No validation, but CA has reaged account on credit reports
Date: Wed, 06/13/2007 - 03:06
This alleged debt would be past SOL because it is not on my report. Besides the attorney letter, this is my only other contact with the CA:
http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/collection-agencies/confessdebt.html
MY MAIN QUESTION
Can this account be removed quickly from my report? I was recently denied an auto loan because of this, and the car I am trying to get has a rebate that expires in a few weeks.
LVNV Financial is the creditor.
hi... ok, here's the thing. First, the age of the debt has n
hi...
ok, here's the thing. First, the age of the debt has nothing to do with whether or not it was reported on your credit file. That amount of time is a different issue entirely. The "age" of a debt begins when you originally went delinquent on the account. This is important---at any time, if you made any payment on that account, the SOL starts over. If you went behind on it years ago and never made another payment, then the SOL could be an issue. What state are you in? Each state has different SOL laws.
About legality, you are correct in thinking that this is illegal. Once you request validation, a CA is not allowed to continue any collection efforts until that validation request is satisfied. They didnt validate, yet they continued to act. That is a direct violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, section 809:
"(b) If the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period described in subsection (a) that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, or that the consumer requests the name and address of the original creditor, the debt collector shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof, until the debt collector obtains verification of the debt or any copy of a judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy of such verification or judgment, or name and address of the original creditor, is mailed to the consumer by the debt collector."
Any action taken against you, such as a new report to the credit bureau, falls under "collection efforts". So, this is a violation. Consult your attorney about suing them. They are liable for up to $1000 per violation, plus any damages. Your attorney may choose to send them another letter immediately, stating that they have violated the fdcpa by reporting to the CB, and demanding immediate withdrawal of that entry from your credit report or you will sue them over it. That may be enough to get them to wake up and remove it. If not, however, then unfortunately there is not much else you can do to get it off your credit file quickly.
You may consider informing the bank where you are trying to get this loan through, of the situation. You may consider providing them documentation about your efforts and your attorney's involvement, just to show that this debt is being improperly put on you at this point. That sometimes is enough to sway the lender, it might work.
skydivr Thanks for the reply State AL Attorney confirmed t
skydivr Thanks for the reply
State AL Attorney confirmed that account, if it did exist, would be past SOL, 6 years.
I hope this answers your question. If such a debt did exist, it would be many years ago. What I am trying to say is that LVNV has opened a new account under my credit report and has listed the starting date as
May 2007, with a balance of several thousand dollars.
I just confirmed that the attorney letter was received by them within 30 days of the time I receiving their original correspondence.
it sounds like you did everything right. The CA, however, is in
it sounds like you did everything right. The CA, however, is in violation. You may want to search in here a bit for LVNV....I know others have had problems with them too.
this latest bentry on your credit file sounds like they reaged the debt--illegal. I would send them another letter right away, CMRR. Inform them that they have illegally re-aged a debt in an attempt to circumvent the statute of limitations. Tell them that you will proceed with filing suit immediately unless they remove the illegal entry from any and all credit bureaus. This is a direct violation of the fdcpa, and you should not stand for it. You may also mention that the SOL on this debt has officially expired, and they no longer have any legal means to force collection. For good measure, throw in a cease and desist demand as well. That will take away their only method of possibly getting any money out of this one since they cannot sue you anymore.
Got an Attorney
I have been having problems with lvnv,Weltman,Weinberg & Reis.I could not get validation from them even after I sent registered (2)request.There are questions of SOL,reaging, interest,fees on this account.My Attorney sent them a letter requesting validation.She also stated for them to stop calling me immediately.After they received her letter I'am still getting calls from them.Today she sent another letter registered.She cited violations in both of her letters of FDCPA.These people don't care about violations...they just keep on coming.These are truely "Bottom feeders"
Your attorney should file a complaint with the court then. She
Your attorney should file a complaint with the court then. She should sue for all the violations. If it is LVNV, then the alleged debt was purchased by them for pennies on the dollar.
karenr Each phone call is now a separate violation because of
karenr
Each phone call is now a separate violation because of your attorney's letter stating to stop calling.
Hi Karen-- There are several violations taking place here...
Hi Karen--
There are several violations taking place here...
1--continuing collection efforts despite the request for validation. This is prohibited by section 809(b) of the FDCPA:
Quote:
If the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period described in subsection (a) that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, or that the consumer requests the name and address of the original creditor, the debt collector shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof, until the debt collector obtains verification of the debt or any copy of a judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy of such verification or judgment, or name and address of the original creditor, is mailed to the consumer by the debt collector. |
This is because they did not validate the debt. They can legally not validate it, as long as they do not ever try to collect the debt again.
2--Repeated calls to you after a cease and desist notification has been received--section 805(c) of the FDCPA:
Quote:
(c) CEASING COMMUNICATION. If a consumer notifies a debt collector in writing that the consumer refuses to pay a debt or that the consumer wishes the debt collector to cease further communication with the consumer, the debt collector shall not communicate further with the consumer with respect to such debt, except -- (1) to advise the consumer that the debt collector's further efforts are being terminated; (2) to notify the consumer that the debt collector or creditor may invoke specified remedies which are ordinarily invoked by such debt collector or creditor; or (3) where applicable, to notify the consumer that the debt collector or creditor intends to invoke a specified remedy. If such notice from the consumer is made by mail, notification shall be complete upon receipt. |
Each time they call you, record the calls if it is permissable in your state. If you are not sure, we can tell you if your state allows one-party call recording or not. Every call after they have received this notification is a separate violation of the law. This will become important a little further down in this post.
3--Continuing to call you after they become aware that you have legal representation in this matter--Section 805 states that a debt collector may NOT call you:
Quote:
(2) if the debt collector knows the consumer is represented by an attorney with respect to such debt and has knowledge of, or can readily ascertain, such attorney's name and address, unless the attorney fails to respond within a reasonable period of time to a communication from the debt collector or unless the attorney consents to direct communication with the consumer |
Again, each call is a further violation of this statute as well.
It is good that you have an attorney, at this point you may just decide to proceed with a lawsuit. you certainly have enough to prove your case, as long as you have evidence of these events. Here's a tip, if you do not have any recorded telephone calls, you can get a subpoena through the court for the telephone company records. This will prove each and every telephone call made to your number, which will provide irrefutable evidence of their actions. Then again, since you have an attorney, you will already be in good shape when it comes to this. Now, the important part I mentioned earlier--every violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act carries with it a financial liability of up to $1000. This is money that the CA will be ordered to pay to you, not to the courts or the government. If there is any other info I can post up for you, let me know.