Wanna ask a real debt collector a question, here you go...

Sure, why not?

1--Why does OSI routinely practice tactics that are illegal according to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?

2--When confronted with a "debtor" that knows the law, why does OSI persist in claiming that they do not have to follow that law?

3--As a collector yourself, do you actually know this law? Is it taught by OSI to all the collectors?

Notice, no flames or bashing. These are genuine, sincere questions. I am interested in your responses.

Tell me how you determine who to file a suit on? Do you check the SOL? Do you check the person's credit report to see if there are lots of debts, or if they are employed?

Is getyourcheckbook talking to himself with all these guest names. Asking himself questions or having one of his compadres to it for him.

Here's a question for you, why do you think you do not have to validate a debt when the fdcpa clearly states that you do?

My question is:
Why do collection agencies not send out statements? maybe with balances on them and all information on this debt?!?!

For being a real debt collector who wanted a real discussion on debt collection practices, s/he is being very quiet on this thread s/he started.

Rude Comments Deleted!Cajunbulldog

All you managed to do was post something to harass members& guests of our board.You can post like an adult or you can risk being deleted!

I feel sorry for you cajun. There was absolutely nothing harrassing in my post, considering what other people have typed to me. Keep living under a rock, instead of listening to my honest answers, and you'll stay right where you are, financially.

I'll try this again...

1--Why does OSI routinely practice tactics that are illegal according to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?

2--When confronted with a "debtor" that knows the law, why does OSI persist in claiming that they do not have to follow that law?

3--As a collector yourself, do you actually know this law? Is it taught by OSI to all the collectors?


I don't break laws. I have to take a test every 6 months as a brush up on fdcpa laws. If we fail twice in 3 days, we are fired. No debate, we are fired. We have our calls monitored by our managers and our clients. Here's a big point I want to make... If you think a debt collector is rude, that does NOT mean we are breaking the law. We aren't trying to sell you a set of steak knives. This isn't a customer service call. You are the one that has broken a legally binding contract. You are the one who has already done something wrong. We are here to give you your payment options on the CLIENTS terms, not yours.

By the way, any collector who's been on the floor for at least a month, NEVER cares when you bring up the words "law" or "lawyer" or "FDCPA Rules". Believe me, we know a lot more about them, than you do.

Bold formatting removed - Mike

Why do collection agencies not send out statements? maybe with balances on them and all information on this debt?!?!

I'm shocked by this one. That's one of my favorite tactics to get people to pay. I have no problem sending out demand letters, and we send ones without request regularly. I wish I could give you a better answer.

Here's a question for you, why do you think you do not have to validate a debt when the fdcpa clearly states that you do?

Collection companies are NOT billing companies. I'm here to collect bills, not run around and get you itemized statements, and this, and that, and the other things. It's not my job to take care of your bills for you. I'll request a statement from the client to send you an itemized statement, but it's up to you to get it, NOT ME.

By the way, if I have you on the phone, and you acknowledge that you owe my client, YOU JUST VALIDATED THE DEBT! Asking for a junk load of statements is a stall tactic. You know it. So do we.

BULLL you are required by federal law to validate your account,not your client& not your debtor.You obviously have not read many of my posts.I post here to help people as I have no debt issues at all with my low Fico sitting at 790 and 16 years of positive payment history on my reports. You may consider me a bouncer if you wish,but if you are gonna give false info,one of us is gonna call you on it especially when you are speaking out of both sides of your mouth.You cannot claim to be compliant with fdcpa and state you have no duty to validate a debt.Try reading the law for a change.

PLEASE people...Getyourcheckbook has done nothing rude or abrasive. We CAN all learn from each other here. PLEASE don't bash him, as long as he's civil be civil back. One of my biggest pet peeves is the way guests on this board are constantly treated. I am sorry, but it needs to stop.

So come on, let's not be aggressive, and let's keep our questions polite. Let's learn from each other. GetYourCheckbook has just as much right to be here as anyone of us.

Quote:

I am just wondering something, since "validation" seems to be the answer to everything.

When we look at the text of the fdcpa :


Congress did not just arbitrarily throw in some random words... they specifically made it a point to give the debtor 30 days after the 1692g(a) notice to request a validation? Why would they do that? I honestly do think the 30-day period was created because there is potential for abuse.

What happens if the CA does indeed send their initial communication with all the required disclosures, and then the debtor waits 60 days to request validation??? I really don't think the CA would be violating FDCPA to ignore such request and keep collecting.

yeah, well, that would make sense, ONLY if the CA actually sent out the required disclosure within 5 days of initial contact, like the law stipulates. since many of them do not, this is often a moot point right out of the box. Seriously,that is why the law requires this disclosure from the CA to begin with--to inform the consumer of their rights.

My one dealing with OSI did not contain any such notification. The debt was not mine, and when I demanded validation, I was told that they dont care what I demanded--I was specifically informed by a collector on the phone that I was in no position to demand anything, because in his own words I was "the idiot that owed a debt and refused to just pay it like a man". Well, when the debt was finally shown to not be mine, it was months later. A lot of aggravation could have been saved, and had I known about my rights at the time, I would have sued them over it. So, once again, OSI does not follow the law. At least, there are plenty of collectors that work for OSI that dont follow the law. There are far too many instances of these violations taking place for the in-depth monitoring and fdcpa educational requirements that checkbook talked about to be real. If he was telling the truth, half of all their collectors would have to be fired on the spot it would seem.

On the other hand, specifically addressing the wording of the law, it is interesting that no one chose to add in any statement to the law that allows CA's to ignore such a request if it is not made in those 30 days. I see where you are going with that and I agree with you on it. But, again, you cannot hold consumers to the law if you cannot hold CA's to it as well. So, they really need to be sending out those disclosures. It only covers their own back side....so I dont know why they dont just do it.

the debt collector shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof, until the debt collector obtains verification of the debt or any copy of a judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy of such verification or judgment, or name and address of the original creditor, is mailed to the consumer by the debt collector

Very, very, very rarely, is there ever a mistake, in the sense that a debt is wrongly applied to a person. We have their name, address, social security number, birthdate, place of employment, EVERYTHING. We don't just randomly pick names out of a phone book, call them, and ask, "Do you owe anyone any money? Oh, yeah? Who do you owe, because I'm here to collect on it." If you have been wrongly pursued for a debt, it is so easy to cease the pursuit. As a debt collector, I would NEVER waste my time on an account that has zero chance of paying. Time is of the essence, in my business.

skydivr7673, if you were pursued for a debt wrongly, you are barely a fraction of the people I call. I would say, conservatively, that 1 out of 5,000 people I call, are being wrongly pursued for a debt. Probably more. And even if you don't owe the debt, it's definitely not our fault, (we get all our info from our client), and it's easy to rectify. Tell the collector that you dispute the account, (USE THOSE EXACT WORDS!), someone has fraudulantly used your name to run up a bill, and that you will be filing a police report. Then, (and this seems to be where people just don't get it), you actually have to do it. I'm calling you 2 days later, and if you tell me you still haven't gone to the police station, I will assume you are a liar, you are stalling, or both. Why wouldn't I think that?

And here's a big thing. If you are disputing an account, and you throw a tantrum on the phone like a two year old, you sound EXACTLY like a two year old who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Many peoples reactions, when they are tracked down for being a deadbeat, throw tantrums. And if you don't treat me with respect, I'm not going to EVER do anything to help you, unless I absolutely must. You want to act like punk on the phone, I'm going to treat you like one. I'm not trying to sell you anything. This isn't a customer service call. You owe a debt, not me. And I hope you guys are smart enough to realize that many people in debt, become the filthiest liars on Earth. Being in collections itself, means you didn't keep your word, when you gave it. From lying about their parents having cancer, to saying someone fraudulantly opened an account under their name, to flat out denying any knowledge of the debt. Sometimes, some debtors NEED to be shamed into paying their debt. Whether you like it or not, doesn't matter to me. IT WORKS! And it is absolutely legal to shame someone, act rude on the phone, threaten with legal action (if it is intended). And being rude to debtor, does not mean I'm abusing them or harrassing them. Abuse means verbally assaulting, not being rude. Harrassment means my call has no purpose, but to annoy someone. Calling you to tell you that you have to pay your bills, has a HUGE purpose, so it is not harrassment.

