Anyone who has studied the art of credit repair for any length of time knows that when you get attacked by a collection company, you fight back by hitting them with a demand for validation. But that's for 3rd party collectors, not original creditors. In fact, if you send a letter to an original creditor demanding validation, sometimes you'll get a response from them proclaiming they don't have to validate but as a courtesy, they investigated and they are accurately furnishing information. They do this to make you give up and go away.
However, there is a way to get them to "validate" without calling it validation and they are required to produce it for you. Remember a while back, for those of you who have read through my blog posts at least a bit, I explained and defined validation and verification. Validation is the PROOF, the documentation that goes hand in hand with verification.
So, to be able to have the right to demand the proof that they are accurately reporting, first you must dispute the alleged debt or the account with the credit reporting agencies (CRA's). This is also compliant with FCRA section 623. Once you have disputed with the CRA's, they have 30 days to investigate and send you the results of their investigation. They will send you the results of their investigation and usually at least a partially updated credit report showing that the items disputed have been updated, remains, deleted or verified.
If the results are anything other than deleted, (including "updated" but the problem is still there) this is your open door to make them validate the alleged debt. Now you can write a letter directly to the creditor saying something similar to the following:
Dear whoever,
I have some concerns about this account and the way you are furnishing the information to the credit bureaus. I don't think the information is accurate. (I'm going to give several different things here that might be an issue you'd bring up). You say this is charged off but then you claim a balance is still owed to you when we both know that charging off an account puts a $0 balance in your books. The lates you are reporting are not correct. The history you are reporting is so wack there's no way that it is accurate. There are all sorts of blank fields on my credit report where you should have reported information. That means the information you have furnished is inaccurate and incomplete and the FCRA says you are required to correct the information or delete it.
When I saw how you were reporting information to the credit bureaus I disputed the accuracy. Now I have the results of their investigation and it shows that you claim to have verified this account. Since you claim to have verified this account (or updated it for the mere act of putting an "in dispute" comment), I now have the right to have you prove you are furnishing accurate information to my credit reports.
Here is what I am now demanding from you:
Please provide copies of the actual documentation you used to "verify" this account with the credit bureaus. Here is a list of items I need from you.
Then you start listing items like you would with validation demands from collectors except you don't need proof of assignment or bill of sale from the collection agency. Demand the usual stuff like a certified copy of the original contract, full accounting from origination to present, copies of cancelled checks proving late dates, etc. Here's some fun stuff to ask them to send you: proof they lent you actual money and where did they get that money from since its against the law to lend money from their assets or their depositors' assets, and its definitely against the law to lend credit.
Oh, oh, how about insurance? Now you all know that investors always insure against loss of their assets. Creditors are really just investors. They are allowed to file a claim against asset loss at 90 days of the customer defaulting on their alleged debt. Yes, that insurance claim results in them receiving a check to cover the balance of the alleged debt they claim is owed. That means that the debt has been paid in full. Let's not forget about tax credits, Oh yes, they file a "profit and loss" claim with the IRS because supposedly they lost money when you defaulted.
How convenient of them to quickly forget that they got paid by insurance on that alleged debt which they never really lent any money or credit for. You funded your own line of credit. I know its hard for a lot of people to comprehend AND accept this because its just not something that they ever teach you. Its something that they don't want you to know. They don't want you to realize that they are the fraudsters that never lend anything, are never really creditors but merely servicers, insurance fraudsters, tax fraudsters, and lying thieves.
Enough of my ramblings about the enemy. The point is that you can demand that they prove you owe that charged off amount. You can demand that they are accurately reporting late payments and that the history showing on your credit reports is correct. You can demand that they delete the information from the credit reports should they not be able to send you the documentation. If they don't, well they are violating the FCRA.
