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There are a lot of questions about what constitutes debt validation, etc on here. One of the most powerful in case law is Brennon v. Spears:

"The contract in no way provides sufficient verification of the debt. A review of the document reveals that it identifies only the terms of Spears’ loan, including a 17.99% annual interest rate and the original loan amount of $2,561.59. The loan agreement contains no accounting of any payments made by Spears, the dates on which those payments were made, the interest which had accrued, or any late fees which had been assessed once Spears stopped making the required payments. Indeed, the existing unpaid contract balance at the time Brennan sent the debt collection notice was at least $350.00 more than the original loan amount." (ie, the collector must send you full payment history, a copy of any contract, and how they calculated any fees tacked on)

include Brennon v. Spears in your letter of validation is you wish.

Another, Fields v. Wilber Law Firm also states that any additional fees tacked on must be explained.

Don't be fooled by fake affidavits quoting case law which says that all that is needed is your name, address and the amount of the alleged debt.
The collectors, especially junk debt buyers, misinterpret the fdcpa. What is meant in the FDCPA is "verification" of the "validity" of an alleged debt, not "verification" that they have your name, adress, and an amount of an alleged debt.

http://myspace.com/californialaw

Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 2:01 am Subject:

Thanks Law student for the making the point on a wider scale. Most of the debt collectors pretend that putting the name and address of the borrower and the amount is enough to validate the debt. The FDCPA mentions all the points in a debt validation. But the collectors violating the laws usually don't want to give all that information.

Are junk debt buyers sued often because of them violating the laws?

Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 4:22 am Subject:

LawStudent,

Thank you for the clarification. That is one thing that I had questions on. It answered some of them. I have put in some of my dv letter it doesn't refer to my name, address, etc.

Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 5:46 am Subject:

Good info Law Student.Just remember Spears vs Brennan is a state case in Indiana. Another good one is Guerrero vs RJM Acq.This is a Federal Court case.

Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 6:10 am Subject:

Thanks a lot for posting that information. I think that a lot of people, I for one, were unclear on what exactly debt validation means. This is invaluable!! Keep up the great work!

Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 6:28 am Subject:

The problem everyone has with debt validation is it was never fully explained in the statute what exactly proves validation.The 3 cases referenced in this topic help explain it with caselaw. Another place that helps is listed below.It is the Ftc opinion letters on the FDCPA.They are not legally binding in court,but most courts do give them substantial weight since the Ftc is a regulartory agency for this statute.
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/letters.htm

Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 11:14 am Subject:

Thanks for posting the Federal case Cajun. I thought you would enjoy Brennon vs Spears.

Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 11:42 am Subject:

Law Student, Thanks for the Spears case.Will add it to my collection with the other files I am slowly putting together. Since you have full access to Lexis,if any more pop up on there concerning credit or collection,let me know.

Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 3:55 pm Subject:

Will do. In a lot of the summeries I read about fdcpa issues, the plantiffs take the collector to court for the wrong violations. For example, if a collector threatened jail, the plantiff sometimes sues on some off the wall grounds, like licensing or something.

Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 5:32 am Subject:

You are correct in that statement.When representing yourself you need to know the statutes and rcp very well. I have seen this happen on fdcpa & fcra cases.There have also been a small percentage lost because their lawyer was unfamilar with the statutes.If someone has a very good case with multiple violations,I always recommend a certified consumer law attorney.

Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 6:01 am Subject:

So, the fax I got the other day from A S & Associates was not proper validation? It did not have the payments made towards the account or anything. It just had my name on it and the amount I owe....

Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 6:06 am Subject:

Tweety I can send you a fax saying you owe me money!By the way,where is my cash girl! They have to send you something from original creditor that shows a complete accounting of amount owed,interest,fees,and payments made.

Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 6:11 am Subject:

OK, what if this jerk calls me again harassing me at work and I tell him this isnt a proper validation? How do I deal with that? I have paid rollovers to National Money Store several times..........they are illegal in Indiana....What I paid so far (rollovers) should go towards that right?

Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 6:21 am Subject:

As & Asociates are collectors per fdcpa. Send them a limited communication letter to restrict contact to Us mail or email only. If they continue calling,document their calls,threats,and anything else. Once you have enough documentation,go to naca.net for referral to a consumer attorney to sue them. Since you are in Indiana,your validation is going to have to be more through than most due to the caselaw Spears vs Brennan created in your state. If I remember correctly,these people are located in Texas which means they have to follow Texas Finance code as well. Texas law gives them time limits to validate that federal doesn't.If you have not done so yet,file your complaint with the Texas Attorney general.

Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 6:27 am Subject:

Cajun can you tell me what is going on with Spears VS Brennan?

Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 6:31 am Subject:

That case was sent to the Indiana court of appeals and the court decided that the validation evidence was insufficient thereby raising the level of evidence needed to prove a debt in your state. The level in Indiana now exceeds what is required in most areas.

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