Asset Acceptance LLC complaints: How to deal with the CA

I just got a letter from asset acceptance llc that states that I owed $491.95 to an unspecified creditor.

This is the first correspondance I have recieved form them yesterday. (5-22-06). I have never heard of the collection agency and thought it would be fraudulent because I recently applied for a signature loan at my credit union and they ran a cr and nothing from this company or the uncpecified creditor was showing up and nothing in this exact amount(495.91). So, I am thinking about tossing the letter.
Contacting them will give them necessary information (i.e. a return adress and will open the door to other personal information they will need to raid my account, obtain my credit information, seize whatever assets I have). I DO NOT OWE THIS MONEY. Why do I need to inform them of that? What if they take the next step and start reporting to the bureaus ? It could take weeks To resolve a negative mark! I have read all of the forum entries gleaning what solace and information I can-- assuming that each post will help new victims, like myself, arm themsleves with all the information they need to fight this company or at least expedite the bureacratic process of clearing up the damage caused. But, I don't have weeks, and I can't afford a lawyer. Is just ignoring it an option?(maybe a wait-and-see stance?)Or do I need to be preemptive and send letter and make phone calls and get verification and seek legal counsel. Does it make sense to do that for something that has nothing to do with me? What's your best advice on how to proceed? And what is the adress of the attourney General mentioned earlier. (Mike Cox/attourney general --Michigan)

Hi cajam071

The federal authorities have numerous complaints against Asset Acceptance. If you do not respond to them, they will possibly take the matter to the court and try to prove that you were escaping from paying this account. Summons might be served in your name and you will fall short of documentation that could have proven your side of the story.

In case, you do not appear in the court, the judge will think that you are showing your avoidance towards a legitimate debt and issue a judgment against you. I will insist you to do everything you can prove to fight with this company. Be aware of your legal rights so that you don't get victimized.

Send all your letters through certified mail with return receipt requested. This proves that you wanted to get the details of the debt and the company failed to verify it. Ultimately, you need to have your basis covered while dealing with one of the worst collection agency around.

These SOB's are after me for an account that is not mine. I was a victim of identity theft a few years ago. I thought I had it settled, but then Asset Acceptance, LLC shows up on my credit report. They refuse to provide me with proof that this account is mine, and they can't even get their lies straight on all three of my credit reports. So I am going to sue them.

And Jay sounds like he works for them. Beware, Asset Acceptance, LLC trolls around these sites and they do post in their behalf. They are that sneaky.

They are crooks, they are liars and they are very tricky. Everyone should sue them.

I received a phone call from asset acceptence on a credit card balance I had defaulted on 14 and a half years ago. The yasked that I pay at least half of it in order to start a payment plan. In the meantime, they have already sent garnishment papers to my employer. Dont you think I should have had certified mail or something indicating their actions? I offered immediately over the phone to set up an instant payment and continued payments, but the said it was too late. I dont want to be garnished. Any steps I can take? And soon?

Under the laws, wages cannot be garnished without a court hearing. Legal summons must be served to you 20 days before you show your appearance. Check your local county if legal papers have been filed against you. Some companies use fake papers giving it a legal shape. Also, check the latest copy of your credit report for a legal garnishment. Let us know so that we can move further from that point.

BE AWARE Asset Acceptance sends false summons to appear in court. They have been caught doing this several times. They also file false 1099's with the IRS and they are now being investigated for this. Use extreme caution when dealing with them.

This company has a P.O. Box address:
asset acceptance llc
P.O. Box 2036
Warren, MI 48090-2036

They also have their physical address:
Deb Everly @
Asset Acceptance LLC
28405 VanDyke Ave
Warren, MI 48093

If you write a dispute letter to this company, they will not give you the information you request (original creditor), they will simply send you a "generated" letter stating that they will give you 30 days to respond to their request.

This Limited Liability Corporation is a valid company however, they do not seek to help those of us who dispute the valitity of the debt in any way.

The minute you set up "any" type of payment with them, even if it's a dollar a month, they can come after full force. In essance you've accepted the debt as yours and that gives them free reign under the Fair Debt Practices Act to come at you with everything they've got.

For those of us who have placed fraud alerts, the company will simply send you a letter requesting that you send them the following information.
A letter from the original creditor stating the account is fraud. (if you don't know who the original creditor is, because Asset Acceptance refused to give you this infrormation, it can be a very daunting and time consuming task).

A copy of a police report stating fraud or ID theft. (for those of us with children who share the same name with no Sr. or Jr. after it, and the child has access to our SS #'s because of military id, this too is and impossible task).

A noarized farud afidavit, which must be (per Asset Acceptance LLC)to be only obtained from the FTC.

