Re-aged debts, what to do?

hi--

the first thing I would do is contact the debt collector on the $2 one, because it would seem to me that that one is easier to prove. Since Mass Electric hasnt existed for 8 years or so, I would definitely think that they would have a hard time proving that it was just charged off by that company. I would send them a certified DV request letter. Let them tell you what they will, dont offer up any information to them at this point, just send a standard debt validation letter. See what kind of response they give you--since they are already being dishonest about the chargeoff date, lets see what else they are going to lie about.

the second one, I would do the same thing--send a certified DV letter. Ideally, it is better to send the DV letter to the creditor first, and wait until you get the green USPS signature card back, and then dispute it with the credit bureaus. but thats ok....

A homework assignment for you--do some research on your own and verify exactly what happened to Mass electric, and when. get some kind of documentation if you can of the date that they went out of business as Mass Electric. In the second case, does he have any records? If not, then I would contact the original creditor and see if you can get anything from them about the debt. Usually once the debt is sold they dont have access to much information, if any at all, but they may be able to help. no matter what, though, it is up to the creditor to prove their claim. if they are reporting something on your credit file, the FCRA holds them accountable for any errors or mistakes that they report.

OK I couldn't find anything on the $2 one for mass electric. I did however talk to him about the one for $76 and he told me it was from when he was married, which was a long time ago. He did get a phone call from NCO Financial Systems and they didn't verify who they where. They only told him he had to pay the $76 and he asked what it was for. They said it was for a Mobil gas card and they told him the last time he paid on it was in 1997. He ended up hanging up on them and started to talk to me about it.

I will get the debt collection letters ready to send out for him.

ok, any consumer debt that has not been paid on since 1997 is outside the statute of limitations no matter what state youre in. i would definitely demand validation there.

Keep us informed about the disputes you have filed, let us know if anything has been changed. at this point, you may even consider waiting to send off those DV letters until after you hear back on the credit bureau disputes--that way, you will know what the debt collector is claiming now. thats what i would do, to be honest. Your friend is not in any danger of being sued for these debts, so the time youre talking about waiting wouldnt cause any harm that I can see. Wait until you get the results back and then, if the debt collector verifies the debts as accurate, then send out the debt validation letters by certified mail.

down the road, if they do not validate the debts, then I would take a copy of the debt validation letter you sent them, plus a copy of the green USPS signature receipt card, and send those copies to the credit bureau, and once again dispute the debt. tell them that youre enclosing the copies to show that you requested validation of the debt pursuant to the fdcpa, and since the debt collector has not provided this validation, they cannot continue to report the debt, so it must be removed immediately.

Cool, sounds like a good idea. Thanks and I will keep you updated.

skydivr7673 wrote: "ok, any consumer debt that has not been paid on since 1997 is outside the statute of limitations no matter what state youre in".

I found out that, at least in Ohio, the SOL is 15 years...IF the CA has the original signed contract from the OC. That normally won't happen, but...it is a possibility.

Thanks Buckeye. I think there are only a few states where the SOL is more than 10 years. Rhode Island is 15 years and it's less than a mile from me. Luckily my friend has always lived in Massachusetts,lol, it's 6 years here.

wow, thanks for that correction! i appreciate the update!

Anyone in Virginia w/SOL knowledge? I believe collection law here states that if the service provider and services provided were both in Virginia that anything older than 3 years has to be written off as uncollectable no matter what. They can't turn that over to a collection agency for any reason. So, anything older than as of this date minus 3 years cannot be collected on. Example: If you opened a CitiBank credit card in 2000 and charged up a storm but didn't pay on the card at all, then CitiBank closed the account in 2002 and are still applied 'fees' for collection purposes, they cannot collect any outstanding 'fees' prior to this date 2006. That figure would have to be written off as bad debt. It's tricky in Virginia as I'm sure it is in other states. Just do your research as to what each states collection laws state.

You're referring to a Statute of Repose. VA does not have one of those only WI and MS. An SOR extinguishes the debt on expiration of SOL which renders the debt uncollectible.

You will find the Payday loan laws VIRGINIA here (just select your state),

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/paydayloan/explain-pdls-laws.html

OK I figured I would update this as it's quite funny.

He got the dispute results back and they where both removed from Trans-Union, the $2 collection and the $76 collection. Equifax I disputed yesterday, we just got his credit report for that.

Experian seems as if they verified the account so I disputed it again last week. So yesterday I called for him, gave his name and the file number they have on his credit reports. The lady at National Recovery said she had no information on that name or that file number. I WENT OFF ON HER!!!!!

I told her that her company verified the account with Experian but couldn't verify it with Trans_Union and you have no information in your database. She got cocky and I told her that if a dispute comes in and it is not removed from the credit reports they are in violation of the FDCPA and the FCRA.

She said some other cocky stuff I told her to remove it and she got cocky again repeating herself over and over and she then said I was difficult and was hanging up on me so I told her F You.

So now we will see if this time they get removed. If not I will send an updated copy of his Trans_Union report to the other 2 and see what happens. If not I will direct him on how to file a lawsuit.

honestly, I wouldnt even wait that long. If it is legal in your state, call them and record the call. Get it on tape that they "have no record at all of anyone by that name having any account there". Be sure to record the date and time of that call. Then, I would file suit for FCRA and FDCPA violations and make them pay.

Here is an important point to remember--Experian is not under any obligation to act upon information from any other credit bureau. Think about the law here--the CA has 30 days to respond to the inquiry once you dispute with the CB....and they can choose to not respond at all. If they dont respond, then the CB must remove the entry. Showing EXperian what TU removed wont prove anything, because they simply could have not responded to TU's inquiry. They ARE however obligated to report what the CA verifies to THEM. So, sending them what TU removed in my opinion would be a waste of time. The fact that this lady was that rude on the phone to you alone shows that they will not respond to any sort of politeness. Also, you cannot be the one calling--your friend needs to be on that phone if youre going to record a call or at the very least, you need your friend stating on the recording that he/she has given you permission to discuss this matter on their behalf.

FIle the suit, you have more than enough if you can show that they dont have any information at all on this person or file number. This would put them into "reporting false information"...and thats a no-no. What's worse, they would be paying your friend thousands of dollars for an account with a supposed balance of less than $100......and to me, its about time that they are on that losing end for once! Gather up his before and after reports for TU and Equifax, and then the before and after for Experian showing the verified reporting. Then, get them on tape saying they have no such record if it is legal where you live, and file your complaint. Just from what you mentioned, I would include the following as violations:

1--harassment over the phone, FDCPA violation, for when she was "cocky" with you. They dont have any business getting like that in the course of debt collection. Hopefully, when you record the call next time they will be just as cocky then too.
2--deceptive practices, FDCPA, for verifying a "debt" that they admit they have no information at all on.
3--deceptive practices/misrepresenting the debt, FDCPA, for re-aging the debt in the first place. I would bring everything I could get my hands on to show that, and I would nail it home.

Those can bring a total of $1000 statutory damages plus real damages.


4--falsely reporting the age of a debt, FCRA, re-aging is against the FCRA as they are responsible to report as accurately as they can.
5--falsely verifying unverified information, FCRA, for verifying an account that they have no such information on.

Those are up to $1000 a piece under the FCRA.....make them pay you $3000 plus court costs for a $76 collection account!!