experiences with asking for validation

[quote=Shirley]Its Oxford and since sending their 'validation', they call every day after being told not to.[/quote]

This is a clear violation of fdcpa, they cease calling you once they are told to do so. You can file your complaint against them with FTC, BBB and other authorities.

As per as the debt validation process is concerned, I would recommend going through these articles. It will help you understand the right process of debt validation:

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/validation.html

http://forums.debtcc.com/forums/howto-validate.html

It is always advisable to dispute the discrepancies in debt validation, however, if you continue with disputing and they send incomplete document repeatedly, you should think of some other strategy. Perhaps speaking to the OC or, getting an attorney involved in the case could be beneficial.

Suddenly one plan struck in my mind. Why don't you write this statement while sending your payment?

Once you accept my payment, check #......., you have to report the account #........ as ???Paid??? to the credit bureaus.

Can a consumer add this comment while paying bills? I have read somewhere in this forum or anywhere else, that one person wrote ???final payment??? on the back of the check and when creditor cashed the check, they considered it to be the last payment. Any comment?

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Shirley,

You're a very good consumer, willing to pay your bills. You will never be in trouble because your intention has been noble and if anyone brings legal actions against you, I think the judge will obviously understand the reality, so don't worry.

I cannot remember the exact place, but I read somewhere on the net, that if CA verifies an account with credit bureau but doesn't respond to validation, it is considered as a violation of fdcpa. You might like to consult a lawyer with this.

I know you have tried all the possible avenues to get it solved. However, consider another thing. Contact credit bureau and tell them that CA did not send validation to you but verified the account with bureau. Hope this time you will get this entry removed. Another thing I will say here, before sending your letter to bureau, try to speak to call credit bureaus and see what they recommend.

Can you remember the SOL for all of these accounts? Perhaps you know the SOL issues well. Just tried to remind you???

Please inform us if you get any positive response by calling credit bureau.

I agree that this is a violation and you should file a complaint with the FTC. Maybe then they might cooperate? I don't know. I wish you luck.

I send out demand for verification letters routinely for clients, and occasionally for myself. I've probably sent hundreds. I've gotten exactly two responses, both from a law firm in Richmond, Va. regarding a client's purported Citicorp credit card debt. In each case they sent about an inch and a half thick stack of paper containing exactly nothing of any legal significance. I don't think the creditors keep the paper, or even images of the paper. That's why they can never respond to the demand for verification. And the mere fact that they send paper back doesn't make the paper a valid response - they have to show you their evidence they could use in court to prove that (1) there is an outstanding valid debt and (2) that you're the person who contracted the debt. If the paper doesn't do that, it's not a response.

So if a collection agency sends improper documentation in response to DV, what should the debtors do next? Should they send another DV stating that the earlier one fail to provide the expected information? Or consumers can stop payment since the debt was not validated at all.

I treat a bad response as no response. It's just as if they hadn't sent anything at all; they can't take any action to collect, etc.

I do send them a letter telling them that the response was deficient. Here's an example of a recent one. The deficiencies will vary with the facts and circumstances of each case (so this can't be used as a "form letter"), so one will have to look at the response with an eye to the requirements for a sufficient evidentiary production.

The point of the letter is to be able to prove later that you put them on notice of the deficiency. You can never have too much evidence, and most folks wait until they're actually in litigation before they start thinking of preparing evidence.

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I am in receipt of about one and one-half inches of papers you sent me, purportedly in response to [client name]'s verification for demand pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

I have reviewed the documentation you supplied, and I find that it is deficient in several important ways. The entities to whom the money appears to be owed is not the same as the creditor named. But there is no documentation to show exactly how and why the entity you represent should be paid for debts purportedly incurred to others, or to show that [client name] was properly placed on notice
of any sale or assignment of assets. As you are no doubt aware, in Virginia, one can only be required to pay a third party if given notice by the original creditor of the terms of any transfer of the debt, since one pays a third-party at the risk of the original creditor's claims for nonpayment.

Secondly, I find nothing purporting to be signed by [client name] agreeing to any terms or conditions or basis for the imposition of interest. There is no evidence of compliance with Regulation Z. No documentation of offer and acceptance. In short, no basis for the imposition of liability other than someone's having identified [client name] as a debtor.

I do not believe you have complied with [client name]'s demand for verification, since there is nothing in the pile of paper you provided that overcomes his denial of the indebtedness to the party you identified.

[client name] reasserts his demand for verification and objects to your attempts to contact him by telephone, having actual knowledge of the fact that he is represented by an attorney, and his specific demand that you cease any attempts to contact him directly, and your failure to supply the information he demanded.

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Shirley,

I know that you are in a dilemma. It's really tough to decide how you should proceed. If you send the ???deficiency letter' as mentioned by Virginia Legal Defense (Dan), you risk the chance of receiving more aggressive calls. I really doubt if these people know what the right process of validation is!

Have you tried to settle the account with OC? Perhaps OC would help you in this matter. Keep us posted.

Thats the thing about it Stanley, I have wrote the original creditor and they said they are no longer 'servicing'my accounts. To talk to CAs.

Oh! Nothing is left for you but dealing with the CA!

As Virginia Legal has mentioned, the situation defines what you should do next. If the amount is affordable and it's far away from 7 year reporting time, you might like to pay it.