A copy of the Credit Bureau Fraud Alert stating the tradeline will not be reported dut to fraud.

This company purchases old and outstanding debts from other companies (for pennies on the dollar I might add) and then goes after the debtor....they couldn't care less if the debtor has had their accounts flagged with fraud alerts....they fully expect you to spend countless hours and money getting them the information...all the while continuing to threaten and harrass you.

I wish all who have dealings with this company the best of luck.

They were harrassing me a couple years ago about a 10 or 12 year old credit card charge off. I researched the Fair Debt laws, sent the letters requesting verification (which I never received, thirty days later wrote & told them to never contact me about the debt again. The past couple weeks I have been getting messages on my phone from them...won't call them back, but am expecting another collection letter any day....I know I don't have any current past due accounts, so this is probably the same old stuff.

PPP, the statutes have already expired on this account. So you can use the legal methods while dealing with Asset Acceptance. Under the federal laws, the company must give you the details of the debt in writing. Check your mail if they have sent you anything. Then, you can notify them about the expiry of the SOL. Send your letter through certified mail with return receipt requested. Some CAs try to file a case against the consumers who do not reply them. Since you are aware of owing them nothing, they will try to prove your ignorance in the court. Later, the judge can force you to pay this account. Keep letters documented so that you have covered your legal basis and take care of the matter within the legal norms.

Justme...Thanks for the vote of confidence. I hope they don't send me anymore collections letters, it is so stressful to have to deal with them or any collection agency. During this same time period I also received the same type of letters from Genesis Financial Solutions out of Oregan, sent the same letters to them and so far they have not attempted to contact me again. Maybe they sold to Asset. I am so glad I found this site.......

:lol:

Apply the same legal methods on Genesis Financial Solutions by asking for debt validation and later notify them about the expiry of SOL. Do not make any payment unless you have verified it and want to pay it off. Put your queries here in case you have doubts but don't make a wrong move.

When you have a debt that is past the Statute of Limitations for your state and you receive a letter from any Collection company send them a certified letter stating that the debt is past the statute of limitation and that you have verified the statute (they will tell you that the law was changed or does not apply to this situation, demand proof of these facts) with your state's Attorney General's Office.

Inform them that you are demanding that they cease all contact, unless they are telling you that they have stopped all activities, and if they contact you or put anything on your Credit Report you will file legal actions against them.

Also if you get a phone call once they ID themself as a collection agent advise them that you will begin recording the conversation. You can actually record it or not, the agent will probaly say that s/he refuses to be recorder, I used to ask "Why are you going to lie or break the law?" They will not talk to you on record so just tell them that you will not talk unless it is recorded. They will give up and hang up.

Last week my fiance got a call from Asset about a supposed debt from Bally's fitness. He was a former member in 1997. In December of 1997 he cancelled his membership throught the manager of the location he attended and was told the contract would be voided and no additional money would be owed. In the conversation we had last night with Asset, my fiance was told that in 2000 Asset bought his debt. They have never contacted us by either phone or mail regarding this in all these years. This is the first that we have ever heard about any monies being owed. I have already contacted a lawyer that I used to work for who is preparing a letter regarding validating the debt. We were told by Asset that we had to produce the paperwork cancelling the membership, which of course, after almost 10 years we do not have. Also, this has never been reported to any of the three credit agencies. Needless to say, we are absolutely not going to pay a single dime to these people. I just wonder how these people can contact you about a supposed debt that you owe after 8 years? He still has not received anything in the mail from this company even though the 5 days in which they are legally required to notify you in writing after initial contact has passed. We don't even know any account numbers or how much this is for. Should I go ahead and send the letter asking for validation of debt or wait for the correspondence that they are required to send to him?

ballydebt, this was my response to you in the previous thread.

Quote:

Like many of you, I have been dealing with asset accetance, and never even questioned the fact that I owe on two old credit card bills....no matter how old, I really did want to pay them, in our area, oldsmar, florida, an affluent zip code had made them come at me pretty hard. I agreed to 50 dollars a month, sending them eighteen payments, when my car broke down and I missed a couple of payments. and asset acceptance immediately garnished my wages. What I am confused about is that....most of the money I sent this last year....seems missing. And in the garnishment, they are asking for the exact amount I started at..... I am very poor, even though I live in a high income area...and 30 percent of my pay being garnished left me and my disabled husband devasted....however, asset acceptance has agreed to make the final judgement...20 dollars a pay....but I am still confused has to how they can do this...thank you, any advice will be well received...teri

Teri, I am sorry to hear about your situation. Asset Acceptance is wrong in not posting your payments towards your account. It needs to be straightened out. Talk to a lawyer who will assist you in this regard. You also need to check the latest statement of your debt account. You might have already paid the full amount by now. The lawyer will contact the company and get into the depth of this problem. You can also talk to a debt counselor. Register in this site and someone will call you back for a free counseling.

