I was ready to send my letter to AA today, and I have decide to go through a lawyer rather than deal with them myself. My lawyer is going to draft a letter to them for me. I thought it might be better to just go that way than to wait for them to force me to take legal action. I will beat them to the punch. I hope I am doing the right thing!!

[roxette]

Hi AFarmer

Welcome to the forums. You have definitely taken the right decision of dealing with the illegal practices of Asset Acceptance through a lawyer.

The lawyer will be able to assist you in the right legal way and guide you properly. Also, you can take the help of the debt consolidation company for free counseling programs. The consultants are specifically trained to deal with such kind of situations and they will negotiate with them for a proper payment plan.

We will be glad to assist you further if you face any kind of problem.

Regards
Roxette

Attention Angry Woman and all others upset with Bally Total Fitness and Asset Acceptance. Here is the bottom line, and belive me I know this from experience. Bally will not let anyone into the gym to use the facilities without a membership, all of these memberships are for 3yrs. CONTRACTS - please read what you are signing. The worst part about this is that Bally is where the real scam is. Sometimes they have you sign the application under the pretense that it is a waiver or guest pass, etc. Sometimes you don't even see the contract you just agree to monthly amount and pay it. Yes, you can pay month-to-month with cash at Bally. However, if you set it up for auto withdrawl from your bank account you get a lower payment. I know that Asset Acceptance is collecting on these accounts, but rest assured that there are contracts with signatures. They do have them, Bally sold the debt to them and they own them. NO MATTER WHAT BALLY TELLS YOU THEY CANNOT CLEAR THIS UP THEY ARE TRYING TO GET YOU OFF THE PHONE. The only way that Bally can help is if this was truely cancelled properly which there are numerous steps for and is not easy to do. Also it has to be within 2yrs from when the sold it to AA for them to stop the collection. On this 1998 account they cannot help you. Rest assured that the Bally contract is a well written contract and Asset Acceptance WILL SUE YOU IF THEY CAN to get the money. Generally the statue of limitations on Bally contracts is between 4-6 yrs depending on the state you live in. In Canada it is 6yrs. Just remember that Bally will not let anyone use the facilities with out a membership, and that means a SIGNED CONTRACT, it is a loan that they give you. Look at your credit report, it shows as an installment loan. They have to run your credit before they approve you for a membership. I know it is hard to belive, but BELIEVE me it is true.

Originally Posted by Angry Woman

Hi,

Does anyone know if asset acceptance llc has the right to pursue collections from someone who lives outside the U.S?? I'm Canadian and I've received a credit letter from this company regarding money I supposedly owe for a gym membership I had in 1998 with Bally Total Fitness in Canada. Unless I've suffered from a case of amnesia for the past 7 years, I never signed a contract. The truth of the matter is, I did use the gym facilities, but paid cash on a month-to-month basis - NO contract was ever signed!!! I contacted both the collection agency and Bally's and neither have been able to produce this alleged gym contract from 1998.

I'm completely frustrated over this entire situation...can Asset Acceptance, a US based company, really ruin my credit in Canada???

Thanks...

Be careful here. According to fdcpa, all a collection agency has to do to satisfy debt validation is show who the original creditor was, the amount owed, and that they now are collecting the debt. As far as detailed account info, pmt history, etc. they are not required to provide that for validation, and in some cases don't have that info. Sometimes all the CA has is the final statement.

Originally Posted by roxette

Hi AFarmer

Welcome to the forums. You have dealing with your debt collector in the right way by asking them to validate the debt. Make sure that all your correspondence with them is done in written so that you have a valid proof of your effort made for the payment.

If they fail to validate the debt, it will mean that they are trying to misrepresent your account. The details that they will provide about your account will include the following particulars:

• The details of the account.
  
• All the calculation should be shown of the amount that is owed.
  
• Any copies of the papers to be furnished that shows the payment agreement.
  
• Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable
  
• The original creditor needs to be identified.
  
• The Statute of Limitation needs to be proven for the collection of the debt.
  
• The license of the collection agency applicable in the state is to be furnished along with the license numbers and Registered Agent
  
• Proof of the agreement that the debt collector has purchased the debt or has been hired by the creditor to collect the debt from the debtor as this is the basic contract law.
  
• Complete payment history showing the details of the creditors, payment history, amount of the debt, break up of fees/interest should be provided in paper.
  
• A copy of the original signed loan agreement between the debtor and the original creditor establishing the debt between both the parties also has to be produced.

If at any point of time, you face any problem while dealing with your debt collector, do let us know in the forum. The community will help you in the right way to deal with them.

Regards
Roxette

:? I, too, have been bothered repeatedly by Asset Acceptance. Since Nov 2004, I have received 4 letters from them saying I owe 3,000 on a Bally's account. Funny thing, I have NEVER been to a Bally's! I called Asset and they reassured me that I wasn't the one they were looking for, that their computer just brought up all women with my name, so they tried all of them to get their money. The letters kept coming and in Feb 2005, they finally said they would put me on a do not contact list. In March, the woman they are after, showed up linked to my credit report! And her credit is all bad! It was so frustrating. It took calls to all 3 bureaus to get her removed. Now, July, I receive yet another Asset letter asking for the money! I will be furious if in a month, this debt that isn't mine shows up on my report again.

