Collection agency handing the account back to the creditor
Date: Tue, 03/11/2008 - 16:39
So, thinking I had no choice put to pay even though I never opened an account with them to my knowledge, I agreed to make the most payment I could (which wasn't much, despite them demanding a minimum payment of at least $4000, I was living on student loans and a part-time student job). I sent them $100, which was a lot at the time, to show what I felt was good faith in working with them to try to work out a repayment schedule with them (despite the formidable scale of the debt). However, they kept calling constantly, several times a day, they cashed the checks I sent, and kept calling constantly. I eventually got them to agree to stop accruing interest and penalties, the only concession I was able to get after sending them several hundred dollars in payments, almost everything I was making in my student job and scrimping and saving. They kept calling, and demanding more money and immediately. In desperation, to stop the calls I had my phone number changed.
I continued on with my education, through my bachelor's degree and graduate school. I always thought about that debt with the credit card company, but I never was able to get any kind of job that could repay the large four-figure lump sum they demanded to settle the matter.
Eventually, last fall I got a collection letter from portfolio recovery associates demanding payment on the matter. I couldn't pay the amount they demanded, and in the intervening years I had learned a lot more about the law and how credit works. I realized that the statute of limitations had expired, it had been well over the five years required by the laws of my state for a revolving account that I had last sent them money, and it was within a month or two of dropping off my credit report.
I sent a debt validation letter to the collection agency. Since I knew the account had passed the statute of limitations a couple of years ago, and I checked my credit reports and now it's even off my reports, I knew that they couldn't validate the debt.
Well, they didn't even try to validate the debt, and I never heard another word from Portfolio Recovery Associates.
Then a few months later I start getting collection letters from the original bank that issued the credit card. They are all collection letters demanding payment in full over a few payments, or offering the ability to repay "only" 75% of it if I pay it in one lump sum, none of which are within my means (and since the SOL has expired and it's off my report, it appears moot to repay it, especially since I sincerely don't remember opening the account anyway and think it was identity theft).
They call me every day, sometimes even twice a day, demanding payment. They just plain won't leave me alone, and as I understand it that since the SOL has run out and it's off my credit report after 7 years, there is pretty much nothing they can do other than to send collection letters and keep calling me, but can I get them to stop doing that?
As I understand it, the fdcpa only applies to collection agencies, not the original creditor, so I can't use that, but can they just keep pestering me indefinitely over a debt that I couldn't pay if I wanted and they can't force me to pay by legal means?
Is there any means I can use to make the bank stop calling me constantly? I didn't open the account, I couldn't pay the huge sum they are demanding, and the account has had the SOL expire and be off my credit report. If, I actually remembered creating the account and running up the debt, and had the means to pay it would be one thing, but right now I just want them to stop calling me
Wow!
Silverstaff,
That was a very interesting story, thanks for sharing it. I'm glad you know more about the fdcpa now than you did back then.
You are absolutely correct, though, in that the FDCPA doesn't cover original creditors (OC); however, your state should have laws that protect you from them. What state are you located in?
I'm wondering, though, if you should still follow up on the identity theft angle though. If you honestly don't remember opening the account, and the circumstances behind it seem suspicious, maybe you still should. I don't know if there is a statute of limitations regarding the reporting of identity theft, though. Hopefully someone a little more "in the know" about such things will be along to offer guidance. Although, if it's past the SOL and it's not on your credit report, you wouldn't want to stir the pot and have the OC place it back on your credit report.
Still, you might also want to keep a close eye on your credit report and make sure the OC doesn't attempt to "slip" it back on there anyway. Just a thought.
I just spoke to a police officer I know, as far as he knows ther
I just spoke to a police officer I know, as far as he knows there is no time period in which to file a ID theft complaint. I was told to tell you to contact either you city police dept. or local state police detachment to file the complaint.
Thanks
Thanks JCEMT, good information to know.
In your opinion, should an identity theft complaint even be filed? The debt is definitely past the SOL and it isn't showing on his CR. I would be afraid the OC would try and bring up the fact he made payments to the CA way back when, and claim he already acknowledged the debt was his by doing so. I wouldn't want him to get caught up in a quagmire by opening the door and filing an identity theft complaint.
Personally, I would just send the OC a letter telling them to go jump in a lake, but not sure if that would be a great move either.
ok, the fact that this is the OC does not change everything. Of
ok, the fact that this is the OC does not change everything. Of course, the fdcpa does not apply. However, there are still consumer protection laws out there. You should check with your state's laws. Some places have laws that allow you to tell the OC in writing not to contact you at all and they must abide by that. I would do some checking, and then based on what you find, I would send them a certified letter telling them that they are to immediately cease all contact with you regarding this matter. Tell them that the statute of limitations is well expired by now, and that this matter is closed.
debt
If a SOL has NOT expired, on a debt ( something on my Credit Report), and a CA took over the account from the OC, can the CA STILL 'sell' the account back to the OC? I never heard of that happpeneing..whether the SOL ran out or not...wow!! Can this happen in ANY state?
debts can be freely bought and sold, yes. I dont think there is
debts can be freely bought and sold, yes. I dont think there is a limitation on who can buy it, as long as the company is within the industry.
