Hello There!

I have an old debt from midland credit management that i'm not even sure is mine.It's an old hospital bill. The amount is 101.00. Thats right! A hundred bucks! Additionally, they say the date of service is Sept. of 2001. However, they are attempting to report on my credit until May of 2010! If I do the reverse math on May of 2010, come up with a date of last activity of May of 2003. I have never made a payment on this account nor have I ever acknowledged that it was mine. I sent a letter certified/return receipt requesting validation, but they said they didnt have to validate since the account was several years old. They said they only have to validate if I ask within the 30 day period upon which they originally contacted me. They said, "you cant ask for validation 5 years later." Is this true? Is there a time limit on which you can ask for validation?

Enter Your Samebox Message:

I don't believe there is a SOL on validation, they must validate a debt they are trying to collect. If they cannot validate the debt, put in a written dispute with the three major credit bureaus advising them of the situation and ask it be removed from your credit report. The bureaus have 30 days to provide you with a corrected report with the status of the account.

My guess is if Midland cannot validate the debt for you they cannot validate the debt for the bureaus and it will be deleted.

Enter Your Samebox Message:

__________________
www.lostndebt.savingadvice.com

"It's not the hard times that will get you, it's the good times"

Thanks for your response Lostindebt. I have disputed this debt more than once with all three credit reporting agencies. It keeps coming back "verified." They have illegally moved forward the date of last activity by 18 months. This is a clear violation of my consumer rights. They refuse to validate and the 3 CRA's agencies refuse to do anything about it. Any thoughts?

Enter Your Samebox Message:

I'd be wanting to know just exactly how the CRAs 'verified' the debt. You may well have to call them. Stay polite, but stand your ground. If they're contributing to a problem, they can be held liable right along with the CAs, and they know it.

Enter Your Samebox Message:

__________________
Wulfisms: my blog

The four 'no's of dealing with collectors:
No validation? No payment. No way! No kidding!!

Tellin' you all the zomby troof
Here I'm is, the zomby woof
[Frank Zappa, 1988 - R.I.P.]

You got a point there Unclewulf! I'm gunna give them all three a call next opportunity I get and ask them exactly how they verified! That's a starting point I reckon........

Enter Your Samebox Message:

At this point, I don't reckon you've got anything to lose on the deal.

Enter Your Samebox Message:

__________________
Wulfisms: my blog

The four 'no's of dealing with collectors:
No validation? No payment. No way! No kidding!!

Tellin' you all the zomby troof
Here I'm is, the zomby woof
[Frank Zappa, 1988 - R.I.P.]

Credit bureaus don't have liability until they fail to do a reasonable investigation, like here. You can request in writing the content of their investigation into your dispute.

midland credit management is known to try to collect fraudulent accounts (See court cases in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas brought by LAW OFFICES OF DAVID SCHAFER, one in district court, one in county court.)

Enter Your Samebox Message:

You have 30 days after the initial contact (by phone or mail) from Midland to dispute,in writing, the validity of the debt. After that they no longer have to provide you proof of the debt as the law says they can assume it is valid. Have you tried researching Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (fdcpa) laws. I worked for a couple of different collection agencies and we had to follow those laws. And it isnt just Midland Credit Mgmt that has tried to collect fraudulent debts. Pretty much any collection company will try and if they cant then they sell the debt to another company, that is how the process works.

Enter Your Samebox Message:

30 days after the initial contact (by phone or mail)

What?? 30-days after a phone contact even if they havent sent you anything in writing???

Enter Your Samebox Message:

Hey everyone..I wanted to bump this. Is this true what was posted above about initial phone contact?

Enter Your Samebox Message:

I always thought it was within 30 days of the initial contact, same amount of time they have to mail you the mini miranda (if it's a phone call).

They don't want to validate the OP's debt because in doing so they'd give him what he needs to prove reaging.

Did they respond in writing that they do not/will not validate?

Enter Your Samebox Message:

I was inquiring about the statement made above from "retired from collecting".

I didnt think it was the mini miranda, whether it be by phone or mail, that displays your rights to validate a debt. The mini miranda is on the letters and verbalized over the phone, but I understood that the 30-days began with the inital dun letter that spelled out your rights to validate.

So just wanting to know if that is true...if the 30-days can begin after the initial call without neccesarily having to have the inital dun letter.

Enter Your Samebox Message:

i just saw my name being sued by them did not no i owed any money

Enter Your Samebox Message:

Volleyballmom, I just brought up the mini miranda because it's the same amount of time (30 days). I'm pretty sure validation needs to be done within 30 days from the initial contact whether it's a verbal contact or mail.

Enter Your Samebox Message:

I'm in agreement with you guys, the way the fdcpa reads to me is you have 30 days from the initial contact to dispute the debt. This is either by phone or mail.

That being said, there is a part of the FDCPA I believe the CA's like to ignore. It is section 809.c, and reads:

The failure of a consumer to dispute the validity of a debt under this section may not be construed by any court as an admission of liability by the consumer.

What this means to me, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, if the CA tries to take you to court they are still going to have to validate the debt. Is this correct?

Enter Your Samebox Message:

When the collector gets you on the phone for the first time, are you saying that they should tell you that you have 30-days to ask for validation (the same way it is required to be listed on the inital dun letter)?? Because I can tell you that no collector has ever told me that on an initial call.

I ask because I have a CA that has been calling (I havent talked to them yet), and not ONCE have I gotten anything in writing.

Enter Your Samebox Message: