convergence receivables - has any represents?

You need to immediately send a debt validation letter. Send it certified mail return receipt requested. You can use this template and format it to your needs. DO NOT SIGN YOUR NAME!!!!!!! a printed name is sufficient.

Your Name
Your Address
CITY/Town, STATE ZIPCODE

Date: March 9, 2005



Collection Agency Name
Address
CITY/Town, STATE ZIPCODE

Re: Acct Ref. # XXXXX and XXXXX

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is being sent to you in response to a alleged debt. Be advised that this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested.

This is NOT a request for verification or proof of my mailing address, but a request for VALIDATION made pursuant to the above named Title and Section. I respectfully request that your offices provide me with competent evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you
.
What I need you to provide as the debt validation is as follows:
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.) This is basic contract law.
10. Complete payment history, starting with the original creditor. (I need to have proof of my payment history with original Creditor, what the amount of the debt was when the creditor assigned the debt to your company, and what fees/interest has been tacked on to this debt and how you/they determined these fees.) This requirement was established by the case Fields v. Wilber Law Firm, Donald L. Wilber and Kenneth Wilber, USCA-02-C-0072, 7th Circuit Court, Sept 2004..
11. Copy of the original signed loan agreement or credit card application. (My contract with the original creditor establishing the debt between us.) This is also basic contract law.

At this time I will also inform you that if your offices have reported invalidated information to any of the 3 major Credit Bureau's (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion) this action might constitute fraud under both Federal and State Laws. Due to this fact, if any negative mark is found on any of my credit reports by your company or the company that you represent

I will not hesitate in bringing legal action against you for the following:
1. Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
2. Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
3. Defamation of Character

If your offices are able to provide the proper documentation as requested in the following declaration, I will require at least 30 days investigating this information and during such time all collection activity must cease and desist.

Also during this validation period, if any action is taken which could be considered detrimental to any of my credit reports, I will consult with my legal counsel for suit. This includes any listing any information to a credit reporting repository that could be inaccurate or invalidated or verifying an account as accurate when in fact there is no provided proof that it is.
If your offices fail to respond to this validation request within 30 days from the date of your receipt, all references to this account must be deleted and completely removed from my credit file and a copy of such deletion request shall be sent to me immediately.

I would also like to request, in writing, that no telephone contact be made by your offices to my home or to my place of employment. If your offices attempt telephone communication with me, including but not limited to computer generated calls and calls or correspondence sent to or with any third parties, it will be considered harassment and I will have no choice but to file suit. All future communications with me MUST be done in writing and sent to the address noted in this letter by USPS.

It would be advisable that you assure that your records are in order before I am forced to take legal action.



Best Regards,

Thanks for the quick reply. One more question, According to the letter I received it states I need to contact the law offices (it also states that no attornney has reviewed the circumstances of the account) so should I send the debt validation letter to them or the credit agency (the address is not listed in the letter)?

What that means is they are using a mass mailing system. Someone puts the information into a computer and they are usually mailed from a separate company. The only time an attorney will know about it is if you call they will look at the computer quick or if they sue you when he's on his way to the court house trying not to spill his coffee on the file.

Was this letter on an attorney letterhead? Did it have a disclosure saying that you have the right to dispute within 30 days? If not was this the first letter you ever got from them?

Just send the letter to the attorney, from the looks of thing he isn't a very good one. He has a crappy web site, no e-mail address. He probably has his office in the stock room in a store in the mall.

Get that letter out though. Also if you are disabled and/or on disability also state that in the letter and if you have no assets that too. That would make you judgment proof and a waste of time for them if they plan on suing you.

Yes is does appear to be on the attorney's letterhead (though not very professional looking), it does state you have 30 days to dispute and it is the first letter I have ever received from them.

A side note, I talked with my cousin who had to deal with this law firm on an old debt, one they believed was over 10 years old, and they tried to garnish her wages and removed funds from her checking account without her knowledge. In her case, there was suppose to be some kind of judgement against her and she agreed to pay a small amount (less than $25) a month.

Sorry for your cousin that sucks.

So you know what you need to do right?

You want to send that letter certified mail return receipt requested this way you get the green card back in the mail. You will also have a copy of the validation letter. do not sign it, type your name on the computer.

If they try to sue you before validating after you send the letter, you can sue them for violating the fdcpa and most likely get the case dismissed with prejudice. But you must send that letter within the first 30 days.

best of luck to you and hope you never hear from them again. keep us posted on how you are doing. Also you may want to wait about a month or so and then dispute that debt collector on your credit report as "not my account" or something like that.

Sounds good. Thanks for all your help

If your cousin wasn't notified about a court date she can have the judgement overturned for improper service.

My son has a lawsuit pending from the same company and a law office Litow law firm.
my son has no idea who this is and what is could be for he never even got a collection letter just someone showed up at my house trying to serve him papers but he lives out of state so good luck with that.
I also checked his credit report nothing from this company!!!
who are they

How long has he been out of state? If it has been a while then it would be improper venue. They must sue him in the state he legally lives in.

I am finding all of this information helpful. Yesterday I received a letter for a lawyer representing Convergence Receivalbles LC. I sent him an email asking for the names and address's of the original creditor and from Convergence. Looking at recent copy of my credit report, Convergence is not listed; but this laywer is. along with Harris, N.A. I will be following the advise given thus far. Two years ago I moved to Illinois having spent the last 12 years in Iowa, where I had no contacts like this.
How can I find out what is the "statue of limitations"?

Does anyone have an address for Convergence Receivables? I am dealing with Litow Law and Convergence on their attempt to collect a debt from me. It is for a credit card account for a company I no longer even worked for when the debt was incurred.

PS I believe the statue of limitations for revolving debt (credit cards) in Iowa is 5 years. I am not sure about other debts.

DATE: I sent my validation letter out on January 7 (I had until 1/18). At this point I have not received anything back from them. How long do they have to provide me with a response to my validation letter?

hen01 Try the address:

CONVERGENCE RECEIVABLES LC
c/o CHARLES LITOW
847 E AVE NE
CEDAR RAPIDS IA 52402

Depends on the state you live in Texas has 30 days to respond. Not sure if that applies in other states but usually there is no time limit.

I was looking on the internet and saw I had court and did not know why. It was a month away. I investigated the info. and it was charles l litow from convergence rec. I have never rec. a letter or phone call from this company. The address they had on me was from two and a half years ago. I am writing them before my court date gets here and I will be in court with any info. I can gather up. Like I said "I never received anything from this company ever". I am sending out my certified letter and to make sure I keep the green card. Thanks for all the info. on this site. It was very helpful. If you have cragislist in your area that would be a good place to let people know. Has anyone called the bbb to see what the deal is with that? thanks you guys for all your help.

I'd skip the Craigslist....it has become a haven for prostitutes

Do these people work with you all? They garnished my wages and eventhough I made a payment via paypal, they still continued to take my wages is this legal? Summer was the spokesperson I worked with, and she was wicked!!!

man what is this i have nerver heard of this i just got a letter from them

They will take you to court & they will garnish your wages- happened to me! However, they will also work with you on payments (before suing you) if you don't pay, they will garnish- or at least try. Nothing ever happened to my bank account though.

Hello fellow Iowans, I too received a Notice to Cure letter from LITOW LAW OFFICES, PC stating that they represent CONVERGENCE RECEIVABLES. I was scared to death and I did not know where to turn. I did some research with a friend of mine who is attending Drake law school. I spoke to a few fellow Iowans who fell victim to the collection practices of the Litow Law Firm of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Litow law firm makes money of the backs of hard working Iowans just like you that have fallen behind on bill payments. Litow buys the debt and charges interest, runs to court to file a claim, and presto once you fail to show up Litow has won a default judment against you. The firm tacks on interest and you are forced to pay by law. Litow in many cases we uncovered had violated the Fair Debt Collection Act in some way or another. We also found an attorney who has been successful in helping Iowans win judments against Litow I will provide a link below. I hope this helps I am sure Mr. Johnson can answer all your questions. Please also write the Iowa attorney generals office with any complaints you or anyone you know may have had who have dealt with Mr. Litow. Thanks. I hope this helps and that no one else gets ripped off. johnsonlawfirmia.com/

Litow Law Offices, Cedar Rapids, IA My wife and I have been paying this office for well over a year for what we believed to be a judgment amount on a closed account. We have recently found out, only by asking, that our balance now is more than when we started paying. They are charging the same interest rate as the credit card and when we moved to a different city they charged a $100 fee for paper work processing and filing in the new county. None of these additional fees were disclosed to us at any time.
Thanks I will use the website you provided and pass along to everyone I know who Litow has gone after which includes a few of my coworkers.

Litow Law firm

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Hello fellow Iowans, I too received a Notice to Cure letter from LITOW LAW OFFICES, PC stating that they represent CONVERGENCE RECEIVABLES. I was scared to death and I did not know where to turn. I did some research with a friend of mine who is attending Drake law school. I spoke to a few fellow Iowans who fell victim to the collection practices of the Litow Law Firm of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Litow law firm makes money of the backs of hard working Iowans just like you that have fallen behind on bill payments. Litow buys the debt and charges interest, runs to court to file a claim, and presto once you fail to show up Litow has won a default judment against you. The firm tacks on interest and you are forced to pay by law. Litow in many cases we uncovered had violated the Fair Debt Collection Act in some way or another. We also found an attorney who has been successful in helping Iowans win judments against Litow I will provide a link below. I hope this helps I am sure Mr. Johnson can answer all your questions. Please also write the Iowa attorney generals office with any complaints you or anyone you know may have had who have dealt with Mr. Litow. Thanks. I hope this helps and that no one else gets ripped off. johnsonlawfirmia.com/

