I just got off the phone with this company. A man named "Billy" who claimed for no relevent reason to be only 19 told me that I owed $190 from 7 years ago. When I expressed concern about the validity of the debt and that I wanted something in writing he was very defensive and also aggressive at the same time. When I attempted to discuss specifics about this so called debt and how his company got involved- all he told me was that people like me always try to get out of paying and it was his pleasure to collect-- and that he knows alot more than myself about everything including debts and debt companines. Anyway, I would deal with my attorney but it will cost more than paying the debt. Any thoughts on how to resolve a 7 year problem?, I am sure I paid but have no record/cancelled check after 7 years.

Fred,
If this Billy guy calls back or anyone else trying to collect on the said debt, ask them to provide you with the name of the original creditor and what their company name and address is. They are required by law to disclose this information to you. Under the Federal Debt Collection Practices Act, you are allowed to challenge the validity of a debt that a collection agency states you owe to them. Use this letter to make the agency verify that the debt is actually yours and owed by you. Keep a copy for your files and send the letter registered mail.

Your Name
123 Your Street Address
Your City, ST 01234

ABC Collections
123 NotOnYourLife Ave
Chicago, IL

Date:

Re: Acct # XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is being sent to you in response to a telephone conversation with _______________on_______________. Be advised that this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested.

This is NOT a request for “verification” or proof of my mailing address, but a request for VALIDATION made pursuant to the above named Title and Section. I respectfully request that your offices provide me with competent evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you.

Please provide me with the following:


What the money you say I owe is for;
Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe;
Provide me with copies of any papers that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe;
Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable;
Identify the original creditor;
Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account
Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state
Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent

At this time I will also inform you that if your offices have reported invalidated information to any of the 3 major Credit Bureau's (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion) this action might constitute fraud under both Federal and State Laws. Due to this fact, if any negative mark is found on any of my credit reports by your company or the company that you represent I will not hesitate in bringing legal action against you for the following:

Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Defamation of Character
If your offices are able to provide the proper documentation as requested in the following Declaration, I will require at least 30 days to investigate this information and during such time all collection activity must cease and desist.

Also during this validation period, if any action is taken which could be considered detrimental to any of my credit reports, I will consult with my legal counsel for suit. This includes any listing any information to a credit reporting repository that could be inaccurate or invalidated or verifying an account as accurate when in fact there is no provided proof that it is.

If your offices fail to respond to this validation request within 30 days from the date of your receipt, all references to this account must be deleted and completely removed from my credit file and a copy of such deletion request shall be sent to me immediately.

I would also like to request, in writing, that no telephone contact be made by your offices to my home or to my place of employment. If your offices attempt telephone communication with me, including but not limited to computer generated calls and calls or correspondence sent to or with any third parties, it will be considered harassment and I will have no choice but to file suit. All future communications with me MUST be done in writing and sent to the address noted in this letter by USPS.

It would be advisable that you assure that your records are in order before I am forced to take legal action. This is an attempt to correct your records, any information obtained shall be used for that purpose.

Best Regards,

Your Signature
Your Name

You could even check your credit report and investigate as well. Perhaps it will tell you who the original creditor is and their phone number. It may even list the collection agency. Either way, the collection agency or the creditor must provide you with detailed information regarding your account. They must prove you owe them what they say you do. If they can not do that, then the debt is invalid and should be removed from your credit report.

If worse comes to worse and you cant get the information you need to validate the debt, and the collection agency keeps calling and harassing you to get you to pay, you may need to seek advise from your attorney to get them off your back. In that case though, you can sue the collection agency and make them pay your attorney fees.

[ben]

Fred

Any thoughts on how to resolve a 7 year problem?, I am sure I paid but have no record/cancelled check after 7 years.

I understand here that you had a debt but you have no records of your payments towards it or if you have cancelled the check.

Apart from getting the debt validated, you also need to know the date of the account from which the 7 years reporting time will be calculated.

Do you have a back copy of any of your credit report showing a different drop off date? You might check in your records for any other statement from the creditor supporting your point.

hi,i also receive some non-sense from bally and i would like to disputed it.what can i do...help...

[roxette]

Hi fouad

Welcome to the forums. Have you sent a letter of dispute to Bally asking them to validate the debt?

You can pick a template of it from this forum and make sure that you send it through certified mail with return receipt requested. Keep the CMRRR serial number in safe place so that you have a valid proof of your efforts made.