By the way, any debt collector that is an A-hole on the phone for no reason, never makes good money, and is usually out of the business real soon.

Also, one other thing. All I have to do, in order to comply with the fdcpa laws, is prove that my company mailed a demand letter to your correct address. It doesn't matter if it got lost in the mail, if you didn't open it and then you tossed it in your garbage, or you opened it and made a paper airplane out of it. All we have to show is we mailed a letter to your address, and we have complied with the law.

^^^^I posted the post above this one.^^^^

I swear, I clicked the little box that says, "Log me on automatically each visit:", last time I was here. Before I post in here, I should probably validate I'm logged in.
:P

I have no clue who OSI is, but have other collectors I am dealing with so I Would like the one answered about, who do you decide to file suit against? thanks

I'd also like to know the same question as fed plz! And one more thing too, so ur saying the CA only has to say they mailed out their coorespondece within 5 days but the consumer must PROVE they mailed out a dispute or asking for validation?!?! Hummm... that's VERY interesting to me, since i mailed out over 5 disputes and DV letters, never recieving ANY response but didn't do it return reciept and was still sued. So in ur words, i don't need it??? Maybe the CA made paper airplanes outta them! That might be a good defense for me!
Thanks!
Ang

After re-reading my post, it kinda sounds sarcastic and i in NO way meant it to be! I really meant i find that very interesting and hope it works on "my" behalf!
Ang

I have no clue who OSI is, but have other collectors I am dealing with so I Would like the one answered about, who do you decide to file suit against? thanks

First off, thanks for not flaming me. Second, I can only speak for my company, when I tell you we're not the ones who sue anyone. We collect bills, nothing else. However, our clients take our recommendations very seriously. If a debtor I'm talking to just flat out refuses to pay, when he can easily do it with his assests, I have no compunction with sending it straight to our legal department, who will kindly explain what our client will do to them, if they refuse to pay, and they allow this debt to be recalled from our office, by the client.

What criteria must a debtor meet, to get me to send it to legal? I cannot speak for other companies, and believe me, it is completely different from company to company. Heck, it's pretty different in my company, from office to office, even team to team. Like, for instance, the client I collect for, only debts in excess of $5,000 can be sent to legal. Thing is, though, if your debt is around $2,000, and you refuse to pay, in about 3 months, I'll be able to ship it to our legal department, because the interest & late fees have beat this debt well up and over the $5,000. And that's not by us. We don't add the charges. The client puts it on there, and YES, you owe the interest/late fees just as much as the principle. Other people in my office collect for clients that NEVER sue.

To sum up, there is no across-the-board formula for when an account goes legal. It all depends on the client, the product, the state the debt was incurred, all types of factors. I can tell you, that the client I collect for absolutely does sue for their money. There's a reason why they want us to tell the debtor that. It's a strong method for collecting, because I don't have to put a personal touch on, because it's true. I'm just straight up with the debtor on the phone. I tell them, "Look, I have a whole lotta people I need to call today. You have the assets to pay this off, and it's not that you can't, you just won't. I'll treat your debt the same way you do. If you care about it, and want to get out this, I'll care about it equally, and help you. If you don't care if this goes the legal route, I PROMISE YOU, I don't care either. It's not my debt, it's yours. Then you end up paying about double what it is now, whether you want to or not. So, what'll it be?" This is almost exactly what I tell people on the phone, and if they still act like a jerk, CLICK, I hang the phone, ship it to legal, and go onto my next call, who's going to pay me. Not my problem anymore.

By the way, this is for everyone in debt in here. Ask yourself this. "Who do I think will be easier to deal with; the lowly debt collector I'm speaking to now, or the legal department of the client I took money from, and didn't pay back?"

Do you really think it gets better for you, when you ALLOW your account to leave my desk, and you let the legal department get hold of it?

