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shopaholicviet · 05-15-2008, 05:47 AM

Thanks, JCEMT. I am so scared because of all the horror stories i am reading on this website about these different CA. I just paid off a 2000 target card through Acceptance and i am still waiting on my paid in full letter. I am ready to tackly the rest of my debt but i want to make sure i am paying the right people and it is be corrected on my credit report.

thanks again.

05-21-2008, 08:59 AM

I got a judgment letter and when I called the local court here they advised that I send the attorney a certified letter, so I sent it last week, along with a copy to the court.

Reading your template just now, I'm nervous that I said the wrong stuff in my letter...
And now I'm not sure if it'd be contradictory, etc to send them a NEW letter using the template provided by this site.

I'd be willing to email a copy of the letter I sent if someone would be willing to take a look...

I'd appreciate any guidance....

JCEMT · 05-21-2008, 12:11 PM

Welcome to the community dv585.
Unfortunately it is against the forum TOS for us to post personal information here (including email addresses) if you would like to post the letter template here (deleting your personal information of course) I would be happy to review it for you.

05-22-2008, 09:14 AM

I appreciate the help, JCEMT.
Here's the letter w/o the personal info:
(**FYI below, rc'd new letter today)

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

I received a â€œSummonsâ€ in the mail (envelope postmarked 04/30/08), dated 03/30/08. I promptly called and left a message for a representative to contact me with more information regarding this alleged debt. However, I have yet to receive a response from your agency.

The purpose of this letter is to prevent a â€œDefaultâ€ judgment ruling by the court.

Within 30 days, please send (in writing) the following items to my attention:
1) proof of debt, as required by law
2) any proposed settlement offer(s), to be considered upon review of debt validity.

The documentation should all be mailed to my address above.

Please do not hesitate to contact me (in writing) with any questions.

Thank you for working with me to resolve this matter without further use of the courtâ€™s time.

SINCERELY,

XXXXXXXX

CC: XXXXX CITY CIVIL COURT

**(FYI I got confirmation from USPS of delivery on 5/19 and I got a letter today in the mail dated 5/19 that basically is another copy of the same judgment paper, along w/ a cover sheet basically only saying that they are the attorneys for the above collection agency, but it didn't really look like it was in response to my letter...They also said I have to call them immediately and they said they rec'd affidavit confirmation my summons was delivered to me, while also threatening a default judgment.)
Thanks again for any guidance!

JCEMT · 05-22-2008, 08:30 PM

Sounds like it just a threat. Unless they sat on the summons/civil complaint so that they could obtain a default judgment. I would suggest contacting your local court clerks office to see if a suit has been filed against you. Well go from there once you speak to the court clerk. As for your letter it seems alright, certainly could have been more specific but that is ok if you did not know what to request. You can check my signature link for a debt validation letter template to give you a better idea of what to request. If you wish to send them that letter feel free to do so, be sure to send the enclosure with it, certified mail/return receipt requested. That way you can have proof of sending it and proof of when they receive it.

JCEMT · 05-22-2008, 08:30 PM

If you have any further questions please feel free to ask.

06-04-2008, 10:12 AM

First of all, thank you for the validation letter. I had to use it recently when I received a letter from a CA and then pulled my credit reports and found this unknown debt on my credit reports.

Here is my question/problem: I sent the letter to them and what I received back was basically a copy of a computer printout. There was barely any information on this sheet and nothing to really show that I am the owner of this debt other than my name from my first marriage (which by the way I haven't used since I remarried 6 years ago). What I need to know is if there is a good follow-up letter that I should use when responding to this poor excuse for validation? I have done some searching, but haven't really found anything that I would want to use.

I should also mention that my ex-husband's aunt has the same first name as me and once while we were married a bank called thinking I was her, and basically told me that I was about to default on a loan, etc, etc. So I wouldn't doubt that this could be her debt too.

Thank you in advance for any help that you can be to me.

