Ready to Cry!

Take a deep breath. They can be so rough. Some will be along to help you.

once you send the DV letter CMRRR of course.they cannot do any of what they threatened.in fact if you already sent the letters and they are doing this.you look up your state laws regarding recording calls.then find a lawyer and sue this CA out of existence.that is what happens or will happen when you send the DV letters.

Unfortunately, his behavior is not uncommon in the world of Debt Collectors. Some are nice, but I have dealt with a few that have been so mean and stinking rotten I filed complaints with the BBB. Don't know if it did any good, but it made ME feel better.

Typical rubbish the CA's (crooked ones) like to dish out. Do as suggested, find out about recording calls and start looking for a lawyer. Send them a new letter informing them that by law they must provide proper validation and that by telling you no, they violated your rights and you shall act accordingly.

Demand again, for the proper DV, as is your right. Inform them that should they violate your rights further, you will be forced to file suit.

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devil- I sent the letter within 10 days of the intial letter. I live in Maine and it has been 9 months since I have paid, it is the ASI in Hurst TX. I will read the link throughly. So now I just wait? Send another DV letter Certified return receipt in 30 days and then what? I if they don't validate do they send it back to the OC? Have you had expeience with ASI? There is not much on the site in reference to them.

Here's some info for ME:

MAINE STATE LAWS
INTEREST RATE

Legal: 8%
Post Judgment: 15% annual (less than $30,000) T-Bill rate over $30,000
STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS (IN YEARS)

Open Acct.: 6
Written Contract: 6 + 20 (with attestment) Domestic Judgment: 20
Foreign Judgment: 20
BAD CHECK LAWS (CIVIL PENALTY)
Amount due, court costs, service costs & collection costs

GENERAL GARNISHMENT EXEMPTIONS
You may garnish 25% of disposable income or 40 times the federal minimum wages per week (whichever is less) After judgement only.

COLLECTION AGENCY BOND & LICENSE

Bond: $25,000 to $50,000
License: Yes
Fee: $400 Yearly
Exemption for out-of-state collectors: Contact state authority. Licensing authority is allowing some exemptions to out-of-state agencies that collect for non-resident creditors and are not soliciting.


Not sure where to go in order to find out if they a re licensed in ME but you should be able to Google it. I have had no experience with this CA so I can't really give you any more info than can be found on the web. Their mission statement and the way you were treated on the phone where diametrically opposed:

Our Mission Statement



Ascension Services, Inc. is committed to recovering outstanding debts quickly, efficiently, and amicably while adhering to rigorous professional and ethical standards.

Well the most controversy is over this little section of the FDCPA is:

(4) a statement that if the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, the debt collector will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against the consumer and a copy of such verification or judgment will be mailed to the consumer by the debt collector

So there is a definite need for the CA to obtain verification from the OC and send it to the disputer, but where it gets sticky is just what constitutes verification. They will sometimes send a couple statements...it is in court where you can demand the most documentation and unfortunately it sometimes takes a suit to make them comply.

They seem to break very quickly when you actually file suit.....then they all of a sudden have a hot need to settle with you.

OK Devil- So I read the legal stuff and am even more confused. All they need to do to validate is send a letter listing the amount, name and address of OC, and that it is an attempt to collect a debt? They already did those 3 things in their first communication letter. So how has it helped? DO they have to send any validation that they are entitled to collect on behalf of the OC? As well as a record of payment history and the orginal signed credit application? I figured he got so mad because he can't validate.

I don't accept any "validation" unless it comes from the OC. They do not have to show assignment, payment history or a signed credit app unless it is requested during the Discovery phase of litigation. He likely got mad because you didn't just whip out your checkbook. They go for the low-hanging fruit first. Any resistance and they immediately become dicks.

The problem with the FDCPA is the language is very weak when it comes to what is required for validation but then the FDCPA says you can dispute the validation meaning you can dispute what they sent you including the amount, the OC information or whatever else they send. Essentially you can dispute everything they send which forces their attempt into limbo until they either provide what you want, they sue or they give up and sell the debt. At a minimum you should always dispute the amount. I would also dispute the OC saying something like you know of no relationship that you have or ever had with the collector and the OC they represent and you will require a signed contract to establish said relationship with both the collector and the OC. Chances are you will get a bunch of garbage in the mail again or they will not send you anything at all and just harass you over the phone or they will consider suing. If they sue then you can request all of that stuff via the summons and during discovery and they will have to provide it. They probably won???t sue unless they have that stuff already.

I am going to wait it out for validation however they are still making calls, but I have yet to recieve my return receipt as of yet. If my validation gets no response I am trying to get my ducks lined up for what comes next.

SO I know what determines if they will sue or not? Does anyone know? of have tips? Does the amount matter? The total is pretty high. I have seen many posts here that have balances under $1,000 and they are still sued.

Can/should I at this time contact the orginal creditor and see if they will settle with me? or now that it is with a CA I am stuck dealing with them?

Note: I am feeling quite yucky about myself and would like to make things right, the amount they list in not correct but if I can make a deal with the OC for a percent of what they say I owe I will. I will not deal the CA after the things they said, I will not speak with them via phone again.


Marciepec

There is no set rule that determines if a company files suit or not. Some will sue if you owe less than $1,000 and some won???t. I would suggest that if you know the debt is yours then try to save some cash and settle it. Generally if the debt is not very old then the collector calling about it probably has rights to collect it. As the debt gets older then you will find cases where multiple collectors might be vying for the same debt or the SOL has expired.

If you don???t have the money then tie them up in the validation process until you have the money, they sue or they sell the debt. DV them and send a CD letter with it. The CD might make them sue earlier but if they don???t sue then it will stop the calls. If they ever attempt validation then DV them again.

I just want to clarify something said earlier. Someone said that CA's usually won't file suit unless they have proper documents to validate and that is incorrect.

What CA's do is file suit in the hopes that you will be scared out of your pants and do nothing. When you do not respond to summons (which is the overwhelming majority) they receive a default judgment and then can go after you earnings.

Dispute everything. It costs you nothing (at least in Ohio).

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