Collection Notice for 9 year old "Debt"
Date: Tue, 04/10/2007 - 17:16
I am so mad and upset I am shaking right now, and
need advice. I will try to make a long story short.
In 1997 I was divorced, and as a result of same,
filed for bankruptcy. After the divorce I moved out
of the country and did not return here until 2001.
Before I left I disconnected my phone service and had
all the utilities in the house taken out of my name.
It turns out that my ex-husband moved his girlfriend
into the house, and had the phone turned back on in
my name, since his credit was bad. He also had her
forge my name on documents to sell the house, but
that is another story.
Today I received a letter from a collection agency stating that the account with the phone company has been turned over to them for collection. They want $349.99. I asked the collection agency when this bill was from, they said 1998. I was not even in the country at this time, and told them so. They said it does not matter because the account was in my name in 1990, when it was first opened. I told them the Statute of Limitations in NJ (where I lived at the time) is six years for debt collection, and the man I spoke with told me that this is untrue, there is no time limit for collecting a debt.
He said basically the only way I can "get out of it" is to prove that I had listed this creditor on my bankruptcy petition. I checked the petition, the phone company is not there, because I had already had the phone disconnected by that time. I vaguely recall speaking to the phone company about this in 2001 (when I received letters regarding the $349) and asked them how I could possibly have made phone calls from New Jersey in 1998 when I was living overseas. They agreed it was not my debt and I never heard from them again.
I have all of my credit reports and nowhere does this debt from Verizon show up. My ex-huband fraudulently used my name to have the phone turned back on, and I no longer have any way of proving it.
What do I do now? I have waited ten years for the bankruptcy to come off of my credit history, and just when I am about to have a clean history, the horror of a bad marriage and bad time in my life is about to haunt me again. Please advise.
Sounds like your ex and his girlfriend could be for a world of t
Sounds like your ex and his girlfriend could be for a world of trouble by using and forging your name. My question is how long was it from the time you had your Verizon account disconnected and it was reconnected again (without your permission) in your name? And when you had it your name and then disconnected did you owe a balance.
Collection Notice for 9 year old "Debt"
Thank you for your quick reply. I don't know how long it was from the time I had the phone disconnected to the time it was reconnected again. I stood in divorce court to get away from him on August 6, 1997 and left the United States on August 8, 1997. I am forcing myself to remember things from 10 years ago now, things I never wanted to have to think about again, and I vaguely remember getting a final balance from the phone company and getting a money order to send to pay the bill, since he had cleaned out our checking and savings account.
IF in fact my memory is incorrect, why has this debt never shown up on any of my credit reports? I have them as far back as 2001? I can't imagine that Verizon is so benevolent that they would allow a debt to sit around for 9 years before they would turn it over to collection. I have been back and living in the same location since 2001, its not like they could not find me if they wanted to.
When the collection notice came today, it also was addressed to me in my "former" married name, a name I have not used since August, 1997.
I just don't know what to do. I do not know where my former husband is. I will do nothing that will put me in contact with him again. He was violent and abusive and I never, ever want to go there again.
Is there a 6 year statute of limitations on debt collection or not? I have read that there is on several websites regarding "zombie debt". It seems that if I were to pay the bill just to make this go away, even though I did not make this bill, it would make my credit report worse.
Please help.
All the SOL means is that they cannot sue you for it, but you st
All the SOL means is that they cannot sue you for it, but you still owe the debt if that makes any sense....
Since this is not your debt,don't waste your time with this. Go
Since this is not your debt,don't waste your time with this. Go to www.ftc.gov. Click on id theft and download id theft affidavit.Fill it out and make 6 notarized copies. Go to your local police station and get a report filled out for this account. Again you will need 6 copies. Mail one copy of police report and notarized affidavit to the following:
Original creditor,collector,and to the fraud department of each credit bureau.Keep that sixth copy in a safe place.Make sure you send everything certified return receipt. What you will be doing is activating the id theft provision of the Facta amendment of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Federal law requires debts to be removed from your name and supressed on credit reports because you do not own it.
I can't add anything further from what cajun said, but I would a
I can't add anything further from what cajun said, but I would also contact local law enforcement seeing that you know who did all this.
i have got to start reading thru these posts thoroughly ... but
i have got to start reading thru these posts thoroughly ... but below echoes cajun's advice
--------------------------
ok... u got screwed.. royally. but like one woman told me ... NOT MY DEBT, NOT PAYING IT. SHOW ME THE AGREEMENT FROM THE BEGINNING SAYING I ACTIVATED THIS SERVICE KNOWINGLY, AND EXPLAIN WHY I WOULD DO SUCH A THING .... i mean, considering u weren't here and u were divorced, and he did have another woman present... why did he use ur name (after all, ur divorced, not sharing info n/e more) so the way i look @ it... u don t owe them n/e thing... dispute the debt, by sending a written letter of dispute to the CA, original creditors, and all 3 CBR agencies...
i'm a stickler for covering the bases... and keep a copy of that letter 4 urself as well... and ur lawyer too... since after all, this is fraud, bottom line
Did the collection agency buy your account from Verizon? Either
Did the collection agency buy your account from Verizon? Either way, as suggested I would dispute the charges and ask them to send you an itemized invoice *from Verizon* showing that the debt had not been paid.
DON'T pay anything until you get something more detailed in writing. I believe if you were to pay now, it *would* show up in your credit report because then you would legally have an "open" account. (FICO experts correct me if I'm wrong). Keep disputing until they are actually able to show proof that you owe, not until you have proof that you don't!
I have a couple of legitimate debts to Verizon and they *do* show up on my credit report... surprised this has not turned up sooner on yours.