I wish I could tell you that you can enforce their compliance, but then I'd be a liar. You can try to enforce it, and you can rat them out to the CFPB and the FTC, and the BBB and your Attorney General, and even sue them. But it all comes down to whether they back down and obey the law or just continue being stubborn, arrogant, and outside of the law. I suggest never giving up. Keep going at them, wear them down, keep calling them out, and yes report them to all of the above agencies. The squeaky wheel does get the grease and whoever gives up first, loses. Don't give up! Hang in there and win!
If you are tired and feeling like giving up or you have collections and charge offs on your credit report and would rather have some help instead of doing it yourself, I understand and would love to help you. Feel free to contact me at the email address listed above, just a little below my picture.
If you have found this blog helpful to you, please consider donating as a sign of your appreciation for information I have freely given to you. The "Donate" button is on the right side bar. Thank you for your generosity.
If you are tired and feeling like giving up or you have collections and charge offs on your credit report and would rather have some help instead of doing it yourself, I understand and would love to help you. Feel free to contact me at the email address listed above, just a little below my picture.
If you have found this blog helpful to you, please consider donating as a sign of your appreciation for information I have freely given to you. The "Donate" button is on the right side bar. Thank you for your generosity.
Shannon I just read your blog. These darn creditors are a piece of work. Swindling folks out of money they don't have for a debt they might not owe. So there is a charge off on my credit report from a creditor that says I owe them money and in fact they never lent me one dime. With your great blog posts and emails I am going to draft a validation letter and send it out this week to them. You are so right, there are blank spaces on my credit report where nothing is reporting but charged off past due balance and comments out to the side that I am working on having removed. Trust me if I ever wear down I don't want anyone taking over for me but you!
ReplyDeleteHi, I read your blog and I followed your advice regarding disputing my credit report that had collections. I am still awaiting the final outcome. It will be 30 days at the end of the month. So far, there have been several items deleted.
ReplyDeleteMy question is; what does it mean when the status says "updated".
When the bureaus say something has been updated, it can be a correction to the way something was reported but usually the only thing you may notice is that the status shows it is being disputed.
DeleteSometimes you will see on original creditors that it used to say maybe, 30 days late, but you got the late pay removed so now it says "Paid or paying as agreed." Same thing if they remove a charge off status and just show it "as agreed."
You'll need to look at the previous or an older report and compare the status to the new report to see what they "updated." Unfortunately, with collection accounts, its usually the change from nothing in the status to "Consumer Disputes" or something similar to that.
Hi Shannon,
DeleteI received the final results from Experian today.
There are two items that they did not remove.
One of them says; "this item remains unchanged from our processing of your dispute in Oct. 2015. All of the payment history says C for collections and there are a few ND for no data.
As I was reading your blog, I am thinking I should now send a certified letter to dispute these two items.
Before you hit the bureaus again, you want to demand validation from the collection companies who claim to have verified. If they are original creditors, you want to demand the documentation they used to verify the information. Be as specific as you can as to what you believe are their errors.
DeleteWhen you go back and dispute with the bureaus again in about 30 days, request their method of verification, the contact info for the person who claims to have verified the accuracy, and your complete credit file that should contain the documentation to support the information they furnished.
Of course they are going to tell you they use e-oscar and you won't get anything else. But that's okay because you need their failure to comply with the FCRA to use against them in the future, especially if you end up suing them.
Thank you for your post. This is excellent information. It is amazing and wonderful to visit your site.
ReplyDeleteIt really gives me an insight on this topic.
debt collection
This is indeed informative and edifying. Kindly add some references (textbooks) in your subsequent posts. Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteTrade Credit Risk,
DeleteI referenced the FCRA. There's not a whole lot of textbooks out there that will tell you the truth like I do. Most textbook types of material will be filled with the same regurgitated nonsense that the bureaus spit out to claim bad credit has to stay on your credit report for 7-10 years and that if its your bad account, only time will heal it.
I write from experience - almost 30 years of it. I write from research of case law, federal laws, state laws, CFR's, UCC, as well as my own trial and error from working on clients' credit reports.
If you want text books, start reading federal laws. Then put what you learn into practice. Unfortunately, many of the DIY credit repair courses out there spew out some of the same nonsense you can find all over the internet.
