Attorney Riddle Wood for HSBC?

oh, also - I googled riddle wood and I see many complaints of harrassment - i wonder if i was dodging them the whole time, and assuming that it was star cash processing! lol, so should i send them the c & d letter? i also saw them on Budd Hibb's page - are these people junk collectors? i am so scared of being sued.. I really do not have $800 right now and if I did, it would go right to my landlord as I am worried sick over rent :(

Even if they are attorneys, they are bound by the FDCPA, send them a DV letter.

yes, send a DV letter certified mail. It doesnt matter if they are attorneys or not--they are engaging in the practice of debt collection, so DV them and make them prove their case.

Also, the interest is dependent on the actual owner of the debt. If HSBC is still the owner, and if they are simply hiring these other debt collectors to try to collect the debt, then yes, they can still add interest. There are some issues with third party collectors adding interest--even though most credit contracts stipulate that interest will continue to be added, there are laws in many states that do not allow anyone other than financial institutions to add interest. So, we see debt collectors claiming that they are a financial institution, where they are not.

thanks, i honestly just was not sure - i got a little concenred about reading complaints about them charging interest. i got the dv letter ready, and will send it out asap (monday morning) should i sent the c & d letter, too or will that make it worse?

If I understand it right, if you send a C&C letter, then they are not allowed to validate the debt because validation does not come under the category of the one contact that they are allowed to make after the C&D. If I am wrong, I hope someone will clear it up for me.

With a DV letter, you are asking for a response. A C&D you are telling them *not* to respond. The requests are at cross purposes.

bea2ls
Don't panic yet, I too, have been terrified of being sued. I've lurked around these boards for sometime now, myself. I currently have 3 charge offs, that have gone to CA. Two have gone to CA attorneys I owe around 800 on one and 1400 on the other. the 800 was around 500 when I defaulted and the 1400 was around 1000. I would love nothing more than to be able to pay these off, but I can't right now, and yes I have tried to work with them, but they wouldn't be reasonable. From my experience so far, these CA attorneys are basically CA themselves. Check to see if that attorney is licensed to practice law in your state, if he's not then that particular attorney can't sue you anyway, they would have to farm it out to an attorney in the state that you live in. Hang in there, I know exactly how you feel, most days I tell myself what the worst that could happen, they can't eat me.

thanks so much.. i also would just love to pay it off :(
when i googled it, they seem to be just a bottom feeder CA anyway..
my question about the C & D letter is that i am scared they will get a judgment if they recieve it.. they call my work several times a day and i would love to send it to them but am unsure if that will backfire on me?

I've worried about that same thing. Tell them your are not allowed to have phones calls at work, they are suppose to quit once you tell them, I know that doesn't always work.

okay, i mean they can call my home phone though i am not sure if i will pick up - time is running fast, i have to decide something and mail it today :(

because i had to send something i sent the basic dv letter with the c & d portion included. i did not send a separate c & d letter - i am a bit scared to include what i did but really the calls are annoying and i am scared of getting in trouble at work!

Ah, ok, that is different. Yes, C&D at work immediately. You may also wish to quote the relevant FDCPA statute [15 USC 1692c(a)(3)] for a stronger hint.

Ok, should I just mention the C & D for work than? or a whole c & d from everything?

great i am totally freaked out now.. they called me at work and my co-worker said i do not work here.. they knew star cash was harrassing me and it was nice of her to cover but my voicemail has my name on it :oops:
i am scared they will go further with collections now, i gotta get this sent today! like in an hour or two today..
i guess i will put the c & d involving work in there, and get it out!

bea2ls
What state do you live in?

i am in NJ

I was trying to see if he's licensed to practice law in your state, but I didn't see him listed anywhere, but I might not be looking in the right place. Looks to me like they are just another CA, if they do sue, he will either have to be licensed in your state or farm it out to another attorney that is licensed to practice in you state.

thanks so much for checking, guest :)
from what i have read on the internet, he seems to be a bottom feeder, my concern is that they will give it a local attorney, but i did send the letter out about an hour ago :)

They cannot call your work if you tell them that it will put your job in jeopardy, according to the FDCPA. As far as a complete C&D, that is up to you. But if you tell them they can't call your work (and you have proof of that - hence the C&D) and they do anyway, you can sue them for the FDCPA violation and collect your $1,000.

And not to mention, they cannot call in order to annoy or harass, so there is yet another violation.

thanks, i sent everything out.. on the c & d i just mentioned work because that was my main concern really.

thanks again! :)

i am freaking out a bit - i sent it all out on august 5 but they did not get it yet!! the tracking info said the post office accepted it but no other updated info. their letter was dated july 15, i am scared they will get it after august 15! if that is the case, will my tracking info showing that it was sent on august 5 prove that i sent this out in time??