I am still getting at least two messages a week left on my machine...one of those recordings to call their 800#. How long will they keep up the phone calls before I start receiving letters demanding payment? Can they contact me about the accounts that they refused to verify information and I sent certified letter to not contact me again. Maybe it belongs to a relative who uses my phone number...because it has been unpublished for years.

I am still getting at least two messages a week left on my machine...one of those recordings to call their 800#. How long will they keep up the phone calls before I start receiving letters demanding payment? Can they contact me about the accounts that they refused to verify information and I sent certified letter to not contact me again. Maybe it belongs to a relative who uses my phone number...because it has been unpublished for years.

PPP, send a cease and desist letter to the company and attach a note to be communicated through mail only if it has a legitimate reason.

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/template-cdletter.html

They must stop calling you after receiving your cease and desist letter. If they still contact, it will be violation of the cease and desist rule. You can take them to the court for each violation.

Wow, do these jerks have even 1 valid account??

These stories are the same as mine only I was dealing with COLLECTCORP. Still dont know how this is legal....

I attended a hearing today concerning Asset Acceptence and garnishing my pay; the judge claims that since they have made a few attempts by mail to notify me (which I do not have...but they have submiteed copies) they are within their rights to garish. I am to seek an attorney and retuen to court in two weeks. Any suggestions?

I owed money I charged from a Visa account 6 years ago. Now Credit Acceptance has the account. It seems the put a new date on the debt to make like it is fresh debt. And also the debt was org for 204.00 now because of late fee's it 811.00 is this ok for the to do?????

Karla, check the laws of your state for the collection fees a company can add. You are required to pay only within the permissible rates fixed as per your state regulations. More information is available with the attorney general of your state.

Remember to check the SOL of this debt account. If the date of last payment done is past the statutes of your state, you are not legally required to pay anything.

> This has also been submitted to the Federal Trade Commission, however
> according to their response they only take complaints they do not take
> action. Every day I fax these people, (Diamond Troutman and Debbie
> Baker) with no response.
>
> I checked my credit and asset
> acceptance showed
> up on it. I contacted them and paid my bill online for settlement
> amount 555.78 via
> paymybill.com, two days later she (Diamond Troutman) contacted me
> demanding
> more money (she threatened to garnish wages and to send me to her
> legal department
> saying that she wanted the full amount), we settled on an additional
> 444.00 I paid this
> that day 06/08/2006 have copy of bank check to prove it, paid via ACH
> check # 9000
> and the account would be paid in full (both Diamond Troutman and her
> manager
> Debbie Baker were on the phone when the agreement was made), I asked
> for a fax to
> confirm the deal which I did receive, now my credit report shows this
> is still open and I
> owe $200 and company will not respond to me in writing per my request.
> Diamond
> Troutman yelled and carried on and was uncivil, I asked for phone
> records to be pulled
> when talking to her manager, she verbally told me she was going to
> screw me and keep
> this on my credit report and send me to legal if I didn??t pay them. I
> did pay them, have
> faxes and bank documents and receipts from paymybill.com and check #
> 9000 to prove
> this. However, they are now messing with me further. We settled and
> the bill was to be
> paid in full, I have disputed with all three credit bureaus and Asset
> Acceptance is lying
> about the status and the agreement that was made. They also said they
> contacted me a
> number of times via mail and they did not, I asked for proof of this
> and they could not
> furnish it. Diamond Troutman??s manager is Denise Baker which I talked
> with on
> 06/08/2006; I have all the proof of the agreement and the payments and
> can fax them.
> This is being reported inaccurately on my credit reports (all of
> them), showing that I
> owe a remaining $200 under late payments and balance due. Charge off
> was agreed to
> be marked off and account was supposed to show being paid in full.
> This company continues to try and extort money out of me. I have went
> to all three bureau??s separately and they only update according to the
> information coming from Asset Acceptance. PLEASE HELP!

I still have not received the legally required correspondence from Asset that is due to me 5 days after initial contact that informs me of the account number, how much is supposedly owed, or any of the other legal jargon that is required. I have checked the credit bureaus and as of yet have not reported anything from Asset. It has been a month since the first time they contacted us and have now started calling again (though they call an old residence of my fiance's and were very rude when told that he does not live there anymore). Should I go ahead and send a debt validation letter though I have no idea of the amount owed, account numbers, or even what office they are contacting us from?