Research law. Study it and use it. That is what is going to get your credit reports cleaned up and your scores going higher.
There are various online sources to provide you informative details on this topic,
ReplyDeletebut this is one is very helpful.
credit repair
I need help knowing what letters to send to the 3rd party collectors.
ReplyDeleteYou need to send validation letters to the 3rd party collectors.
Deletehttp://futureficocreditrepair.blogspot.com/2014/04/how-to-write-validation-letter.html
and
http://futureficocreditrepair.blogspot.com/2013/05/what-is-validation-demand-letter.html
should help you write an effective validation letter. Mail them out certified to each of the collectors.
Hi Shannon. I am in need of your help big time. I have an eviction on my credit report that clearly doesn't belong because I moved out when they told me to. Plus they said it would not go on my credit score but it did. So what do I need to do to remove that asap because I need a place to stay and I can't get anything with that on my credit report.
ReplyDeleteHi Keayana,
ReplyDeleteThis eviction, is it reporting as a judgment? The problem with evictions is that property management companies use special targeted credit reports that are for landlords. There are many, many companies that produce them. You would have to find out which company the prospective new management company uses and dispute with them. That's pretty difficult to do.
Do you have a copy of the agreement set at the court showing that if you complied with the terms it wouldn't be an eviction on your credit? If so, take a copy of that with you so when they pull the credit, you have proof to rebut that you were evicted.
Regular credit reports like Experian, Equifax and Transunion usually report evictions as a judgment. IF that is what you are talking about, we can help you get that off your reports - not the public record, but your reports. Please email me at futurefico@gmail.com or call me using the phone number up at the top right hand side of the page.
Hi Shannon,
ReplyDeleteFirst, I just want to say that I truly appreciate all the help you have provided. It is PRICELESS!! I apologize in advance for the length of this post...I have a Charge-Off on my CR. I wrote to the original creditor (Discover) disputing the claim and requesting validation. They responded on 08/09/2016, with a 1-page letter (NO enclosures at all) stating the following (bullet numbers added by me):
1. "The account was opened on November, 2004. At that time we were provided with name, address and other identifying information
2. The credit card was sent to (my address)
3. The credit card was used as shown by charges on statements that we have sent to you separately
As a result of the above, the account and balance are considered valid. Discover is the original creditor on this account and has not sold the account. We are required to report your account to the Consumer Reporting Agencies as a disputed account until you advise us to remove the dispute status."
To date, I've still received no other info. On my 09/01/2016 CR, they reported the following to Equifax on 08/15/2016:
1. Date of First Delinquency is 01/2010 but in the history on the CR shows "paid as agreed" from 11/2009 - 06/2010
2. Date of Last Payment is 03/2011 but history shows "paid as agree" from 04/2011 - 08/2012
3. Charge-Off balance is $4,106
4. Date Major Delinquency First Reported is 01/2011 but history shows 30 days for 07/2010; 60 for 08/2010; 90 for 09/2010; 120 each for 10/2010, 11/2010, 12/2010 and 01/2011
5. Charge-Off Amount is $0
6. History shows "Paid as agreed" from 02/2011 - 08/2012; CO from 09/2012 - 08/2013; 180 from 09/2013 - 05/2014; CO from 06/2014 - 07/2016.
I wrote them another letter telling them they failed to provide me with a copy of any viable evidence and requested the name, address and phone # of each person who personally verified this alleged account (among other things) and telling them the item is entirely inaccurate and incomplete and represents a very serious error in their reporting. I have not heard back from them.
All that to ask...what do I do now? What do you suggest as my next step?
Hi Chic,
DeleteIt seems since they are making the claim that the DFD is 1/10, I would hold them to it. What is your state or do you know your state's statute of limitations? If it is 6 years or less, then this is time barred and you can order them to cease & desist.
If your SOL is longer than 6 years, as of 1/17, you can demand the bureaus remove it completely and permanently. Save a copy of that report.
