Need some advice about collections in Florida

First off, stop talking to them on the phone. CA's lie for a living. You are correct and the CA is lying. SOL on this type of CC is 5 years. If you have not already done so, pull your free credit reports at www.annualcreditreport.com and see how this is reporting. You'll also need to go thru your records and find out when the last payment was made on the account. Do you know when the account first went delinquent(DOFD)? Here is some info on FL statutes:

FLORIDA STATE LAWS

http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/ind...1&Tab=statutes

SOL
95.11 Limitations other than for the recovery of real property
http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/ind...095/Ch0095.HTM

Cause of Action
95.031 Computation of time
http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/ind...095/Sec031.HTM

State UCC
TITLE XXXIX COMMERCIAL RELATIONS Ch.668-688
http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/ind...XIX#TitleXXXIX

Paying won't automatically restart SOL
95.04 Promise to pay barred debt.--An acknowledgment of, or promise to pay, a debt barred by a statute of limitations must be in writing and signed by the person sought to be charged.

Credit Contracts
687.0304 Credit agreements
http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/ind...87/Sec0304.HTM

Florida fdcpa & FCRA
www.dbf.state.fl.us/licensing/ch559.html

Your Rights as a Debtor
http://www.flabar.org/tfbtemplates.n...d?OpenDocument

CA Liscense
www.dbf.state.fl.us/licensing/download.html

Liens
http://www.hidayricke.com/news/Artic...%2055%20FS.htm

Public Records
http://www.ccfcorp.dos.state.fl.us/c...jlinquiry.html

Court Process
www.phonl.com/fl_law/rules/frcp/frcp1.htm

First of all have you received anything from them in the mail? You need to send a dv ltr so that they can prove that they are indeed collecting on a leigitimate debt. Someone will be along to advise you what your sol are..20 years seems like a long time to me, however all states are different.

Hang on and some one will be along to assist you.

Sorry...just caught the last line about no records. Do you have the same bank as you had then? I know 5 years might be asking too much but I was able to get statements form BOA from 2001 ordered on-line.

When I saw the 20 years I was at first thinking the OP had a judgement against them so I started looking into it. I've got to do some more research but it appears that judgements in FL have no SOL. I just sent a message to an attorney in FL who posts on another board and see what he comes up with.

I have not received anything in the mail that I remember. They did have my correct mailing address though. I did send a validation letter I copied from here today certified mail. I stupidly told her that I had too. I know that that was probably a mistake if I am wrong about last payment- like I said she originally told me it was April 2003 last week- today she said Oct 2003 was last payment. I can't remember and am not even sure which bank we had then. I think she might be lying about the oct date because she said that after I brought up SOL.

PM me! I am in Florida and have a great attorney that will sue them on a contigency basis. No out of pocket cost to you, No Joke! There are multiple fdcpa violations there. I just won a similar case out of court! He will make them disappear real quick and even get you some cash!

Of course she's lying. If the last payment was 10/03 then you are still w/in SOL. How much is this alleged debt for? IS it worth their while to file? $1000+?

She said it is for $1258 - something like that. Like I said- she originally told me the last payment was 4/2003. That was last week before I said anything about SOL to her though so that makes me think she's lying about the Oct date- I guess I'll just have to see what they send me.

She did say though that the only thing they would send out for validation was what they have that would be given to the court- not any other details.

Validation per the fdcpa is very narrow, name of OC and amount and not much else (before anyone starts jumping on me, this is MY opinion) anything else you might see on the laundry list on a DV form letter generally would only be provided during litigation. What do your credit reports show for DOLP?

May I ask you why in the world anyone would try , with no legal background, to defend themselves when an attorney can be retained at no out of pocket cost. It is all well and good to speculate on how laws should be interpreted but the bottom line is a lawyer is better than a non lawyer in legal matters. Nascardevil is correct in my opinion also what is required for validation. However that is not the serious issue here. What we have here is multiple third party contact. That is an egregious violation of the fdcpa and a sure ticket to winning this.

I posted this in another thread about the DV letter.

1. What the money you say I owe is for;
2. Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe;
3. Provide me with copies of any papers that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe;
4. Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable;
5. Identify the original creditor;
6. Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account
7. Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state
8. Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent
9. Proof that the collection company owns the debt/or has been assigned the debt. (You are legally entitled to collect this particular debt from me.)
10. Complete payment history, starting with the original creditor. (I need to have proof of my payment history with original Creditor,
11. what the amount of the debt was when the creditor assigned the debt to your company,
12. what fees/interest has been tacked on to this debt and how you/they determined these fees.) or credit card application. (My contract with the original creditor establishing the debt between us.)

I think the current DV letter is pretty solid. Demanding the original contract with the original creditor takes care of points 1,3,5 and probably 9. Demanding the amount and how it was calculated would take care of points 2 and 12 firmly and also probably points 10 and 11. Point 4 means nothing unless they say they have a judgment which must be provided if requested. Obviously they can't provide it if one doesnt exist. Point 6 only means something if you claim it as a defense. Finally, I always thought points 7 and 8 were kind of BS anyways but it kind of depends on your state law.

The most important thing about the DV letter though is if a collection agency cannot produce the original contract and supporting documents showing how they calculated the amount then they won't win a suit. The way I see they are going to provide it one way or another or they are going to lose. Demanding it up front accompanied by a C&D letter is a great tool to stop collections and only leaves them three options. Either they sue, produce the documents or they sell the debt to the next agency which is probably a violation.

frogpatch, I pm'd you. Thanks for the info. When I asked her why she called my mom's number, she said it is the number they have from the application as a family member to contact.
Will this make a difference in the third party contact?

I saw that they had been calling your mothers house but didn't see you state that they disclosed anything about the debt to her. Did they discuss the debt with her or did they just state they were trying to locate you? I agree that if the violations exist and are properly documented to go with an attorney that will represent you on a contingency basis. The only caveat is that fdcpa violations are a per action, not per violation, statute. I didn't really delve into the FL consumer protection laws so hopefully there is some recourse there as well.