Suddenly at the beginning of this summer, these people, Riddle and Assoc. started calling. Now they are identifying themselves as Riddle and Wood. It's a computer generated call. I have no idea what the debt owed is. I haven't received any letter from them, so I'm wondering...don't they need to send a letter? They call on Sunday mornings. I'm in Texas and this debt may be something 14 years ago from a break-up. My question is shouldn't they have sent a letter before resorting to phone calls? And in Texas, has the statute of limitations run out? Also, why riddle and wood now and not riddle assoc? What's the difference?
Thanks.

i get those computer generated calls all the time! i see they got my letter, let's see what happens :)

my co-workers screened a call for me, and did not take the number given to her.. i kind of wish she did. i wonder if it was riddle wood? it might have been star cash or someone but who knows.. if it was riddle wood, they do have in writing not to call my employment but who knows? all of these calls have me on edge.. :(

I got one too from Riddle & Wood, or Riddle & Assoc or whatever they are calling themselves. And now they dont answer their phone!
check this out (sub + with . and = with /)
budhibbs+com=collectorpages=riddle_and_associates+htm

Yes, the tracking number should prove that. You can have USPS send you a detailed shipping history of the parcel and then print it out (with Full Headers). It will likely show the letter having arrived (I can't see it taking that long) so you will know if they are simply ignoring it.

But PDLs have a bad habit of ignoring the law.

Texas,
Yes they are required to send you a letter within 5 days of initial phone contact. And the SOL in Texas is only 4 years, so send them a Cease & Desist letter.
"http://law.findlaw.com/state-laws/civil-statute-of-limitations/texas/"

thanks again, chrys :)
elle, i saw that on budd hibbs page, i think they might still be calling me after getting my c & d so i am keeping close tabs ont hem. i do not trust them, to be honest.

What is a C & D letter? We have been harassed by R & W calls, even after we have spoken to them and explained the party (our daughter) does not live here. The "gentleman" was verbably abusive, raised his voice and demanded to know why this phone number was given to him. We hung up. He kept calling us, we do not answer these calls anymore. What can we do?

a c & d letter basically forbids all contact to be made with you. if they do not listen, you can sue them. i would send it out and state that you explained she does not live there. send it certified mail, return reciept. we have sample letters on this board if you need one :)

I also defaulted on an Orchard Bank card about 18 months ago - among others. After a few months of dodging Riddle & Wood, I finally sat down, worked out a pro rata share for all my debts and started making phone calls. Even after all I heard and read bad about R&W, I have to say they have been more than reasonable to work with on this payment plan. I called them, made a monthly payment offer with a date of first payment and have been paying them each month ever since. Twice, I've needed to reduce the payment due to car repairs I needed $ for and they were happy to accomodate me when I called and asked to skip or reduce a month's payment. Now I'm ready to make a stab at asking them to delete the info from my credit record in exchange for paying the remaining balance due in November (after making payment in Oct of course). The worst they can say is not, but at least either way the debt will be paid and I feel that much better for it.

i am not really dodging them.. i just want proof that they even own this debt :( in the past i have paid a collector who did not truely own a debt and another collector came after me for it.. they were even able to validate it. which is why i still stand my no validation, no payments.
if they do validate i will happy to work out paying them.

Beals, is there any way you can just say your company name/department on your voice mail? I did that so that collectors wouldn't know I was answering the phone. It has worked (along with my C&D letters). Also, I had my cell phone number changed and I don't get those calls anymore. I just keep getting e-mails from US Fast Cash.

Do you live in New Jersey? I do.....

hello, yes i live in NJ and that was a good tip about chaning the voicemail box. i will do that later on :)

Hey, where? I'm in south jersey outside of Phila. - in Gloucester County.
Did you ever receive responses from New Jersey AG, Dept. of Banking etc. about your pdl complaints?

i'm in central jersey - mercer county (which I am not a fan of ;) )
i did recieve responses from NJ attorney general but they were really useless. my loan complaints started last may and some of their replies took over a year and they basically just said to contact the BBB. for loans that were not legal!! it made me so mad but i do not have much faith in our state :(
luckily things have seemed to have calm down again (i did pay them all but some kept coming back anyway)

Up until 2 years ago I worked in Mercer county for 7 years! How about the Dept. of Banking? Any luck there? I guess I'll skip the AG when I file my complaint against Eastside Lenders.

With all that's going on with my 2 daughters and my Mom, I haven't had opportunity, but I'm PO'd at this Smith Wesson whatever their name is who represents Eastside Lenders.

i would not skip the attorney general because at least you have proof that you filed and it can be done online. :) i did not hear from department of banking yet but in the past i do not think they were too helpful. but i report whereever and whenever i can :)

Riddle & Wood just called me on my cell, and boy were they NASTY...they said I owed an HSBC debt but would not give anymore info...they would not even give me there name, so I am assuming this is bogus...but I am sending them a letter asking for all info...from what I have read usually they never produce any proof
My husband just came home from the hospital with CHF this is just what i need now...

Don't ever respond to these scum. They are just worms trying to get low hanging fruit. Just hang up. They've been banned in Conn. I hope other states are working to do the same. Do not respond to or acknowledge any communication from the slime.