exactly! If ARA owns the debt (and they apparently made the claim to you that they do) then it is ARA you need to deal with primarily, at least for now.They likely will respond to a timely DV (send it ASAP) with the minimum the law requires. That should at least tell you the account number at Suntrust and type of account. Once they send that they can resume collection efforts.Also get your credit report to see what is being reported by ARA, Suntrust, or anyone else. What might have happened is that Suntrust bought out a bank you or your ex had an account with and merged them. These mergers usually don't go very smoothly because of database schema inconsistencies and other computer issues (a friend of mine use to work in IT for a major regional bank that did a few acquisitions, and always had stories to tell). Accounts get re-incarnated (and then accrue low-balance fees). Accounts get mixed with other people. People do funny things because they hate their "new" bank. And ID theft is so much easier during the transition (knowing some about how the bank computers work, if I wanted to be an ID thief, I'd simply claim the new bank lost my account and they'd readily "re"-open it ... in anyone's name without most of the usual checks).Once the DV is verified, then send:To ARA a dispute claiming you never had an account with Suntrust, so therefore their computer records must be in error, or Suntrust's records are in error, or it is ID theft (CMRRR on all communications to ARA and do not talk to them on the phone).If Suntrust is also reporting it on the CR, even if with a zero balance or "sold" status, do a dispute through the CRA and see if Suntrust confirms the tradeline.Post back here and let us know what's going on with these steps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSB Posted December 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 Thanks for the information.Neither SunTrust nor ARA are reporting this debt on my credit reports.I sent a letter to ARA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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