If you have any problems in between, just let us know.

Regards
Roxette

hi,thanks roxette for your personnal advice and others that are posted in the forum,they sure are a great help.i'm definitely going to send a dispute letter and i keep you posted..many thanks...fouad

I received a call from this organization on the 28th of October 2005 and they stated that I needed to pay them directly. I have learned that if you can deal directly with the business that you owe do so. This will prevent your credit report from being updated against you. Try reading the UCC about commercial liens against businesses who harrass you or use your name without your permission on letters or records. Ask them for their bond number and that if they continue to harrass you you will put a commercial lien on their business.

[roxette]

Hi YouthHelp

Welcome to the forums.

If an external collection agency has purchased the debt from the creditors, they will have to validate it by providing some legal details about your accounts.

If the debt is not validated, you can refuse payment to it. But if the debt is owned by the collection agency legally, then you will have to make payment arrangements with them only. Paying to the creditors won't be helpful at this stage.

On all 3 credit reports, the original company is not listed. Asset Acceptance state that I owe this amount. Need help on the subject. Live in Texas

I sent these people a bank check sor 250.00 down
and signed agreement to avoid court that they had
set for soon in my county. i mailed the certified
letter and agreement and money on the 21 of june
this month, i called the company the next day and let
message to let the person i was dealing with to know,
i had done all that was asked of me in a timely manner
it had to be to them by the 30th... so today the 26th
they called me at work and said did you sent the money?
we have not got it yet... you do you send it to..
i used the address on the prepaid envolope and put
in an envolope at post office with postage and
certified... she said well even if it post mark before
the 30th and it gets here after the 30th, they
consider it late and voids our agreement and have
to go to court. i am not tracking via po...
i told them they would have the clear out a spot, on their floor, cause i was going to lay down and have
a natural born fit.....so i guess i will find out
tomorrow about this. ops: :x :x :x

[razorsedge]

This is, without a doubt, one of the most aggressive Junk Debt Buyers (JDBs) in the industry. Not only are they aggressive, they have the memory of an elephant and have been known to attempt to collect debts that were well outside of service. Outside of service means that the period of time that state laws permits them to pursue collections has expired.

They buy portfolios from other companies (your original creditor) for pennies on the dollar. Then they go after the debt in full with inteterest. For example, they bought many portfolios from credit card companies and smaller companies like Fingerhut, Bally's for next to nothing. Many of these debts are old and the debtor thinks, forgotten. Asset wants you to believe that you owe the debt and all of the assoicated interest. Be careful, they may trick you into believing that you need to sign a promisory note, or more subtly, to make a small payment towards the debt. Once your have done either, you have restarted the clock that marks the statue of limitations and your are legally bound to pay the debt. They often sue and get a default judgement which gives them license to garnish, levy and take posession of your assets.

Do your homework before you ever deal with these guys.

If you do your homework, its relatively easy to find out where they may be operating outside of the law and that often gives you great grounds to sue them.

Here is an alarming article about junk debt buyers and what may be your worst nightmare:

http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/106055.html

Their approach is tenacious. They will go after debts that are questionable

I live in MD and when they contacted me about a debt I did not owe I followed the advice found on this site. Sent the official letter twice - return receipt requested. When I received their third attempt to collect notice, without any response to my demand for validation I took copies of everything and mailed it to my State's (Maryland) Licensing Bureau and requested they investigate. AA wrote me one more time after that - I notified the state and within a couple of weeks received a letter from the State telling me that AA had agreed to stop their efforts to collect on the fraudlent claim. Lesson: Don't hesitate to contact your State Attorney General or Licensing Office.

I have copies of everything and will keep them in a safe place for the rest of my life!! I wouldn't be surprised if these creeps waited a few years and tried this again.

I think Microsoft set me up on there site.Playing some game.Thats when I got these letters from Asset Acceptance.I can't belive It. :arrow:

I wanted to search more about this company before I call them to make payments for a bill in 2000 for $127.00. But after reading this, I really don't know what to do anymore. They don't have any of my information, but I want to clear this up for the credit report. Any advice??

i paid them off after receiving a letter that they will remove the negative marks upon payment.

If they don't have any of your information then they have no right to collect the debt.

Send them the debt validation letter and if they cannot validate the debt. Then challenge the entry on your credit report and have it removed.