Can they do this?

They can't , however, I worked in 3rd party collection for almost five years. It is a scare tactic to get you to pay. Dispute it...ask them your account number by asking for money gram info tell them you'll pay it just to get it.. they will give it to you. After that phone call.. call back again or have someone else and just ask for their address... then send a dispute letter..... Check your state laws for the statue of limitaion on deliquent accounts. you may not have to pay a thing. Oh the fdcpa is a wonderful thing too..

This sounds like a big fat scam to me! Find out their addy, have them validate, and put a cease and desist letter in also that they are not to contact you at work or any other reasin, except via mail. Be sure and send it certified, return receipt, and keep notes and copies of all you do.Good Luck--keep us posted..Karen

I'm the author of this original message. I read it over and realized some errors ... we're disputing this because we UNDER the milage, not over. Also, I forgot to add that she initially contacted my son, implying that she was from the Social Security Administration and that there was a problem with my SSN. Thinking of identity theft I called the number and it was the collection agency. I have since filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection, sent a cerified letter of dispute/cease & disest requesting debt validation.

hi LB--

it is 100% illegal for a collector to pretend or imply that they are a government employee. The little stunt they pulled about the SSN is a deceptive practice. They are not allowed at any time to claim to be anyone other than an employee of a debt collector. Using pretext with a third party is in itself another violation of the fdcpa, so on this one thing you have them on two separate violations in my opinion.

OK, now, on to the rest. You asked for proof of their claim. They refused to send you any. This is also illegal--well, the law actually allows them to not send you anything in reply, but they are not allowed to continue trying to collect the debt from you if they dont. If they receive your DV letter and refuse to honor it, and then keep calling you anyways, then you will have absolutely solid proof of this one.

Then, there is the amount. A collector can only add charges and interest that were agreed upon in the original contract, and only at the rate agreed upon in that contract. In other words, if your original agreement with the rental car agency had no provision to tack on $2,000 in case of going over the miles, then they cannot legally charge you this money. There is no way I can think of that this additional charge is justified or legal.

All of these things are violations of the FDCPA, and you can actually sue them over these violations. They can be made to pay you up to $1000 per violation, to make up for their stupidity. Thus far, just from what you have mentioned, I count at least four separate violations of the FDCPA.....

If they call again make you record the conversation, because you sent a cease and desist. also if they call and you are not there keep the voicemail and/or transfer it. Keep phone records also because each and everytime they call after a cease and desist letter is a violation in which they can be held liable.

You did the right thing by sending them a cease and desist letter. But if they still call you then you can file a lawsuit and request the court to order the collection agency to stop contacting you. After receiving the C&D letter, a CA is allowed to contact you once that too in writing to notify you their further actions. They can take two actions: either they will stop contacting you or will take a legal or court action against you to collect debt.
If you are planning to file a lawsuit, then you will need to show the evidence that (1) the collection agency received your cease letter, and (2) the collection agency did not stop contacting you even after receiving it. So, it is very important to keep a copy of your letter. You can also record your telephone calls (if its permissible in your state). Phone logs are the best defense you have against obnoxious collectors.

This info was found at www.privacyrights.com