So u don't buy these debts geturcheckbook?!? You only collect for the original creditor? In my experience, luckily not too many!, CAs that collect for the creditors tend to be a LOT easier to work with and work out a payment plan that's benefical to both. Now on the other hand, CA's that buy old charged off debts is a WHOLE different story! I could write a book on that one! But i'll save it for another time! lol
Thanks for the answers,
Ang
P.S. now answer my question plz... lol

Quote:

Very interesting discussion here. So if you proved you mailed it, shouldn't you also have a way to prove the client received it? Just because you mailed it doesn't mean that the client is going to get it, unless you send it certified, signature required. Case in point, if a person lives in an apartment complex and their street address without an apartment number isn't on the envelope, this doesn't mean that they are going to get it--because based on personal experience, 9 times out of 10, they won't.
So you can say you mailed it, but if I don't have it in my hand, how am I to say you aren't lying??

I have a question for collector.

Do you get paid a commission for collecting a debt? If so, what % or how much?

Thank you.

Oh, and calling debtors deadbeats and liars will only find you on the receiving end of a lawsuit. But since you don't break the law, you must reserve those nasty comments for this forum. Answer?

Follow up to answer Checkbook:

I find it easier to deal with lawyers. Most of them do not violate the law because the consequences for them can be greater. Furthermore, most creditors do not have in-house lawyers anymore. Most suits are filed on their behalf by smaller specialty collection firms. They also get a %, but most of them will negotiate because they understand the cost of litigation and that a judgment does not mean they will get paid.

So u don't buy these debts geturcheckbook?!? You only collect for the original creditor? In my experience, luckily not too many!, CAs that collect for the creditors tend to be a LOT easier to work with and work out a payment plan that's benefical to both. Now on the other hand, CA's that buy old charged off debts is a WHOLE different story! I could write a book on that one! But i'll save it for another time! lol
Thanks for the answers,
Ang
P.S. now answer my question plz... lol

Exactly. I wish I could give broader answers, but there a quite a few factors that come into play, in regards to who the collector is you're talking to. The client I collect for did not sell us these debts. OSI was hired by them to collect. There's a big difference.

I have a question for collector.

Do you get paid a commission for collecting a debt? If so, what % or how much?

Thank you.

Absolutely, I get paid commission, if I collect a certain amount. And if somebody wants to eventually give me even more money later, by allowing the matter to go to a lawyer, like you, I have no problem with that, either. What you're trying to imply, by trying to call me out for working on commission, I do not know. I wonder how a lawyer gets paid, unless you do all your work pro bono, texaslawyer. I see it everyday. I get people calling me, behind their lawyers back, trying to settle an account, because they see they're about to lose the case with my client, and they know they're going to have pay late fees, interest, court costs, their own lawyer fees, all on top of the priciple balance. These people aren't fools. Do you really believe anyone in here thinks they will pay less on an account, if it goes to court?

Oh, and calling debtors deadbeats and liars will only find you on the receiving end of a lawsuit. But since you don't break the law, you must reserve those nasty comments for this forum. Answer?

First of all, that is a statement, not a question. Secondly, you will have a hard time convincing me, that I need to take morality lessons... from a lawyer.

Ok so i just read ur post get about signing in and i'm lol @ validate logging in!
Thanks for answering my question and like i said i find CA's that are collecting for someone else, like my medical post, are MUCH nicer and MUCH easier to work with!!
Ang

Question for the real debt collector:

Please explain how you determine who to file a suit on for payment of their old debt? Do you check the SOL? Do you check the person's credit report to see if there are lots of debts, or if they are employed?

Do you work for a collection company that buys old debts, therefore, your company owns the debts, now?