Quote:

Hi K Smith!

I have 3 words for you:

1. Sue
2. them
3. now!

-Sue Asset for FCRA violation of reporting innacurate info on your CR. You can't collect any money for this, but it's worth it.

-Do a separate petition (suit) for their fdcpa violations where they threatened to garnish your wages. And don't accept anything less than $1000 so you can get your money back.

-Do a separate suit for attempting to extort more money from you.

Sue them in a federal court nearest your home. But first, learn the FDCPA and how to draft a petition (your paperwork for your lawsuit). Don't let these idiots mess you around like this. This is completely illegal. The first thing you want to do is fax them a cease and decist letter. If you want one, PM me and I will type you up a mock one right quick.

The debt is from 1997 and I live in Ohio. I already checked the statute of limitations and it is 15 yrs. Unfortunately, my fiance cancelled this membership so long ago and never heard anything about it, that we no longer have the paperwork. I mean, you don't even have to keep check stubs that long! I went ahead and decided to send a letter to their corporate office and the office in Brooklyn Heights Ohio (via fax and certified mail). I just want to make sure that we are doing what we need to do to help our situation. I appreciate any help and/or knowledge that anyone gives me.

Yeah, what demoncasterouter said!!!!

Nail em! I wish I had known about my rights when I got frauded out.

does anyone know this # 877-541-4004

I called the number but didn't get the name of the company. Maybe, you can give a call.

this company bought my old account from montgomery wards which was back in 1985. i have not used this account since 1992 or 1993. now they are trying to collect $4,000. i can not find any information on this old account. i have 21 days to answer. what should i do?

Pac, I am sure if you have not done any payment, this debt is past the SOL period. This is an age old debt and the collector is trying for a small payment so that the SOL can be renewed. Do not pay anything if you have not done so. Besides, this account should not be reported in your credit file at this stage. You can escape this debt in legal terms. If you make a payment, the account will not only come within legal collections but it will also appear in your credit report.

Ask the collection agency to validate the debt and then you can notify them in writing about the expiry of SOL. Confirm the date of last activity on this account and the SOL period in your state. Send your letter through certified mail with return receipt requested and keep a copy in your file. This is the legal way to handle this matter.

just me says to send a cease and desist letter to the company and attach a note to be communicated through mail only if it has a legitimate reason. They must stop calling you after receiving your cease and desist letter. If they still contact, it will be violation of the cease and desist rule. You can take them to the court for each violation.

I don't have an address because I refuse to call them back. And I don't answer my phone and tell my kids not to answer it either, thats what caller id and answering machines are for......I do post fraud alerts on all three credit bureaus and also check my credit report at least twice a year....so far, so good.

I had an account from 1983 with a Bank one visa. Accet Acceptance purchased the debt. Here we are in 2006 and I have recieved a copy of my credit report and they have created a false history with them. The history shows payments being made on time and then 30,60,90,120 days late. It is different with each credit reporting agency. There has been no activity since probably 1987. What can i do. The agencys said unless they request it to be removed they will not take it off.

Bradleybuilt, your credit is wrong reported with this negative information. You need to dispute the item with the bureau keeping in mind that the last payment was perhaps in 1987. this account is also past the 7 years reporting period. So, unless you make a payment in the recent times, it must not have appeared in your file. This actually happened due to the fraudulent reporting of Asset Acceptance. If they are keeping it intentionally, it must be immediately removed. Send your dispute copy to the CRA also.

I also received a call from # 877-541-4004 which I haven't found what company it's for. All I know is they were very rude when the person they were looking didn't even live here. They call me constantly, and I'm in the "Do not call" anti-advertising service. I hope they can do something about these people. Anyone with luck on who these people are, please let me know.

1. I finally got Asset deleted from CR after 5 yrs trying. They were claiming a balance for something Household wrote off long ago. If I understand Roxette it can not go back on now. Anyway the 7 yrs is up in Mar 07.
2.My car dispute is off and they wrote off 12K. I wrote the CA a C&D letter. If I pay the full 12K even though it is past SOL and off credit report, will it go back on? I want to do the right thing now, but dont want to screw my credit for 7 years. I am just afraid since it was secured loan they could sue me?
3. I have inquiries from a Mercantile Adj Bureau and two others, I have sent letters too, with no response. How do i proceed now. This is the last remaining items that are bad. If they are inquiries for debts over 7 years old should they not come off?

Thanks for any and all responses if possible.