Good luck!
Collection Notice for 9 year old "Debt"
I thank everyone for responding to my questions. This morning I requested and printed out new copies of my credit reports, and there is nothing on any of them from Verizon, nor has there ever been (and I have copies of all my credit reports back to 2001). I also called Verizon, and spoke with a customer service rep there, and naturally they have no records. I was transferred to their Financial Services Dept. and the rather nasty man I spoke with there said they had in fact turned the matter over to Afni and they had no records, I would have to get all the information from Afni. I asked him if he was aware this bill was going on ten years old, and that the Statute of Limitations had run on it (6 years for NJ and 3 for Delaware) and he basically said, well that is just your word that the bill is ten years old, for all I know it could be two years old. I told that the bill was addressed to me with my former married name, which I have not used since taking back my own name in 1997 divorce proceedings. He just brushed me off.
The more I read about Afni on this site and on RipOffReport.Com the angrier I get. I tried calling my State Senator and got brushed off. I tried calling the Consumer Protection Divsion in the State Attorney General's Office here in Delaware and could only get voice mail. I even tried calling Bud Hibbs and that phone number was just busy, busy busy. It is just unbelievable that so many consumers are being scammed by these collection agencies and no state or federal agency seems to much care about it. So, I have written the following letter to the collection agency, and I will retain an attorney if I have to. I would appreciate any comments and suggestions on the following letter I have drafted to Afni, Inc.
Quote:
Account # Original Creditor: Verizon New Jersey Balance Due: $349.99 Disconnected Phone Number: ### ### ##### To Whom It May Concern: I am in receipt of your collection notice dated April 5, 2007 addressed to (my old name). I am writing this letter to dispute the validity of the above referenced debt with your account # **********. This is not my debt. At this time I request that you provide me with copies of the original documents as well as information concerning my legal obligation to pay this amount, the validity of the debt, the date of the last payment, and the dates of any and all telephone charges and calls that were made on this account for the time in question. Also, supply the date this bill was to be paid in full, and the Statute of Limitations status on this account. Once I have received the requested information, I will review this matter with my attorney. You are hereby requested to cease all efforts at collection of this account until you have provided me with these vital documents for my review. I am sending this letter in accordance with The Fair Debt & Collections Practices Act, Section 809, titled 1962 The Validation of Debts. In dispute is one or more of the following: 1. My legal obligation to pay 2. The amount of the debt; 3. The validity of the debt; 4. The date of the last payment; 5. The date the contract was to be paid in full; 6. The Statute of Limitations status on this account. I will also need a copy of your license to operate in the State of Delaware. All correspondence related to this matter has been saved and will be forwarded to both the State of Delaware and State of New Jersey Attorney General's Offices. Thank you for your cooperation. **** |
Again, to everyone that has taken the time to answer - Thank you very much. I appreciate you all trying to help with your good advice.
Collection Notice for 9 year old "Debt"
Uh, thanks for the suggestion fedupinPA, but considering the fact that I divorced him because he was extremely violent and physically abusive to me, the last thing in the world I want is for him to know where I am. I left the country for five years to basically hide from him. If he were to find me again, my life as I am enjoying it now would be over.
The collector might have told you "there's no time limit to coll
The collector might have told you "there's no time limit to collect" but there is if they want to sue you, and that's what the SOL is all about. I'd speak to an attorney though, because your situation sounds a little more involved than just a collector. ID Theft, fraud, forgery, etc.
Just did a quick lookup. Unfortunately the SOL might have run in
Just did a quick lookup. Unfortunately the SOL might have run in your state even for those criminal acts though. In NJ most are 5 to 7 years, except for murder, which has no SOL.
Past Stats-- go with C&D letter
As an agency guy I can't believe I am advocating this...but sending a cease and desist via certified mail is the best course of action. The agency is dealing with a small balance, relatively speaking, and there is not a lot of investment they want to put forward, aside from maybe a letter here and there. I didn't see a mention of phone calls from them, and maybe I missed it, but it isn't cost effective on a balance like that, unless they are a rinky dink agency and this is some sort of bread and butter for them. Being past the SOL has to do with legal action, as others have very correctly stated, and it cannot be done. If you send a cease and desist letter, registered mail to keep for your records, then you should be done with it and sweat it no more. If they contact you after that certified letter, then they are in violation of the law and you will have a case. I am not a lawyer, but I know a bit about how this works. I feel a bit like a turncoat, but your situation is very simply rectified. The agency I am with has much experience in collection past stat accounts, and I would bet that the agency you are dealing with would rather close it as a cease and desist then to have to answer your dispute anyway. Now, this invites responders here to tell you to make them respond, etc. That is just more work and hassle for you, and with the debt that old, it is not likely that it will again be sold, so your cease and desist might make it go away permanently. I don't know the agency you are dealing with, but if they violate the cease and desist, you could be awarded some cash. I was hesistant to say that, but I may as well be thorough.
Collectors--we aren't all so bad, some of us even pray and love our families. Good luck!
Sorry, did not know the details. Hope everything works out for y
Sorry, did not know the details. Hope everything works out for you.
That C&D letter you had there looked very good. It may be all yo
That C&D letter you had there looked very good. It may be all you need.
Collection Notice for 9 year old "Debt"
Hello Again:
Thanks for everyone's advice. I have one more question (for now). I sent the debt verification letter/request certified mail, return receipt requested to afni over a week ago. I have not gotten the "green card" back from them. What happens if they don't sign for the letter? What would I do next?
Hang on to your copy of the receipt where you sent it, then if y
Hang on to your copy of the receipt where you sent it, then if you need to go to court you have proof that you tried to get debt verification and your behind is covered!