Anyone who gets contact from this group seek an attorney. This Lawfirm is a piece of shit and should be disbarred. They work for the nastiest junk debt buyers such as Palisades, Franklin, Sherman aqu. Midland and NCO. They will sue folks out of jurastriction, debts past the SOL all illegal tatics. The junk debt buyers have won millions from Litow law from from debts that are "legaly dead" from getting defaut judgement. Most consumers dont know there rights get scared and dont show to court, Litow Law counts on that and risks only 50bucks on that. Plus if they know a consumer is going to fight it they just will not show up. who cares about winning money against these vermin, they should all be put out on the street. That would be sweet! I am in MO and my brother was sued by these vermin, got him with a default judgement on a debt that was 11 years old. Unfortunally at the time he did not know SOL, My mom had to cut a check out to them for the full amount plus fees to have that judgement discharged. This was 9k. Look up on IA court records and see all of the folks that fell victims from these creaps. Most are default judgements.

What is a typical settlement that these guys will take? 50%? I have been contacted by them and would prefer paying on it rather than risk having a judgement against me.

according to the Iowa Sec. of State web page, convergence receivables registered agent is Charles Litow of Litow Law Office, Cedar Rapids,Iowa,and its home office is:

1720 VALLEY HIGH DR
CEDAR FALLS, IA, 50613

When it comes to law firms like Litow, remember: you're not dealing with rational people. Litow and his staff need to be neutralized....NOT KILLED...just neutralized.

I just received a letter today from the Litow Law Office saying I owe $1800 on a credit card account I am sure I paid off back in the 1990's. This is my first contact with them and they say I have 7 days to clear the account or they will sue me. I called the number listed on the letter and they said they will research my payment. I don't trust them, so I have contacted johnsonlawfirmia.com who has dealt with Litow Law Office before.

The addresses I have for Convergence Receivables:
1) Litow Law Offices, Charles Litow, 1234 Water Tower Place - PMB#396, Arnold, MO 63010
2) Charles Litow, Attorney at Law, 1162A E. Gannon Dr., Festus, MO 63028

Hope this helps.

Perhaps y'all should pay your bills?!?

I have had the same issues. I do not know who these people are or what they are trying to collect. I am going to send the validation letter that was posted up above.

I love how you people bitch and moan about the Litow Law Office collecting on money that you stole from somebody. What the Litow Law Office does is a service for the actual hard working, tax paying American who constantly has their interest rates hiked because of people like you who don't pay your bills. You all need to grow up and take responsibility for your own actions and stop stealing from the rest of us.

Sorry, but that's utter bullsh*t. Litow and Convergence are both contemptible bottomfeeders who couldn't make an honest buck if they wanted to. And those interest rate hikes? Try corporate geeed.

Now, back to the phones, troll. You've got debtors to harass and laws to break. You wouldn't want to fall short on your quota for either one.

People try to pay debts. Don't say we are stealing. I have tried to work with the Litow law firm and have a debt I paid off in 2005 that they say I owe. Don't accuse people of stealing... you sound like one of their collectors. They are rude and so unwilling to work with people. Yes, once you start making payments to them you have started an entire new SOL and they do collect on dead debt. Please, if you can't afford an attorney, fight them in court. The really are the ones stealing when they use the courts (your tax dollars miss earlier post) to get interest and costs. Get help against this firm.... Dirty and licensed to be. Poor people don't have much of a chance to work things out and they know it!! It is a shame... How can you win???

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When you use money that is not yours and refuse to pay it back under the terms you previously agreed to, then you are stealing. This is not a gray area. It is disturbing to hear so many people disparage debt collectors when all they are trying to do is get their own money back. If I lend you $20 and you refuse to pay it back, who is the dirtbag? Just sayin'.

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I just pulled my credit report and found a judgement from Convergence Receivables posted to Experian, but not the other 2. The judgement was filed in 01/2008. I have tried to find a number for the company, no luck. I called the court house and they said I was served by the sherrif in Dec. of 2007 and never replied. I have no clue what they are talking about. I spoke with the shriff's dept and they said papers were served on my daughter, Jamie, who was married at the time and last name was Patterson. I finally got in touch with the Litow law offices, they agreed they do represent Converegence, but would not provide any further information. so, it seems a judgement against my daughter is listed on my credit report. I have filed a dispute with the credit bureaus. What, if any, other actions should I take? This has dropped my FICO score dramatically!

These guys are dogs. I paid the settlement amount they requested and they sent a judgment anyway....totally ignored all of the financials i sent when they requested. I am going to go after this Law Office for their unfair practices!