I have been bodybuilding since 1972 and after 15 yrs. Of training went pro after a total of 30 yrs. Of training. Married a jerk who disabled me for the past 10 months (to a wheelchair) and ballly's is telling me that they will report bad credit on my credit report for not only canceling because of my disability, but because I refuse to pay for my husbands part of the membership (which he never knew he had). Here's the kicker my husband and I have been in the process of a horrible, nasty divorce for the past year and 1/2- I have no income, alimony, or child support and they are expecting my disabled ass to pay for him!! There's got to be a law here!! Anyone having any legal or helpful information for this problem. Please help me if you are out there!!

[ben]

siverson2 - Everything has a legal approach and the Bally's cannot claim for the debt just like that. They will have to legally produce all the details of your account showing the complete calculation.

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/validation.html

Did you check your credit report from the three bureaus? Please see the status of this account in your credit report from which you can decide your next step.

If this account is not shown in your credit report, you do not have to worry about this debt. Also, the Statute of Limitation for legally collecting the debt is also over. You can let the collection agency know about this. They just are required to stop contacting you here otherwise you will take legal action against them.

You can enter into free counseling with this company and let the trained consultant work on your behalf. He has handled a similar situation of mine very tactfully and now I am leading a very peaceful life. Just enter your contact information completely. They will not charge anything here

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/signup/

Maybe instead of trying to file a suit, you should focus on paying your delinquent bills on time...Take it from a former debt collector, once one [ debt collection company] goes down, another one comes up and your debt will simply be transfered, falling through the cracks....this includes letters, calls and "conveying information through any medium"... in summation...pay your bills...or work out repayment plans,....remember you can always negotiate with these companies...they buy this debt and pennies on the dollar, so paying such debts off would rid u of a headache, and make them happy too...

I am glad that i found this site. I am being sued by asset acceptance for 5 year old credit card debt from providian visa. I don't remember ever having a providian credit card. I have a pre-trial hearing on 08/17/05 that's in three days. I have done some researched and i know that the statue of limitation has expired on an open-ended contract. I don't know why they are trying to sue when they know that the statue of limitation has expired. I have not responded back to them. I am going to to court on wednesday to the pre-trial. I feel confident about it because i know the statue of limitation has expired. I am not sure me not responding back to them was a good idea. the reason why i did respond back to asset acceptance is because i know that the statue of limitation is over. So i am going to go court and prove that to the judge....

[ben]

mrthoro77

Pulling your credit report from the three bureaus will also make you confirmed about the expiry of SOL of the said account. You can show that to the judge.

All the best

Does anyone know if asset acceptance llc has the right to pursue collections from someone who lives outside the U.S?? I'm Canadian and I've received a credit letter from this company regarding money I supposedly owe for a gym membership I had in 1998 with Bally Total Fitness in Canada. Unless I've suffered from a case of amnesia for the past 7 years, I never signed a contract. The truth of the matter is, I did use the gym facilities, but paid cash on a month-to-month basis - NO contract was ever signed!!! I contacted both the collection agency and Bally's and neither have been able to produce this alleged gym contract from 1998.

I'm completely frustrated over this entire situation...can Asset Acceptance, a US based company, really ruin my credit in Canada???

Thanks...

The exact same thing is happening to me too. From the exact same year... 1998. I paid cash on a month-to-month basis because whomever I spoke with told me that I didn't need to sign for a year if I wasn't going to live in Toronto for a year, which I wasn't planning on. In fact, I never even got a membership card.

I would like some advice on what to do in this situation.

First of all, they have my parent's address (which I think they must have had on file because of my driver's license.) I really wish that my dad had sent the letter back RETURN TO SENDER, WRONG ADDRESS.

Anyhow... In the past 7 years since I last stepped foot inside a Bally's, I have got married, had a child... But I had never had a credit card in my maiden name. Would they still be able to track me down? I don't even think that if they were to look up a credit report on my maiden name that one would exist.

I'm really afraid of them finding my S.I. number (like the SSN in the US). However, this number is now attributed to my married name and not my maiden name anymore... Is there a chance they could find me?

I mean, I know I have two choices here:

1) I could just ignore it and it could possibly go away because they name they have on their file no longer exists.

or

2) Send the aforementioned letter with NONE of my current personal info and continue to let them think I live at the address they have on file. However, I would send a copy of said letter to myself at my current address so that I have a postmarked letter that would legally prove that I did try to contact them, in the event that they do track me down and say I didn't do anything.


If the statute of limitations is 6 years in Canada and 7 years in the US, they don't have a leg to stand on though, do they? I mean this is the first time that I have heard anything about this situation.


Lord, this is all I need right now. I literally am about to give birth any day now to my second child and my husband is freaking out over this. And I am losing sleep over it too.

[roxette]

Hi

Welcome to the forums. As this debt is past the SOL period, you don't have to worry much because the collection agency can't force you to pay the said debt.

Also, it will be wise to update your current address with the credit bureaus so that you are informed about all the activities.

Regards
Roxette

Also, it will be wise to update your current address with the credit bureaus so that you are informed about all the activities.

which credit bureaus?

all of my creditors have my current information.

this "agency" is the only one who claims that i owe anything and don't have my current info. i don't see the need or hassle of giving it to them so that they can harrass me... or am i missing something?

[roxette]

Is your new address updated with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion?

If you are staying in Canada, then you won't have to do it because their fdcpa laws are different.

yes, i just had a credit report done with equifax in july because i applied for a credit card... and nothing of this sort came up on it.

i think i'm going to start checking it regularly though.

how often should one check their report?

[roxette]

Every one should check their credit report regularly to prevent any misuse of their accounts and thus protecting from any sort of identity theft.

Few days back, I wrote one article stressing on the importance of checking credit report. Please read it in the following link:

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com...about3565.html

Regards
Roxette