You should dispute the errors with the bureaus 1 at a time. The history is inaccurate because it doesn't match the comments about the DLA, DFD, and that I've Paid as agreed.
Inaccurate because they claim to have charged off $0. However, because I'd paid the balance to $0 when they allegedly charged it off, then there was no need to charge it off.
Just go through and attack each thing where they contradict themselves.
When you respond to their claim of validation, then tell them that they sent you hearsay and you reject their claim. Tell them billing statements are NOT validation and you have never received any even though they claimed they sent them to you.
Demand to know how they lent you money or credit and tell them you funded the account with a negotiable instrument that they must have stolen because they claim you owe them money.
Have they ever sent any statement that at the bottom says "this is an attempt to collect a debt?" If so, they are merely a servicer and tell them so. Tell them you want all recorded documents proving they are the owner and holder in due course.
Tell them to admit or deny on a sworn affidavit that they received insurance monies that paid off the account at approximately 90 days of no payments. Tell them to admit or deny that they followed the law and took a loss on their taxes the year they charged it off. If they did, the debt was cancelled and no longer exists.
You just need to hit them from every direction and don't let up. You need to piss them off so much that they don't want to deal with you and they delete.
Oh, one more thing. There is NO LAW requiring them to furnish information to a CRA. That is an outright lie they told. Further, they have to have your consent in writing in order to legally communicate with you via your credit reports. Tell them to send you a certified copy of that authorization.
Just keep going at it and don't give up. They will try to keep intimidating you but you must stand firm and not back down.
So, bureau disputes next and then a letter rejecting their claim of verification.
Good luck!
AMAZING!!! Thank you sooooo much. You have made this thing so interesting (more like exciting) - I am truly looking forward to this fight.
ReplyDeleteI live in Florida - no, I don't know the SOL here. I kinda feel like a dunce, but I have no idea what you mean by "this is time barred". Also, if I may, I have just a few more questions:
1. When you say to "dispute the errors with the bureaus 1 at a time" does that mean 1 error per letter to each bureau (sending several letters to each) or just make sure I address each error in the same letter to each bureau (send one letter to each)?
2. Would you please expound on the statement about me funding the account with a negotiable instrument that they must have stolen?
4. As for them sending a statement that has "this is an attempt to collect a debt" - I have no idea. I haven't received a statement from them literally in years. I don't even remember how long ago it was that I actually had that account. Should I tell them they are merely a servicer anyway? They are saying they are the original creditor and have not sold the account.
5. What is the difference between "Charge-0ff balance" and "Charge-Off amount" - how can they be different? If the COA is $0, does that mean it's not a charge off?
On another note: I just received a letter in the mail today from an atty's office stating that my balance listed ($1,276.91) has been assigned for collections and to avoid further collection activity, I must pay immediately or call them to negotiate a settlement. The type of account says "Over Draft" and the Original Creditor is "Fifth Third Bank" with a Charge Off Date of 11/5/2012. It also says that I need to notify them in writing within 30 days if I dispute the validity of this debt or any portion thereof, or they will assume the debt is valid. If I notify them in writing, they "will obtain verification of aforesaid debt and/or obtain a copy of a judgment." Please note that this was just a regular letter in the mail - I almost threw it away because it looked like junk mail. Btw, I did have a bank account with this bank some time ago but I have NEVER had any overdrafts in that amount. Should I even acknowledge this or not? If so, what should I do? Btw, it is not showing on any of my CRs at all - at least, not yet anyways. If you don't mind, I would truly appreciate some advice on this as well. Thanx.
Okay Chic,
DeleteYour SOL for FL is 4 years revolving and 5 years written. The Discover card is SOL - time barred - TOO OLD! Using the DFD of 1/10 makes this almost 3 years past the SOL and using their Date of last payment of 3/11 is 1 1/2 years past the SOL. It is no longer actionable, which means you can't be sued. They need a Cease & Desist.