Quote:

That, Skydiver, was an excellent post!

skydivr, you've gone into tantrum mode. Your ONE experience means that it happens to everybody. Riiiight. Whether you believe me or not, means nothing. I'm just telling you, that identity theft is so rarely ever found at the collections agency level, because these have been customers of the client we're collecting for, for years. People that have been paying their bill, until they stopped, all of the sudden. You live in a fantasy land, if you think that identity theft is discovered all the time at the collections level, and ignored. Okay, fine. It happened to you, and now you want revenge. I recommend yoga or a hobby. Just look at how long your post is. It was an bonafide error, OSI wasn't out to "get you". OSI attempted to collect a debt for our client. Like most people who go into a tizzy, you only read/hear what you want. I will SEND you validation of the debt, but WE DON'T DO THE INVESTIGATING! Did you get it that time? We put in a request to our client to send us an itemized statement, then we send it to you. If you don't like that explanation, I don't care. It's the truth. We don't obsess over accounts that are fraudulant, because there is NO MONEY IN IT FOR US. If it doesn't make sense, it's not true.

Ang had it right. Ang had a legitimate question, not a bone to pick. That's all I really want to do in here. I'm not here to explain the history of OSI. I don't care what it means to you, to be hurt by OSI, in the past. Go work it out on a punching bag, or something.

Here's is the short and sweet of a typical, first contact with a debtor on the phone.

Collector: "Hi, is John Smith there?
Debtor: "Yeah, that's me. Who are you?"Collector: "My name is Mike Davis, and I'm calling from OSI Collection Services, and before I go any further, I need to make sure I'm speaking to the right party. Are you the John Smith, who lives at 123 Maple Street?"
Debtor: "Yeah, what's this about?"
Collector: "Well, like I said, my name is Mike Davis, and I'm calling about your account with Johnson Financial. Before I go any further, I must state that this is an attempt to collect a debt, and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. Your account has now been placed in my office for collections. Could you tell me why this has happened?"
Debtor: "Uh, well, I was making payments for about six months.........."

That's it. Debt is validated. End of story. This is what happens 99.999% of the time. When someone does dispute the account, I put in the request to my client, AND MOVE ON! I don't have time to sit their and listen to you throw a tantrum on the phone. You'll get your statement, and if you still dispute, we send it back to the client. Our job is to collect on debts, not work as private investigators for your fraudulant credit problems.

As far as shaming someone into paying their bills, that is NOT abuse. I have no problem with telling someone, "You ran up this bill, and then thought you could just blow it off, and it would go away? My client is not in the business of charity. Would you like it if you gave someone a loan, and then told you, 'Oh, well. I'll pay you when I can.' No, sir, you wouldn't. So, you need to step up to the plate, and actually pay your bills, just like everybody else has to in this world. Stop looking for people to point fingers at. Stop trying to find ways out of your responsibilities, and own up to them."

That's not abuse, that is truth. If the truth makes you feel ashamed, then that's just too bad. You're not special. You don't get money for free. Pay your bills.

Yes, flame me for not logging in again. I'll even give you the whip. I keep many at my desk at work, because all us collectors are the spawns of Satan. Just ask skydivr. I'm just used to not having to log in everytime I come to a site, after I've clicked the "Remember me" box.

Does anybody have a real question about the practices of a debt collector, besides just having an axe to grind? If so, I'd love to give you an answer.

I did not see any "tantrum" from skydivr7673. Just a well thought out and articulated post - or have I missed something?

Question for the real debt collector:

Please explain how you determine who to file a suit on for payment of their old debt? Do you check the SOL? Do you check the person's credit report to see if there are lots of debts, or if they are employed?

Do you work for a collection company that buys old debts, therefore, your company owns the debts, now?

(Please keep in mind, my answers are only for my particular company, not an all out answer for all collection agencies.)

Good question, one that I get asked more than once a day. We aren't the ones who actually file suit. The company you owe the money, will be the one who does so. For instance, the client I collect for, usually only sends their debtors into collections one time, to give them a last ditch chance to set up a payment arrangement, before they go legal on them. They will only sue somebody, if their account is over $5,000. Typical bills I collect on, are around $10,000 plus, and the client I collect for, routinely files suit on the debtors that try to dodge their bill.