JCEMT · 06-04-2008, 12:51 PM

I would suggest waiting a month to see if they send anything else. If they don't or they try to continue collecting you should send another copy requesting everything everything they have yet to produce and reminding them of their duty to cease collection activity until validation is produced.

yenbinh · 06-05-2008, 12:22 AM

Hi Mod.
A month ago, I was contacted by someone from allied interstate saying they tried to collect a student loan that I borrowed from SalieMae. When I asked further questions to verify about the loan, the amount, etc... This person did not want to tell but threatened to talk to my employer and collect it from my wage. I though this is someone trying to deceive me to commit over-the-phone-fraud kind of thing, so I ignored her. Now she has talked to my employer and sent them an order to withhold my earning. I called to talk to them and now they are pressing my into paying them immediately. Please help me. What are my options now???

JCEMT · 06-05-2008, 06:02 AM

Since this is a student loan I believe they may be able to do this if wage assignment was part of the student loan (which most of them do allow) What state do you live in? I'd like to check your state statutes on wage garnishment to see if it is allowed and if so, what the maximum percentage is.

Beyond that I would suggest seeking legal council to determine what your options are.

06-12-2008, 12:29 PM

I like your Validation letter. #9 is the key and the trick. No debt collections agency will ever be able or willing to produce #9.

The law does not require that you send this letter Certified or Registered. You are supposed to send it regular mail. I keep copies and proper notes.

I do like your letter

SUEBEEHONEY70 · 06-12-2008, 01:23 PM

The law may not require that it be sent certified or registered, but it is always a good idea to do so. There is no "supposed to" when it comes to the method used to send these letters - it's personal choice.

It's recommended that you send it by certified mail, return receipt requested, so you have proof that it was sent and that the recipient received it (they have to sign for it in order to receive it, and you receive a receipt back showing they signed for it.)

cajunbulldog · 06-13-2008, 05:06 AM

It is sent certified return receipt so consumer has written proof in case they have to go to court.The written proof is a lot better than a he said she said complaint.

06-13-2008, 06:40 PM

I just received an alert from a credit monitoring service that said AIS has placed a debt collection claim for almost $3000 on my credit report from 2006 with no citation of original creditor. I've been doing some research on line and found out that there is a new breed of "debt collection agaencies" that are actually law firms. They typically target debts that are $1000-$5000 and buy them for an average of 7 cents on the dollar. They prey on these amounts because most peple will just pay out of fear for the damage a claim can do to their credit. They then play lawyer ball and try in scare you into a quick setlement, usually about 50-60% of the amount quoted.

The other thing to note is that if there is an old debt sitting out there, penalties, high interest rates, and late fees can continue to accrue on the original balance fro years. They also start to add their own interest and penalties the longer it drags on because they can extort more money out of you.

The best way to approach this is to send the form letter above the minute you see something like this on your credit report because if you dont give into their demands, they will then take you to small claims court and get a judgment against you. And if you cant afford a lawyer, you do not have the right to have a court-appointed attorney appinted to you because this is a cival and not a criminal case.

These firms are the slimiest of the slimy and will resort to such tactics as dropping off the court summons at an old address and go after senior citizens and people on disability.

If you are contacted by one of these firms, dont ignore it. If it was a legitimate debt, they will have original documentation of the pay advance or credit card contract that you signed from when they "purchsed" the debt from the creditor.

They also depending upon state laws where they do business can tape conversations -- sometimes without disclosure -- so stick to the script: dont admit anything, ask for the information listed on the letter above and inform them that you have those rights. If they try to bully or intimidate and continue to push for you to pay, calmly tell them theyll be receiveing this request and hang up.

This is yet another example of how the laws are set up to protect big business and leave the little guy out in the cold. The creditors have long ago written off the original amount as bad debt which helps their bottom line. The credit card industry made over $32 billion in profit last year and now lawyers have found a way to cash in on it using fear and intimidation tactics as the norm.

If you suffer a life altering set back such as in illness, loss of a job or just hit tough times, your best bet is to file for bankruptcy protection so that your hard earned money doesnt go to the the likes of these slimeballs.