When I say dispute the errors 1 at a time I mean to look at all the errors in the way they are reporting the account to the bureaus. The balance reported is wrong - that's an error. The history is wrong - that's an error, the charge off balance and charge off amount don't match and should be reversed actually, those are errors, the date of last payment is wrong, etc....
So, as you dispute this with the bureaus, each time you dispute, change the error you are disputing like "This information is inaccurate. They are incorrectly claiming there is a balance owed when the balance should reflect $0. Please correct or delete this account." That would be one at a time.
If you said "This account is massively erroneous. They have a wrong balance, they have a wrong charge off amount, they have wrong late dates, they have a wrong date of last payment, they have a wrong..." You see, that would be disputing multiple errors at one time. You want to do 1 error at a time that way you won't get flagged as disputing the same thing over and over and now this is "frivolous."
Regarding funding the account w/neg. instrument...- Banks don't lend money or credit. Its a dirty little secret. Your signature on an application or loan docs, etc. turns that into a negotiable instrument. Title 12 requires banks to treat neg. instr. as cash. That's what they use to open the account - your instrument/your "cash". Too much to go into here but you funded the account and they stole that negotiable instrument. They claim they still own it, but basically you lent them "cash" and they lent you credit. Google and read Modern Money Mechanics. It explains what banks do. It's a booklet from the Federal Reserve where they admit to creating money out of thin air.
Cont'd
DeleteI'm a little stumped on why they have a COA of $0 - then there would be no need to charge it off. Charge off balance is the amount they claim you still owe. Usually you see the COA as having a balance and then the COB can be the same, similar or $0.
The letter you just got from an attorney, they are trying to intimidate you. You DO NEED TO RESPOND!
You don't need to call them or negotiate settlement. Charge off date is 11/2012 so take that back about 6 months. The balance wouldn't be recognizable to you because they obviously bloated it with fees that probably are not in any contract.
I'm not sure, I'd have to look it up but in my opinion an overdraft would be an "open" account which would be a 4 year SOL. That means this is SOL and they should have included a disclaimer stating that because of the age of the debt they will not be taking any legal action. Obviously they are scumbag liars/lawyers.
Respond with a letter telling them that you do dispute the validity of the alleged debt and you reject their claim. You are demanding validation - and then start listing what you will need for then to prove their claim.
I have a few posts regarding 3rd party debt collectors and validation. You need to give them a list of items to provide and definitely on important item is a valid bilateral contract between their company specifically and you with both their authorized rep's signature and your true wet ink signature. Also a full accounting from origination to current date will be necessary. They will need to provide their valid recorded assignment proving they have a right to communicate with you and demand a payment from you. There are other things you can request but look through the posts because they will help you with what you need to include in your letter.
When they send you some sort of "proof" I believe you will see that it is time barred and then you can hit them with a cease & desist and tell them to - oh, what ever slang phrase you feel like throwing at them :-)
Thank you. You are the BEST!!!
ReplyDeleteHey Shannon!
ReplyDeleteIt's me again!! LOL! Well, Discover is still NOT cooperating and the Experian is telling me they cannot remove this charge-off without Discover's permission even though it clearly shows the information is inaccurate. The first letter to Discover was sent on 7/13/16 in which they responded with that "it's accurate foolishness...blah...blah...blah... The 2nd letter was sent on 8/18/16; but they never responded. I called Experian who actually transferred me to Discover who told me to send them a police report if I feel it is ID theft and they will reinvestigate; otherwise, it's accurate and they don't have to remove it. PLUS the 9/21/16 Experian CR is showing "Last Reported" as 09/2016 and "Status" now says "Account charged off. $4,148 written off. $4,106 past due as of Sep 2016" and the history shows "CO" on Sep. It also says "This item was updated from our processing of your dispute in Sep 2016."