PS. - Hang in there folks, I had 50K debt and 35 negative entries and not am down to only 1 black mark

So I am reading all of the complaints against Asset Acceptance & realize that I may have been suckered into something now. My deal is, I had a bad mark on my credit score due to a overdue credit card from my mother's account. I was only an "Authorized Signer," but they had me listed as a "Joint." I helped my mom pay off the account, thinking it would improve my credit score. Come to find out that it will only hurt it. Is there any way that I can take this off my credit report (Derogatory Items)? I need this removed to move forward in purchasing a home. HELP!!

Stuck

I wonder if you will be able to remove accurate negative items from your credit report before the seven years reporting period. If they are posted with inaccurate information, you have the legal rights to dispute it and get the incorrect items removed. Read some more about this in the FCRA laws.

http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/031224fcra.pdf

As a former employee of Asset Acceptance I will advise you to look uo the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act online and see exactly what your rights are.
the laws are designed for the debtor and they broke a whole lot of them regarding your situation. if you sue and win you could get a lot more thatn $700 + dollars. Do some home dude it will be worth it.

I got a phone call last week from a "collection agency" claiming I owed an amount of money for a past due account. They wouldn't tell me how much it was for, and said the name and address of who I owe this money would not show up on the debt letter because of privacy issues. However, I NEVER HAD A CHARGE ACCOUNT with the so-called company I "owe". I talked to a Chris Matthews, and he said this is past due by 8 years. How can I owe this when I never even had a charge account with this company? I got this letter today (9/8) and it says I need to either pay in full or give them phone numbers to call me at to make payment arrangements. How can they say I owe for something I never had to begin with?

Terrence

So Terrence, let me see if I got this right...they won't tell you how much you supposedly owe, and won't tell you who supposedly owe this to! Is that right? I don't understand why you just don't send them a blank check(just kidding)! On a serious note now, you don't who this collection agency is? I guess maybe you should check you credit reports to see if there is anything there. You can't really send a debt validation letter if you don't know who you are dealing with. Mostly, try not to worry about some jerk threatening you. Do you have the phone number that called you?

This is a very common scam that collection agencies pull.
Unfortunately they have you in their system and theres nothing you can do about it. Keep a close eye on your credit file because when you dont pay them whatever they want they will destroy your credit in hopes that you will give them money to fix it. If you dont pay them they will then sell your file to some other scam agency. You should put a fraud alert on your credit file ASAP.
I wouldnt be too worried about accual identity theft as it is probably the collector phishing around for someone who will bite.
I Wouldnt give them your name or any personal information under any circumstances and when they call again inform them that you will be filing a complaint - and make sure you accually file.

Terrance-send them a debt validation letter,this explains what that is at http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/validation.html also send a cease and desist letter that all communication be done by mail. Whatever you do,do not give them any money-it sounds like they are just fishing for info. Alo,if it was 8 years ago,it could well be out o fthe sol period.Keep us posted! :D ...Karen

Also meant to put this in for you to look at http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/statute-limitations.html hope this helps...Karen

I just put something on here about this company
after reading your story. They are a bunch of
scammers. Don't deal with them! When you have to
deal with them, make copies of your letters and
the FTC told me today to send everything certified
and make sure you get a return receipt. When I
sent a letter to them in March 2005 I got nothing
back until May 2006 saying they entered a judgment
against me in County Court. I wrote them back
explaining they never notified me of their intent to
file suit and that they had to provide a proof of
service. I haven't heard anything from them since,
but it's on my credit reports.

Asset Acceptance filed a small claims action against me for a debt that is almost 7 years old. As a matter of fact, the original creditor does not even show up on my credit report anymore. While researching the laws to respond to this action, I discovered that Arizona requires collection agencies to be licensed in this state when trying to collect a debt. Asset Acceptance is not a licensed collection agency in Arizona, therefore they have no jurisdictional standing to collect the debt. I have filed an answer and counterclaim against them. First, the statute of limitations for bring such a suit in Arizona is 3 years. Check your local state laws before paying any debt. They may try to sue you but if you respond that the statute of limitations is passed, you can get it dismissed. Second, I claimed that they violated te FCDRA by reporting different amounts to all three credit bureaus and then a different amount in the small claims action. I also claimed that they violated the FCDRA by contacting me twice at my place of employment after being instructed not to do so. Third, I also made the claim that they are not licensed in Arizona. We will see what happens. I am filing a complaint with the Department of Finance and the BBB today.

The first thing I would do when any collection agency contacts you is find out whether or not they are licensed in your state as a collection agency. If they are not, send them a letter in writing to that affect and then file a complaint. Maybe if enough of us get together and do this, we can put them out of business.

On a side note, I used this same type of pleading in a small claims action against Midland Credit and obtained a $1,000 judgment against them for violations of the FDCRA. Good luck to you all.