Should I send a cease and desist letter?

Hi all

I sent a dispute letter to Transunion, regarding some "joint" medical bills that my ex never paid. I included a letter signed by him, that stated that he takes responsibility for the bills and that he agrees that they should be removed from my credit report. The letter worked, and 4 of the 6 accounts have been removed (not sure why the other 2 haven't been yet, but I'm sure they will be if 4 were). Anyway, now that the collection agency has been notified of a dispute, I have receieved *10* letters in the last week or so from them, asking for payment! Should I send a cease and desist letter to them, and if I do, should I explain that the accounts have been removed from my credit report and I am no longer responsible, or should I keep it simple? All opinions are welcome! Thanks guys

~Mary

I would send the collection agency the cease and desist letter and proof of the letter that your ex is responsible for the debts.

Mary,

I'm sure the collection agency already received the letter, but I would send them a c&d along with a copy of the letter from your ex. If they have received notice that he is responsible, they shouldn't be bothering you. Good luck dealing with them.

That's kind of what I was thinking. I feel kinda bad because I told my ex when he signed the letter that nothing would be different...but I didn't stop to think of the fact that they would be notified of a dispute. Oh well!

~Mary

Mary, I would definately send a c&d letter, 10 letters are a bit much ! I would explain to them also that your ex signed a letter(end copy) and the details.Tell them you are trying to save them money on postage,those 10 letters add up best of luck Karen

I agree with you guys. Problem is - they don't have ex's new address. Should I give it to them and kind of screw him over, or should I just send the letter that he sent and leave it at that??

~Mary

Hi Mary,

Is the collection agency contacting you for one of those four accounts that have been removed from your file or for the remaining two? Once the accounts are removed from your file and thereafter the CA tries to contact you for the debt, you can't be held responsible for it unless there are records to prove that you owe it.

Either you can inform the CA with the new address of your ex or you can have a talk with him prior to giving out his address.

If the continue to place the calls at your end, you can send a cease and desist letter due to the fact that you don't owe them anything.

They are contacting me for ALL of them, even the ones that have been deleted. I have received a letter separately for each and then a few for the whole balance ($14,000 and change). Thanks for your advice David, as always!!

~Mary

So I was brainstorming and I thought of something: is is possible that they ran out of time to validate 4 of the accounts to Transunion, but they got the other 2 validated in time? I don't mind being stuck with 2 of them, especially since they are the smallest ones but I am just curious why those ones stuck. I think before I send any letter I am going to wait for a written response from Transunion to see why those accounts are still there.

~Mary

Speaking of irresponsible exes leaving us holding the bat, I had some success with an old phone bill. I was horrified to find a phone bill, with the account set up in my name, for over $2,000. It was undoubtedly for adult phone entertainment. All I did was call the number provided, which was the collections department of course, and explain the whole thing, and since they keep good records at phone companies, they believed me when I told them I was not responsible. They put the account in his name and began seeking him out for remittance, and I really appreciated their cooperation!

What are the details of this medical bill? Would it be believable to the doctor that this bill was for a treatment of a male patient? Just like my phone bill was obviously for some stupid thing only a dumb shit guy would do?

What exactly is a cease and desist letter? I have only heard the term but have no real idea what it is raelly used for.

I have heard that there are actually letters that exist that some credit programs use that "regular people" can obtain. These letters are sent to creditors and require them to comply with 20 or more items that they usually don't. When it is discovered that something was not complied with apparently that creditor is able to be removed from one's credit report.

Hi dortchlord1

A cease and desist letter is written specifically to a collection agency. This is done in order to stop them from making any contacts with you especially over the phone. As per the federal laws, when such a letter is sent to the company, they are obligated to follow your request and stop contacting you. If you have given them room to contact you through mail, they should be doing that only.

Under the fdcpa laws, violation of the cease and desist clause results legal actions and the company can by sue up to $1000 or to the extent of damages.

The link attached has a template of the cease and desist letter. If you do not owe anything and are being contacted by some company, this letter will serve the best for you.

Hi Ari - sorry for the late response! Computer took a big dump on me. It is definitely not conceivable that the med bills could be for a male patient - OBGYN stuff...LOL! What is funny is that they deleted 4, and verified 2. I guess maybe the collection agency didn't act fast enough on the first 4? Fine by me, all the expensive ones are gone, the ones that are left are under $100 each! I might end up trying to get a hold of the collection agency and explaining...I respect my ex since we have have a child together, but enough is enough, he agreed to take responsibility for the bills, so I guess I can state so to the CA.

~Mary

It's cool! I never knew computers could take dumps! Truth stranger than fiction! Good for your ex giving you a hand with this. Looks like some nobility is showing!