Credit Limit/Original Amount: $$3,000
High Balance: $4,148
Recent Balance: $4,106 as of 09/2016
Date of Status: 06/2014
Last Reported: 09/2016
Account information disputed by consumer (Meets requirement of the Fair Credit Reporting Act)
The history is still showing CO from Feb 2010 - Aug 2013; then 180 past due from Sep 2013 - May 2014; then back to CO from Jun 2014 - Sep 2016 (Note: on the 9/1/16 Equifax report it showed History shows "Paid as agreed" from 02/2011 - 08/2012; CO from 09/2012 - 08/2013; 180 from 09/2013 - 05/2014; CO from 06/2014 - 07/2016.).
Every time I print a CR, it's different. Anyway, where do I go from here?
Hi Chic,
DeleteFirst, it seems weird to me that a credit bureau can "transfer" you to Discover. I've never heard that before.
Now, you have a lot of things going on and in order to answer effectively I need to be able to ask and answer questions back and forth with you.
One thing you need to remember is that when they claim it's accurate but don't provide the documentation, it's HEARSAY. Their claim is just as invalid as if they reported that the moon was green and they say it's true without any proof. The moons not green till they provide the documentation - a true picture of the green moon.
Well, their claim isn't true until they provide the proof. The problem is that bureaus and furnishers are in cahoots and if one doesn't follow the law, the other is not going to enforce the law by causing it to be deleted. They have each other's back because of the money. It always goes back to the money.
Anyhow, for me to answer your questions to the best of my ability, I will need to talk to you outside of the comments section. Please email me or call me so I can assist better. Evenings are best for me right now.
Hi, after reading a couple of your blog posts, I can tell you are very knowledgeable about credit repair. I find that very refreshing! I have repaired my credit myself as well as used credit repair companies.
ReplyDeleteJan 2016 I disputed with the credit bureaus and the creditors. Mar 2016 I used credit repair company. He was able to get a few deletions. July 3016 I used a different credit repair company, no deletions. Aug 2016 I sent debt validation letters certified mail return receipt and wrote the accounts and account numbers in cursive with blue ink pen to credit bureaus. Reports came back verified /updated/new information.
One account has their address on my reports as 21 stevenson, they sent me documents (not proving I owe ) with address 71 stevenson. Jan 2016 the certified mail I sent them was returned to me. Must they delete because of address?
One credit card is not charged off. Was opened may 2015, but has lots of latest reporting. Would like to save account...
My next steps are to send follow up letter to bureaus asking how they verified. And with creditors, requesting docs used to verify, methods to verify etc. Will hand write accounts & numbers in ink and send certified returned receipt to bureaus . Send certified return receipt to creditors.
May I have your input ?
Thank you kindly,
tiffani
Hi Tiffani,
DeleteYou can try to get the account deleted for a wrong address by showing the bureaus your returned letter and telling them that the address you used is the one supplied on your reports and that it appears that the furnisher purposely put wrong contact info to avoid having to respond to disputes they couldn't prove. I have no idea if that will work but you can always give it a shot.
Regarding hte card you want to save, then keep paying the bill and dispute the lates as not accurate and never late. You are never considered late according to the UCC if they accepted/cashed your late payment. It's considered a renegotiation and counter offer. When they accept the payment, they accept the counter offer. It's all contract law.
You don't have to handwrite letters although it can help. I would use a light colored ink that can be seen by the eye but not clear when scanned. When asking them to verify and requesting that documentation, demand a full accounting and proof of how the account was funded. State that you know YOU funded the account with your signature on a negotiable instrument and they did not lend you anything as it is against the law to lend credit and against the law to lend money from their assets or their depositors' assets. You might put a little fear into them that you know the game.
Hello Shannon,
ReplyDeleteI must say that the information you give here on this blog is PRICELESS!! I am currently am disputing 2 tax liens and fixing my credit with all the valuable information you give. The dream of finally having good credit and purchase a home were in sight.
I do have an issue that came up and wanted to see if you had any idea as to why it happened or how to proceed. It is even hard to explain - when disputing with transunion my tax lien using the dispute/method of verification I was awaiting to follow up with the court letter - then - they came back that my Discover card was deleted from report. I am an authorized user and they erased the entry. I went to use the card and it was declined. When my wife called they said they had to verify the account due to security reasons and they had to investigate to see if they could add me back to her account. Have you seen this before? How would I proceed?
