They do not want you to know this.

So, Texaslawyer, I have a question. Are you saying that if you have evidence that a CA has broken the law, that they will often mark you account paid in full? I have been dealing with LVNV and their many agencies for over a year-debt validation after debt validation, no response. They have given my info to a third party, harassed me, yelled, tried to collect without validating-etc.,etc. If I sent a letter stating all of this saying they broke the law and I want a paid in full letter, will they do it, or make them mad?! I would think, after a year if they were going to sue they would have done it, but maybe I'm wrong..Karen

Karen,
The first response from CA's is usually, "we didn't do it". After I reveal the evidence, they often offer to forgive the debt if they own it. Debt forgiveness is just one piece of the negotiating pie. It is often less costly for them to zero the debt out than pay 100% cash damages.

However, sometimes the cash damages are more than enough to pay off the debt.

I do not think LVNV or any other will send you a paid in full letter unless they know you can pursue claims against them. This may include tipping your hand to show evidence or having a lawyer conact them for you. If the CA knows you can proove their violations, my opinion is that they will be less likely to file suit against you becase they don't want the counter claims.

Thanks Texas, something to consider! They now have passed it to a law firm collecting for them-sent them a DV letter too, no response..KAren

Hey texas,
I am dealing with a company out your way, they are suing me. I sent dv letter to their lawyer and to them. Got a copy of a bill and a notarized affidavit stating simply they own the debt. Is this consider real validation. I wanted to see an actual contract that they purchased the debt, what are your thoughts?

Good question, fedup. This is something that I would like to learn more about as well.

Here's a couple cases on the issue:



If you are claiming the debt is not yours, it is a good idea to request a copy of the contract in the discovery phase of the litigation. Some state laws may actually require the CA to provide copies of contracts if you are disputing the debt, but that is beyond my area of knowledge outside of Texas.

I have a question.....

I get calls from the CA and they are always saying that I am refusing to pay the debt which I am not I just can't afford to pay 250.00 per month that they want. I told them that I have to pay other bills and other CC's that aren't behind and they respond with "Borrow the money from friends, or (my favorite) stop paying your other bills and send the money to us." They keep saying that if I let the debt go I will have to pay even more money for their lawyer fees and blah blah blah. The last one was that they were looking into my home since I have property that is worth enough money to pay the debt off. (it started as a 8000.00 debt that balloned into 13,200.00 after making a payment agreement with them that they would take payments and not charge late fees and intrest on the card which they did anyways.)
How long after they say they are going to take legael action do they really have to do it? They've been saying it for almost an year now and the debt has gone through 4 ddifferent CAs.

Remember an consumer educated in their rights concerning credit and collection is a armed& dangerous weapon.

Many CA's never intend to take legal action because they are not authorized by the owner of the debt to do so. That makes it a violation. Even saying they are looking into your home can be a violation in some states like Texas where they cannot lien up your homestead. Also, stating that attorney fees and costs will be added to an account is illegal if that is up to the discretion of the court.

One final note: They say you are refusing to pay the debt because they want to record you saying, "I'm not refusing to pay the debt." I think they feel that is some kind of validation, and I suppose they could argue it is reaffirming the debt. So the best response is, "call it what you want."

Good information. In Connecticut, I believe you can record conversations, but you have to tell the otehr party you are recording them and have their consent.

In Alaksa, we can record without consent to other party.

Alaska, I meant.