What's my next step?

I sent the debt validation letters and disputed items with credit bureau. The validation letter 30 days were up last week and still no responses from the collection agencies. The credit bureau reports came back and items are still listed on there. So whats my next step???

RM,

Welcome to forums

Could you please tell us how credit bureaus responded to your query? Did they verify the accounts as correct? Have you disputed with all the three bureaus?

As per as the validation letter is concerned you can consider sending the second DV through certified. Send copy of your previous letter and set a time limit of 30 days to reply back.

If they fail to respond within the specified time again, you can forward copies of both of these letters to CRA and request them to get it removed since your creditor could not verify it. Please keep us updated on this matter.

Hey Bryan! You know me and my problems! Heres dates for you to support my situation. We have an account with Dell, it went into charge off, Encore was the last agency that contacted us on it...(several before them but everytime I ask for validation, account gets passed on to someone else). So I hear from Encore---sent them a validation request on August 23, 2005. Received nothing back from them. Then sent a second validation request on October 27, 2005. And still nothing.

In the meantime, I sent Dell Financial, Dell Computer Corp a letter On November 2, 2005--explaining the whole situation of CAs passing accounts around everytime i ask for validation. I wrote three pages explaining my situation to them from the very beginning. On November 11, 2005, I get a standard letter from them stating that they are no longer servicing my accounts to contact the CAs. HELLO? did they not hear what I was saying? collection agency won't talk to me.

Since then I started disputing with credit bureaus, they come back and said account has been verified and is ours. But what am I suppose to do if no one will talk to me about this account/accounts?

Maybe I should write Dell a second letter and ask them again, what am I suppose to do when no one will talk to me? I thought bureaus had to remove if validation couldn't be produced? but they said accounts were verified?? I guess to them but not to me?

Husband had four Dell accounts on his credit report. report was updated last week and three of the four are no longer showing a balance and show they've been paid. I guess this is verification that CA purchased accounts. But one account is still showing balance, guess Dell is still holding it, even though they tell me they are no longer servicing to contact CA. why are they playing games?
thanks, shirley

Yes, I can remember what happened to you Shirley, I was just thinking of your problem. This is still a mystery to me why they are doing this? It seems they do not need money any more, lol.

However, if your creditor fails to verify a debt, there is no reason of showing it up in your credit file, right? The only good thing is that, they have reported at least 3 accounts properly. So your effort did not end fruitlessly.

Consider speaking to the higher authority of Dell. See what they recommend.

RM

One more way to solve this problem....If you fail to get the debt validation details from your collectors, send your proof of all the actions to the CRA reporting this account. Tell them that you have requested the details from the collectors and they have not replied with any legitimate details about your account. When the debt is not proven by the CA, it should not be listed in the CR. It needs to be removed immediately or else you will have to take some legal counsel.

LOL! I guess I am just wearing myself out trying to get all of this taken care of when maybe its time for me to just sit back, relax and wait. Really, I mean, what else is there left for me to do? I guess eventually when they get ready to talk to me, I will hear from someone---(dell-wellsfargo-and now home depot since they changed their address and returned my payment) I have written so many letters and have copies of them all, and green slips to prove they got them. so, theres not anything else I can do for now. maybe dispute with the bureaus a little more. The ball is in their park now.

In the meantime, not too much damage on CR. Several charge offs but some are showing that i'm paying---Dell is showing all accounts as paid except for one (guess they sold to CA but CA is not on report and NOT talking to me) One of wells fargo is showing paid and I'm paying the CA on it now and they're not on report either. I am paying several CAs that aren't on report. so see I've got some negative things going on as far as charge offs go...but they're not making me look as bad as what they could. And Hubbys score has actually improved over the past few months. He was in the mid 500s now hes at close to 600. Not bad considering several charge offs. I was able to get a few things taken off so that helped.

as always, thanks for listening Bryan!!! shirley

Credit score close to 600 is quite a good deal and shows lots of hard work behind it. Great work!

Slowly, come out of this bad credit forever. Leave the bad things that happened in the past behind and start a new life with prestige. Congrats to you as well as your hubby for the hard work behind it.

The validation requests were sent certified the first time. The credit bureaus just say they are my accounts.

Rm, can you please give us some more information about your situation. debt validation letters are sent to the collection agencies for knowing the details of the debt.

It seems you might have disputed with the credit bureau regarding an account. As a result, they responded and mentioned it to be your account.

I sent debt validation letters to 2 companies that were showing up on my credit reports. I sent them certified. I also at the same time disputed these same 2 companies to the credit bureaus through online disputes. The credit bureau emailed me that they had checked the accounts. They are both still listed on my credit report. No letters have been recieved from either debt validation letter and the 30 days is way up. I dont know what I need to do now.

Rm, I am in the same boat as you...no one is talking to me either. I am still disputing with both collection agency/original creditor and credit bureau.(which I have done over and over again) I am about to send out letters to all of them once again--I don't expect to hear anything but its for paper trail purposes. Then after that I am contacting the BBB, FTC and state attorney general to file complaints. Shirley

Rm and Shirley

Before you both put your complaints to FTC, BBB and the AG's office, make sure that you have the copies of your letters sent to the CRA also disputing the item. You must send one more letter to the bureau with proof that the company has failed to validate your debt within the 30 day period and they are required to investigate the account once again and remove it from your file, if shown incorrectly. The copy of this letter should be sent to the concerned authorities if you don't hear from the bureaus within 30 days.

thanks John!! so I should dispute again with the bureaus but include copies of my validation requests so they can see that I asked for them? also copies of the green cards to show that they received them? Then if I don't hear from them in 30 days, move forward?
I need to keep copies of letters to bureaus too, in case I do have to go further with my disputes with BBB and the FTC, I will have to prove the disputes with the bureaus as well, correct? thanks, shirley

That's right. You must dispute with the bureau with all copies of your proof and force them to run an investigation. Seeing all reasons of the item to be on dispute, they must bring some change in your CR.

After that, if you still don't hear anything positive, you might have to knock the FTC, BBB as well as the State AG's office.

okay, lets just say that I am able to get CA's to remove the accounts that I am having the major problems with--Dell and Wells Fargo. If they are taken off of the credit reports, it doesn't mean that I don't still have to pay them, right? I was just wondering if it would only 'clear' up my credit report but 'off' record I will still be held responsible for paying these debts. I mean, what happens once they are taken off of the credit reports??? And I say that using a BIG IF. what happens next? Can they still contact me if they want over these accounts? (LOL don't know why they would do that, when I can't get them to talk to me now--which is why this is the headache that it is) thanks! Shirley

Also, in writing the credit bureaus and disputing this one more time with them and sending them my proof of request for validation--I feel compelled to tell them of my experiences with Dell from the onset, and how I have wrote them over and over again asking them to work with me, then getting jerked around by collection agencies on these accounts, then writing Dell again asking that they provide me with information and validation since collection agency won't respond, and they won't help me either....blah blah blah. would this help them to understand and make my case stronger and do they not care and I shouldn't go into it all with them? I just thought if I explained the whole situation like I have here in the forum, they would get a better insight at what I have been through/going through on these accounts. or could that actually hurt me? I have never denied these accounts were mine, and never disputed the fact that they're mine. It hasn't been about me trying to get out of paying these debts. I started writing the 'draft' letter to send to credit bureaus, and keep finding myself getting into the whole story with them and was wondering if thats a bad thing? shirley