I work for OSI Collection Services, and for the client I collect for, we did not buy the debt from them. We were hired by our client to collect, because if they had to house all the collectors for their company in their own building, they'd need an office space the size of Rose Bowl Stadium. I'm not sure what you mean by "SOL". We always check their credit reports, to see what funds and assets they have available to pay their debt with our client. I always get people saying on the phone, "We're broke. We just can't pay this bill, right now." I then lay on them that I'm looking at their credit report, and they have a credit card with $15,000 credit available. At that point, they either run for cover, and hang up, or they own up to their responsibility, and pay off their debt. We usually have their current employer shipped over to us by the client, along with the debt. If not, I'll ask them.

I love my career. I open peoples eyes up to the fact they should be honorable. When someone gives you money, you not only have to pay them back, but if you're a good person, you should WANT to pay them back. If that means a second job, so be it. If that means a refinance of your house, so be it. Learn your lesson, fix your credit, do the right thing, and you'll never have to worry about collections again. Collection agents are like dentists. Everybody hates going to the dentist, but if you need a root canal to get fixed up right, who else are you going to go to? And the more you put off a toothache, it never fixes itself, and it ALWAYS gets worse. I know I've helped people get out of serious debts. I know, that through my help, I've been key in their getting a new car, a new house, even a new job. Debtors who act childish on the phone, or think they're invincible, I pity. I know, first hand, what they're in store for. Hope this helped.

Mr. GetYourCheckBoook, do you know anything about the junk debt buyers who sue for old debts?

Mr. GetYourCheckBoook, do you know anything about the junk debt buyers who sue for old debts?

This should make skydivr feel good... even I think junk collectors are shady. I'll give an analogy of what a junk collector is.

In the movie "Rounders", Snake owed a lot of people money, when he went to prison. A guy named Gramma went around and paid off all of Snake's debts, then started applying his own amount of interest, while Snake was locked up. When Snake got out, he only owed Gramma for his debts, but had to pay through the nose, because the debts he owed were now the property of Gramma. Junk debt collectors buy your debts, then**** you with fees and interest, because you now owe THEM, not the original client you made a business transaction with. These guys are usually the ones who give real debt collectors a bad name. They're just a hair short of being extortionists. But, because they are who you now owe the debt to, they have every right to turn the screws on you.

Here's a tip, though. Ask a junk debt collector, or any debt collector, for that matter, to confirm the last four digits of your Social Security number. If they don't have your Social Security number, there is ZERO chance the debt is on your credit report, so you can tell him to go sit on a pitchfork.

[color=Red]****Adult term removed - Jason[/color]

and what if they do have the last four digits of the ss number?

Quote:

Ok, so first time "I" called CACH i admitted that i owed "CHASE" a certain amount and i questioned over and over the amount CACH was saying i owed. Immediately asking almost begging to set up some sort of payment plan. They refused! Asked me to get a home equity loan or take it out of my husband's 401k to pay this inflated debt!
NO WAY!
Now, does this constitute validation?
I've NEVER denied owing Chase all i deny is the amount and have from day 1 which btw was 1 1/2 years ago! Imagine how much i cud have paid down by now!
Roll My Eyes,
ANg

No ang, that is not validation. Remember, the fdcpa allows you to dispute the debt, or ANY PORTION THEREOF. What you are doing is disputing the extra amount they claim you owe. And whenever such a dispute occurs, they are bound by law to prove their case with validation. Validation does more than identify the debt as yours--it also is supposed to:

--prove that the CA has legal authority to collect on the debt
--verify the amount in question

Send them a DV letter informing them that you dispute the amount of the debt. They must properly validate their claim, or they have no way to recover the money.

Getyourcheckbook is right about junk debt buyers. They pay pennies on the dollar and then try to extort the full balance. They can also rarely properly show the validity of the debt, or that there is some contractual obligation for you to pay the junk debt buyer. Never pay a dime and promply dispute with a letter demanding validation. Don't admit to owing even a portion of the debt.

What you're trying to imply, by trying to call me out for working on commission, I do not know.

I was only asking you a question as you invited all the forum to do. I thought is was a legitimate question. Why the accusation that I am trying to call you out?

I wonder how a lawyer gets paid, unless you do all your work pro bono, texaslawyer.

