Received DV Letter From Texas JDB ... How to Proceed

[nailpounder]

Howdy everyone. I've been looking around the forums for the past couple weeks and have found some really good info here. Today I decided to register and so here I am.

I'm anticipating a lawsuit being initiated against me by a Texas JDB and would appreciate any input concerning my situation. At this point, I'd rather not say who the JDB is, but here's the basics so far:

In March 2013, I received a letter from a San Antonio attorney claiming to represent XYZ Capital Recovery. It claims that XYZ is the assignee for an $11,000 debt I allegedly owe on a VISA account. I never heard of XYZ or had any dealings with them before receiving this attorney's letter.

Within 30 days of receipt of this letter, I mailed a CMRRR letter back to the attorney disputing the debt and requesting validation.

While waiting for a reply, I get copies of all three of my credit reports and don't find any record of this alleged debt on any of the reports. I also discover that XYZ and the attorney share the exact same San Antonio address and that the Texas Secretary of State shows the attorney to be the registered corporate agent for XYZ.

During my wait for validation, XYZ somehow finds the phone number of my sister who lives out of state. I think they may have found her name through my Facebook friends list, which I discovered wasn't hidden from public view (it is now). XYZ calls her and asks if she knows where I can be contacted. They also mention something about possibly suing me (which I believe is illegal). She tells them to get lost and not call again.

Today I receive a CMRRR letter from the attorney along with nine pages of documents. About 99.9% of it is Bills of Sale and Assignment from OC and passed on to four different JDBs, referencing various other sales agreements and exhibits that were not attached. Nothing with my name on it until I get to the last page and find a single-line entry pulled from a spreadsheet showing account number, OC, account type, 3 dates (2/2007,1/2011, 6/2010), the amount allegedly owed, my name, SS number, DOB, and a street address I lived at over 22 years ago.

I'm preparing to send them another CMRRR letter basically continuing to dispute the alleged debt and stating that they're documents do not show I'm contractually obligated to XYZ or owe them any money. I'm refraining from mentioning anything to them concerning the old address, as I will spring that on them if and when they file suit.

Any comments or ideas on how to proceed would be appreciated.  
 

[BV80]

Whether or not they validated depends upon your courts.  In some courts, what they offered might be sufficient validation.  Is the account still within the TX SOL which I believe is 4 years?   If it is, you could go ahead and start researching your rules of civil procedure.  If it's outside the SOL, you could tell them to eat dirt.

[nailpounder]

It's still within SOL of 4 years. Yes, I've already begun preparing for possible suit. Found some of their original complaints filed in Travis County. All were the same boilerplate complaint with breach of contract and stated account claims, along with a long list of admissions and requests to produce added as intimidation. I see most of their suits end in default judgements. I won't be one of them.

[BV80]

@nailpounder

 

I won't be one of them.

 

Ok, then.    If what they sent to you is all they have, they don't have much of a case.  But you don't know for sure whether they have more unless they sue, and you go through the discovery process. 

 

Here's some TX JDB cases to read.  The first 2 were in favor of the JDB, while the next 2 were in favor of the defendant.  Reading the cases might help you understand what courts require to prove or defend against claims.  #5 is in regard to an account stated claim.

 

http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14180940868245834369&q=%22Unifund%22&hl=en&as_sdt=4,44

http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=11122789088373953734&q=%22Unifund%22&hl=en&as_sdt=4,44


http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1321929349311897995&q=%22Unifund%22&hl=en&as_sdt=4,44

http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=3452013402467269807&q=%22Unifund%22&hl=en&as_sdt=4,44

http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=10262643112845153830&q=elements+AND+%22account+stated%22&hl=en&as_sdt=4,44

[nailpounder]

@BV80

Thanks. I'll give them a look.

[nailpounder]

I discovered something interesting yesterday talking to my sister about the phone calls she had received from XYZ. The phone calls had actually been to her husband's cellphone. When she asked the person calling how they obtained that number, they said it was in their files. She thought they were giving her a line of bull. Well, looking at the info the JDB had sent me, I noticed that the spreadsheet entry that purportedly relates to me contained a phone number that I didn't recognize and that had an out-of-state area code. I thought maybe it was a phone number belonging to the OC, but come to find out it's the number belonging to my brother-in-law. I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out how they associated his phone number with an account allegedly belonging to me. He lives five states away and never had anything to do with any of my business. Heck, I didn't even know his cellphone number before this.

 

Just to show you how sloppy their record keeping can be when passing this garbage from one JDB to another. In this case, they have this account that was reportedly used between 2007 and 2011 showing an address that I haven't lived at since 1991 and a phone number that belongs to my brother-in-law five states away. How crazy is that? How did they come up with this crap? Well, if they decide to sue me they won't find me at that address ... lol. What gets me is they have my current phone number and mailing address, because they've left messages on my answering machine and I received the JDB's demand letter and this so-called "verification" addressed to my current address. If they file suit in the county where that old address is located, it'll be improper venue and I'll challenge that right off. Also, if the spreadsheet entry is all the info they have to tie me to this alleged debt, it won't look good for them when all these errors are proven. That makes the whole entry suspect.

[admin]

@nailpounder - It just shows how crazy and scary this information age is.  If there is an electronic record, you can bet your creditors can get their hands on it.  

[nailpounder]

@admin Yeah but it's just so screwy how they cobbled together all this information that has nothing to do with the account they claim I owe them money on. I know where they got the 22-year-old address. It shows up as a previous address in two of my credit reports. The brother-in-law's cellphone number getting associated with it still leaves me in bewilderment ... lol. The mind of the people who put this crap together and then have the nerve to claim it's an accurate record ... that's what's scary.

[BV80]

@nailpounder

 

 

Well, looking at the info the JDB had sent me, I noticed that the spreadsheet entry that purportedly relates to me contained a phone number that I didn't recognize and that had an out-of-state area code. I thought maybe it was a phone number belonging to the OC, but come to find out it's the number belonging to my brother-in-law. I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out how they associated his phone number with an account allegedly belonging to me. He lives five states away and never had anything to do with any of my business. Heck, I didn't even know his cellphone number before this.

 

 

It's called "skip tracing".   I don't know how the process works, but it enables CAs to obtain cell numbers of debtors and relatives.

 

Did they call your brother-in-law?

[nailpounder]

@nailpounder

 

It's called "skip tracing".   I don't know how the process works, but it enables CAs to obtain cell numbers of debtors and relatives.

 

Did they call your brother-in-law?

Yes they did, on several occasions and told my brother-in-law that they were planning on suing me.

[BV80]

Yes they did, on several occasions and told my brother-in-law that they were planning on suing me.

 

Whoever call your brother-in-law committed an FDCPA violation by revealing that information.

[admin]

Yes they did, on several occasions and told my brother-in-law that they were planning on suing me.

@nailpounder - any way he was recording the call?

[howucan2]

Any way to get BL's phone records/bill ?

[nailpounder]

Any way to get BL's phone records/bill ?

 

@nailpounder - any way he was recording the call?

I don't think he recorded any of the calls and not sure about getting his phone records. Him and my sister aren't the most responsive people when it comes to getting info ... lol.

[admin]

Too bad.