P.S. I apologize for rambling and the lack of proper grammar, I am so pissed off I can't even think.
Hi Frustrated. I've seen them shut down the account completely but that was with people who rotate authorized users on a regular basis.
DeleteI don't know what kind of security reasons they could have but sometimes creditors do things that just don't make sense. I would suggest that you have your wife keep on top of it so that hopefully they will restore your privileges.
Thanks for such a quick response. Is there anything I can do with transunion? I asked for verification method for a lien on court papers and they delete Discover and no answer as to my tax lien - ignored.
DeleteThank You.
Just keep demanding to know how they verified the lien. Give them the state statute for Taxpayer Confidentiality and tell them that it is ILLEGAL to publish information they claim belongs to a taxpayer. Give them a copy of the form I include with the County Clerk letter that shows the County Clerk did NOT verify this, nor did they furnish it and by claiming they are the ones to contact is suggesting they are the furnisher, a bold faced lie.
DeleteGive them the definition of "Verify" from Black's law Dictionary. Tell them until they provide a sworn affidavit from someone qualified to "verify" which means they have 1st hand information, this remains UNVERIFIED and according to the law and recent court cases, they are required to delete.
As far as Discover is concerned, I don't believe that was TU that removed it. It seems more likely that Discover removed it.
Hi Shannon, I have talked with you a few times via email and you have given me great advice. I have gotten a collection,two credit cards deleted, and a credit card with a charged off reporting a $0 balance. I am having a problem with a few credit card companies. One is reporting that I have made a payment and I have not. I am also having problems with 3rd party collectors. They have not reported to the credit bureaus yet because I have asked for validation via certified letters with the green card. One is sent me an applicant detail record, something about an out of wallet score indicator. Looks like its just verifying an credit application. First page has the account charged off date and current balance. Second 3rd party collector sent three to four months of billing statements and the first page says at the bottom that it is a communication from a debt collector but is NOT an attempt to collect a debt. Can you give me some advice on what to do next?
ReplyDeleteHi Shannon, I have talked with you a few times via email and you have given me great advice. I have gotten a collection,two credit cards deleted, and a credit card with a charged off reporting a $0 balance. I am having a problem with a few credit card companies. One is reporting that I have made a payment and I have not. I am also having problems with 3rd party collectors. They have not reported to the credit bureaus yet because I have asked for validation via certified letters with the green card. One is sent me an applicant detail record, something about an out of wallet score indicator. Looks like its just verifying an credit application. First page has the account charged off date and current balance. Second 3rd party collector sent three to four months of billing statements and the first page says at the bottom that it is a communication from a debt collector but is NOT an attempt to collect a debt. Can you give me some advice on what to do next?
ReplyDeleteHi Audrey. Congratulations on the progress you've made so far.
DeleteFor the collections that responded to your disputes, you want to respond again to them and tell them that they have not sent proper validation and until they do they are not allowed to resume any collection activity according to federal law - FDCPA. An application is not validation and billing statements are not validation. At the very least they need to provide a copy of a valid contract between their company specifically and you, signed by both, proving that they performed and you have some obligation. Where's the law that allows them to force someone to do business with them against their will? It's all contract law. Produce the valid contract or pound sand.
Regarding the statement that says it is NOT an attempt to collect a debt...hmmm. Does it say anything else like "because of the age of the account they will not pursue collections or take legal action?" That's where my thoughts go. If that's the case, then I would hit them with a C&D.
To the issue with the credit card stating you've made a payment when you have not. You dispute that with the bureaus just like you said it. They are reporting false information about me making a payment on these dates ___ and ___ and I have not done so. This is an attempt to re-age this account. That is illegal and I demand the proof or delete this immediately as it is false, inaccurate and an obvious display of harassment and retaliation.