The ID theft complaint should still be filed because a felony ha
The ID theft complaint should still be filed because a felony has happened. There is a person out there that may still have the original poster's information.
--I didn't remember ever having a credit card with them, or anyb
--I didn't remember ever having a credit card with them, or anybody else--
So we're supposed to believe you've developed Alzheimer's as a college student? We deal with your ilk all the time and know how FOS you are. Do you wanna be a deadbeat your whole life? Why not just pay up?
As for what state I'm in for purposes of local laws, I'm in Kent
As for what state I'm in for purposes of local laws, I'm in Kentucky.
I'm very wary of how to proceed, because as was said, I don't want the bank to try to use me raising a ruckus over this to remind them to slip this back on my credit report or to try to use against me the fact that 8 years ago when I was young and naive I paid a few hundred dollars towards it not knowing I had any other choice.
Right now, it's not on my credit report, the SOL has expired, and if First Financial Bank would just leave me alone the whole matter would be over. I'm not too horribly concerned about the possibility of the person who opened this account doing it again. If the person who created the account still has my information after 11 years (one thing I found out when first confronted with this years ago was when the account was opened, and it was in 1997), they haven't used it so they probably don't have that information anymore.
From what I've tried to search for on identity theft laws in Kentucky, our legislature recently passed a bill specifically criminalizing it and updating/modernizing credit card fraud laws, but the criminal SOL was set at five years after the victim first discovers the theft, and it's been more than five years since I first heard about a credit card I didn't take out, so that may be moot too.
Wouldn't hurt to file none the less so there is written record w
Wouldn't hurt to file none the less so there is written record with local law enforcement.
Ouch!
Silverstaff,
Man, I spent two hours today going through the Kentucky laws on the Internet, and my head is killing me. I had to take a nap after. I couldn't find anything on the books that covered consumers against collection practices carried on by OC's. I have a friend that is from KY, and her family still lives there, I'm going to ask her if she knows of anything. Maybe I missed something.
I think it's interesting to note, however, I did find a law on the KY books that covered what foods can be labeled as "kosher" and what can't. Funny, the state's more worried about kosher foods than protecting its consumers? If I were you, I'd start making some noise to my elected state representatives about passing some laws to protect consumers from OC's collection tactics. Speaking from personal experience, I've had a problem in the past with an OC being as crooked and shady as the worse crooked CA. GE Money Bank, a Sam's Club credit card, filled up my voice mail at work last year with messages. I was out on a medical STD at the time and the OGM on my voice mail clearly stated that. I called them and told them to stop and they advised the would continue calling and there was nothing I could do about it.
Of course, this was before I learned that Florida had laws on the books to protect consumers from OC's and their collection shenanigans. It reads just about verbatim to the fdcpa.
As for what to do, I am honestly stumped. I see JCEMT's point about filing a complaint of identity theft with the authorities, but at this point I would think it would do more harm than good. Also, I did see a law in KY that gave a SOL on filing identity theft complaints. I think the SOL was 5 years, can't really remember exactly, though. And if that is the case, your situation is definitely outside of the SOL.
Hopefully we can get some other people with opinions on this to weigh in. Maybe someone in KY can offer advice?
Yeah, Kentucky has some odd laws, that's to be sure. For exampl
Yeah, Kentucky has some odd laws, that's to be sure. For example, we have very strict rules in our state Constitution against dueling, and yeah, that SoL is five years from the date you learn of the violation, I'd post a link to the official copy of the KRS but apparently the board software won't let me post links.
In terms of local politics, they are a disaster and it is more centered around balancing the state budget, fighting over legalizing gambling of a kind I can't post about on this board (I tried and it said a certain six letter word beginning with "c" is bad here for some reason), and tinkering around with how standardized testing in our school systems is set up.
So, unless somebody pulls something out of nowhere, it's unlikely I have any legal means to make them stop calling me constantly. What is very funny is this all happened after I made a DV request to a collection agency, so you'd think that since the collection agency couldn't validate the debt on the grounds the SoL expired, they would know that there would be no point in trying to collect, but they keep wasting postage on collection letters demanding payment in full over a few monthly payments, or their idea of a deal, which is to repay about 75% of the balance if I pay in one lump sum, and to keep calling me several times a day demanding payment.