There has been a lot of research into the Litow Law Office. They were found to be sending false information to individuals that they got from different commercial companies online. Basically they are stealing people's information (even though what they are doing it technically legal). They are a shady company. I encourage anyone who receives a letter from them to get an attorney or have one appointed to you in court if you can't afford one.

i was served by them. it is for us bank i denied the claim. this account is more than 5 years old. i was told to get a continuance. i have nothing to take to court i dont know what to do .

We, too, have been ravaged by this scumbag firm they call a "law office". I have personally been TO their office in Cedar Rapids, IA.....1) in a seedy part of the city 2) a big, thick pane of glass w/a "movie ticket" slot to exchange paper/information 3) I took CASH to pay, asked for a receipt, and yet, they had no record of my payment! 4) once inside the building you enter a 6x6'ish entry w/a STEEL door to your left which, you guessed it, IS LOCKED! This is NOT A LAW OFFICE....they are, in fact, a glorified debt collector as others have suggested. And, RUDE, is an understatement. Any communication I have EVER had w/them is never pleasant. To those of you who suggest we are "low lifes" and should pay our bills....we have MORE than paid for our original amount owed PLUS interest. They are willing to work out a payment plan, because at the interest rates they charge....you will be a perpetual "customer"! I am not sure how any one of the people who work their can possibly leave their job and feel good about what they do. SEEDY, DISGUSTING, COMPASSIONLESS money whores is what they really are!

I just settled with them on a bill that was 6 years old for $5000.00 and before they settled, they garnished my husband and my paycheck. Then I sent a cashier's check for $4500.00 and what ever had been garnished to equal the $5000 and they said that I would get a refund for the extra that was garnished from the Linn County Sheriff's office. When I call them, they say no, we don't refund it. So I call Litow again and talk to yet again a different person I dealt with prior about this and they say, we will get a refund to you, but it might not be as much because of court fees and legal fees. That is bullshit because I was told that whatever legal fees there were they would take it out of the $5000.00 we sent them. Now I have paid almost $6000.00 and I don't know who the refund will be coming from but I want my refund or I will sue them! It's a horrible Law firm and I use that term loosely. And to all you people saying just pay your bills, hello the economy sucks, maybe you have money lying around or maybe you are retired or on state assistance and I'm paying for you to sit on your ass and post nasty things on websites like this, or whatever but for those of us who work paycheck to paycheck, we can't be dropping $5000.00 on something that wasn't even worth $5000.00 to begin with. So get off your high horse and go fuck yourself.

Please (especially Annon on 5-14-2010), consult with a good consumer attorney. The Litow group and Convergence are in business to take default judgments. They are not skilled attorneys, and they are incapable of managing a case when confronted by real lawyers. In my experience, Convergence NEVER has the paperwork to back up the alleged debts they are trying to collect. Please see www.naca.net and find a consumer attorney in your state.

You don't owe Convergence or Litow anything, as they don't legally own these accounts and don't have documents to support their claims.

Anon: It's not just about the people that have not paid a debt, it's also about the people that have, and the Litow Law Firm doesn't care. They pick up dead records that have been paid and will run with it even when you tell them you've paid it, then it's a waste of time for people that have things to do to have to show up to court and deal with these people and prove that it's been paid. And they want it to be an inconvenience and have you not show up so they can collect. If the Litow office was conducting legitimate collection practices it would be one thing, but they are not, they are giving a worse name to debt collection then it already has and they should be stopped by disbarment.

I have a judgement with Litlow that I am paying on now . I didnt realize there is a statue of limitations.. Can I get it reversed or am I already screwed.

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Um why don't you become educated and STFU! I bet you live off of welfare loser!

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there are people that are law abiding citizens that lose their insurance and go to the hospital , get cancer, have terrible health problems and get bills that are ludicrous , that they cannot pay. cannot get help from the gvmt and get sued because they cannot pay. Think before you make a rude comment like, PERHAPS YOU ALL SHUD PAY YOUR BILLS! Hopefully you will never be faced with financial probs like alot of good people have been faced with, times are hard for ALOT of people. Hope you never have these probs and I hope you can mature more and not make judgements on others. Do not bother replying to my comment , because I will not be checking for a reply

I have fought with them for about10 years on a deft they purchased from a credit card company that closed. I now owe twice what I did at the time the company closed. Also, I had the "insurance" on my credit card, but because they sold all their accounts, this was not honored. Litow bought this account and has taken me to court several times to garnish wages and bank accounts. I am retired and live on Social Security which they can not touch, but once the garnish the bank account you still can not get your money to live on.

I suggest you contact the Johnson Law Firm listed and good luck.
Turquoise

Maybe you don't know what is going on !!!!!! we lose our jobs and get ill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!