If the debt is past SOL and going to get off very soon, there is no reason to disturb the system. However, if you are planning to apply for a mortgage or any other loan, you might want to achieve a good score. In that case, you can consider paying old bills also. But you should think again and again before taking any decision.

And never pay without making an agreement. I think you know it very well Shirley ;)

I would like to know exactly how paying an old debt affects your credit score. Does it depend on the amount of the debt, how old it is, or does it not matter at all? I want to know if it is really worth paying something that is out of the SOL if I can pay it in one payment. I hate that there is some "magic formula" that the credit bureaus have that we don't really know about. I do want to pay all my debt, trust me, but I want to know what to concentrate on. As I understand it, as collection accounts get older, they don't count against you as much in the calculation of your credit score. Isn't this weird? I have read this in several places. It doesn't really encourage me to pay anything. Any ideas? Sorry guys, I'm just rambling, I've been eating, sleeping, and dreaming credit repair for the past few weeks and it's driving me crazy!!!

~Mary :)

IMO, paying old debts affect credit score. Hope you know the SOL story. By paying a past SOL debt you risk the chance of restarting the clock. However, if you pay it in full with one installment, it doesn't matter if SOL is live or not.

Now if you pay an account that is about to go off your credit file, chances are you will not notice any improvement in your score. Score is determined depending upon the data in your credit report. It does not count the accounts that are not in your report any more.

I encourage your idea of paying all your bills. But as I said above, not all the payments influence your credit score.

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Also, emailed Dell. Finally found an email on line to write them at. Was hoping to get more info than when I wrote them. They came back saying the same thing, that they can't give me any info because they are no longer servicing my account. They gave me this number to 'their' collection agency... 631-470-9800. Was hoping to find a name to go with the number. The last I heard, it was 'encore' that had this account. I could only get this out of them on ONE account. don't know anything about the other three but I believe they have been sold. thanks, shirley

Hey Stan,

I am pretty much aware of how the SOL works. However, I have heard conflicting ideas on it. Some people have said that paying an old debt in one payment will definitely not start the clock over, and it will still leave the report at the 7 year mark. However, some people have said that if you make just one payment, even if it is the whole amount, the clock starts over. This worries me and does not encourage me to pay my debts off. I hate that credit is the main way to determine somebody's financial state, and yet we aren't allowed to know how it is calculated. That just bothers me and I don't think it's right. Just my opinion though!

~Mary :)

Mary,

There are two different items mixed in your post-

1. SOL (nothing to do with credit report)
2. 7 year reporting time

SOL restarts if you pay a single dime to your account. But if you pay a charged-off account in full with one installment, it will leave your report at 7 year mark as usual.

Oh yeah, duh, I didn't mean to mention the SOL. That I understand completely. I was talking entirely about the 7 year reporting period :)

~Mary

I sent a debt validation request asking for the following:
What I need you to provide as the debt validation:
??? What the money you say I owe is for;
??? Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe;
??? Provide me with copies of any papers that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe;
??? Provide verification or copy of any judgment if applicable;
??? Identify the original creditor;
??? Prove the Statue of Limitations has not expired on this account;
??? Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state;
??? Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent;
??? 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.
??? Complete payment history, starting with 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 Wilbur, USCA-02-C-0072, 7th Circuit Court, Sept 2004.
??? Copy of the original signed loan agreement. (My contract with the original creditor establishing the debt between us.) This is also basic contract law.
And I sent this on Nov 20 (date I wrote up letter). They probably received it about 5 days after this. So they did send me a copy of my signed contract but that's it. They are telling me I owe $280. This is no big deal, but I thought I had this paid off. I want to see a copy of my payments. Is a copy of a signed contract all they need to have proof of my debt? How do they have proof that I still owe money? If this is the case, can't just anyone claim you still owe them money and send your account to anyone for any amount? Please advise what I should do next. Should I send them the request for more information again (just like what is suggested above)? Thanks for any help.

And I also forgot to mention that I just receive this information yesterday (2/23) in the mail. Don't they have 30 days to validate debt?

mindyd,

Yes, they should have sent the validation within 30 days of receiving your letter. However, since you have not taken any action against them and have already received their letter, you can proceed with that.

Since the letter they have sent does not meet the guideline of proper debt validation letter, you can send another letter to them mentioning exactly what info you are looking for. See the post of Virginia-Legal-Defense; it has stated much on this topic.

IMO, you can also add one paragraph in the letter that you also dispute the debt amount. You have 30 days in your hand to send the letter. Browse this forum and collect the suitable template of letter and send it through CMRRR.

while I am sitting here answering questions in the forum, I am also writing Dell Financial and Wells Fargo (original creditors) both letters AGAIN asking for info on who exactly is holding these accounts, and if any have been sold or if they are still intact. After this, I am sending a THIRD letter to the collection agencies that I LAST heard from on these accounts. The ones I have already asked for validation twice from and have heard nothing. I am tired of collection agencies NOT talking and original creditors telling me to talk to collection agencies. what does that leave me to do? So for purposes of my paper trail and more proof that I am TRYING to take care of these debts, its time for more letters to go out. :D shirley

Shirley,

There is no reason for this collection account to stay in your report. If they do not respond to your third letter, send all the copies of your correspondence to bureau and get it removed. State clearly that this CA could not respond to your query. So this account should be removed from your credit file.

I feel your disappointment???.let's hope for the best.