I am not ashamed to admit that I often get paid a contingent fee, and sometimes I don't get paid at all. Yes I do some pro bono work. Either way, it allows all to access legal services so that someone will stand up for their legal rights when others violate them. I believe it is the duty of every lawyer, who has been blessed to work in this profession, to do some pro bono work for those who would otherwise suffer the indignity of having their rights trampled.


I see it everyday. I get people calling me, behind their lawyers back, trying to settle an account, because they see they're about to lose the case with my client, and they know they're going to have pay late fees, interest, court costs, their own lawyer fees, all on top of the priciple balance. These people aren't fools. Do you really believe anyone in here thinks they will pay less on an account, if it goes to court?

Actually, my skills have recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars and had many debts forgiven for my clients. I don't wait to defend a lawsuit, I take the offensive and file the suit for violations of the State and Federal collection laws. Furthermore, I know collection lawyers negotiate debt settlements rather than risk the cost and uncertain outcome of a trial.

Secondly, you will have a hard time convincing me, that I need to take morality lessons... from a lawyer.

Now you just lumped all lawyers into some generic mental category in your mind. I bet you complain that others do that with debt collectors. I don't claim the moral high ground, but I do work within the law to protect my clients. (And I have a degree in Ethics)

One thing is for sure; you do not want to be challenged on your "information". Your negative disposition towards me and others surely comes through in your collection calls to others. It is the disease of self; you cannot see it, so you do not acknowledge it, and you will not change it.


Ok Moderators, delete me for my attack if you must.

Here's what I don't get about junk debt buyers...

My company does not buy junk debts, but we have bought accounts from other finance companies that are going out of business. Rarely do we do it, and when we do, it is all chattel paper ... and we pay usually pay full price for it (where we make our money is on the interest we can charge for the remaining term of the contract.)

Anyway, whenever I have bought accounts from other companies, we always get 1) the original contract, 2) the original credit application, 3) any other papers/documentation that the original creditor had on file (like drivers license, phone bill, etc.), 4) an assignment notice assigning the debt from original creditor to us, and lastly 5) a complete payment history on the account.

The original creditor *usually* can export all those accounts onto electronic media, and we can then import all that payment history into our own computer system. The end result is that when a customer calls me about the account, I can usually look up that account in our computer and tell them anything that ever happened with it, as if we originally gave them the loan.

If a debtor disputed anything about the account, I would be able to give them any documentation they needed. I would actually be happy to do that, just to eliminate any questions.

Why, then, is it so hard for a junk debt buyer to be able to produce evidence of the indebtedness? Is it because they are paying pennies on the dollar, that they get incomplete files??? Is it too much work for the original creditor to dig out the contract, that they can just sell a "number" and that's it, no supporting evidence?

yes, but debtcruncher, it isnt even what a junk buyer gets when they pay pennies on the dollar. It is the fact that they are obligated here. Now, that obligation is not to have in their possession all of the details on the account--they are obligated to contact the original creditor themselves to get the information once the DV request is made. The law does not care what info you already possess--rather, it makes clear what info you must obtain and pass on to the consumer. So, pennies on the dollar, while I understand what you are saying, is no defense in this case.

Let me pose this: Suppose they did have all that documentation in their files, and they could readily send it to you... how would you know whether they really did contact the original creditor or not? You would think they would have contacted the original creditor to obtain all of the above, when really they already had it all along... how do you determine the difference?

I'm not trying to be smart, I really am wondering. Because once a company sells their account to me and I have an assigment notice from them, I NEVER have to go back to that company for specific problems. Granted, things work a little differently when the debt is not in default at the time of sale -- I'm not considered a CA for buying a current account.

do you still work???

thats the thing, debtcruncher--it doesnt matter according to the law. The fdcpa only states that you must obtain the information from the original creditor. It does not say anything about when you do so. So, in that case, you have already gotten the information from the OC. There is nothing in the law that makes such a distinction. The purpose of validation is not to make you call the OC right now--it is to verify the facts of the debt. Whether you have the proper information in your computer or you get it over the phone makes no difference to me as long as it is factual information.