Would like to get some opinions on this one....
Date: Sun, 08/01/2010 - 15:56
OK, here goes...
Not too long back, I was contacted by a small-time debt collector in my state. This debt collector apparently specializes in the collection of medical bills. I was contacted and told that I had a $58 balance from last year, from a surgery that I had. Problem is, I didnt have any surgery, or in fact, any procedure/visit at all to the surgical center that they claimed I owed the money to. So, I sent a DV letter. Rather than validate the debt, they continued to call and send letters. I have on at least two occasions spoken to their collectors on the phone, and informed them each time that this debt was disputed in accordance with the FDCPA. And the calls continued...
One day, I got a call from them on my answering machine. I decided to call back again. So, I am talking to a guy named Jason, and he starts off right away, telling me that he's calling to collect on this same disputed debt. I inform him that his company is once again breaking federal law. He actually said this--he says "Look, we dont have ONE account for you, we have TWENTY accounts, how about that??" So, now, I told him, "It doesnt matter if you have one or a hundred, you are breaking the law if you call me about an account that has already been properly disputed..." His response--"you didnt let me finish, we have twenty accounts on you, I could have been calling about any of those....if you cant let me finish talking, how do you know why I am calling??" Now, at the start of this call, he verified my correct mailing address, and then immediately told me that he was calling about the disputed account before I spoke again. By the time this little tirade was over, he actually apologized to me for demanding payment on an account that he "now can see is disputed". But that mess of errors wasnt enough for him--he then tells me about a balance of nearly $300 that he now claims I owe from a hospital visit this past January. When I start asking what in the world this amount is for, he rattles off a mailing address that is about an hour from where I live--a place that I have never even been to, let alone lived at--and says "thats your address, isnt it?"
Remember now, less than 5 minutes before that, he verified my correct address on his computer.
By the time I got done ripping into him about his WAY obvious screwups, he mumbled, "I'm transferring you to a supervisor, hold on" and put me on hold. The supervisor claimed that because they received my dispute they never put these debts on my credit report. He also says that they dont have 20 accounts for me, and that the $300 debt was in fact not mine at all.
Up to this point, I have them on at least the following:
1--continued collection activity while ignoring DV letter
2--deceptive practices, in claiming that I owed on 20 accounts
3--deceptive practices, in claiming that he was allowed by law to start with the disputed debt and "work his way onto others" demanding payment
4--third party disclosure of protected information--he gave me someone else's complete address and attributed the $300 debt to that address
I need to mention that I have all of these conversations on tape.
I sent them an ITS letter. In this letter, I documented what has taken place. Word for word in this letter, I said this:
[SIZE=2][QUOTE]
As we speak, I am notifying the party at that address of your company's apparent careless attitude towards what is supposed to be private, protected information about them. They may choose to act upon your reckless and illegal third-party disclosure. I am also notifying
your client in this matter so that they will be aware of how your company has chosen to operate.
[/QUOTE]
I got a response from this CA's attorney. The attorney accused me of extortion....they claimed that by "threatening to inform the third party", I was attempting to scare them into making reparations to me. The attorney went as far as to quote my state's definition of extortion and the penalties for a conviction. Here's the problem--extortion requires that the intent is established--in other words, he would have to prove that I threatened to notify the third party UNLESS the CA paid me money. In my letter I clearly stated that I was ALREADY notifying the third party, and my act of doing so had no correlation with the CA's decision on how to respond to my ITS letter. Clearly there was no such intent, as the third party was already notified before the CA even got my ITS letter in their hands.
Anyways, the attorney implied that they would move against me for extortion if I proceeded with any further action. Funny thing--that implication in itself DOES meet the definition of extortion. So, in the end, I have a CA that I have documented all over the place breakign federal law....and their attorney, who has attempted extortion by trying to scare me away from taking action against their client. The attorney also told me that his client is under no obligation to validate because they never received a LETTER from me disputing the debt. Then again, I have their supervisor on tape saying that because they got my dispute, they didnt report the debt on my credit reports.....
Talk about a zoo....I responded to the attorney with another letter, clearly showing that there was no possible intent to extort anything. I did also point out, however, that their actions in the letter to me DO fit the law's definition, and that if they choose to continue down this path, I will not hesitate to take all necessary legal action to protect my rights from any further abuses.
I find it totally laughable that both debt collectors and their lawyers think they can bully consumers into ignoring their violations of state and federal laws.....next step is to just haul them into court. I cant wait to see the attorney's response....
[/SIZE]
Not too long back, I was contacted by a small-time debt collector in my state. This debt collector apparently specializes in the collection of medical bills. I was contacted and told that I had a $58 balance from last year, from a surgery that I had. Problem is, I didnt have any surgery, or in fact, any procedure/visit at all to the surgical center that they claimed I owed the money to. So, I sent a DV letter. Rather than validate the debt, they continued to call and send letters. I have on at least two occasions spoken to their collectors on the phone, and informed them each time that this debt was disputed in accordance with the FDCPA. And the calls continued...
One day, I got a call from them on my answering machine. I decided to call back again. So, I am talking to a guy named Jason, and he starts off right away, telling me that he's calling to collect on this same disputed debt. I inform him that his company is once again breaking federal law. He actually said this--he says "Look, we dont have ONE account for you, we have TWENTY accounts, how about that??" So, now, I told him, "It doesnt matter if you have one or a hundred, you are breaking the law if you call me about an account that has already been properly disputed..." His response--"you didnt let me finish, we have twenty accounts on you, I could have been calling about any of those....if you cant let me finish talking, how do you know why I am calling??" Now, at the start of this call, he verified my correct mailing address, and then immediately told me that he was calling about the disputed account before I spoke again. By the time this little tirade was over, he actually apologized to me for demanding payment on an account that he "now can see is disputed". But that mess of errors wasnt enough for him--he then tells me about a balance of nearly $300 that he now claims I owe from a hospital visit this past January. When I start asking what in the world this amount is for, he rattles off a mailing address that is about an hour from where I live--a place that I have never even been to, let alone lived at--and says "thats your address, isnt it?"
Remember now, less than 5 minutes before that, he verified my correct address on his computer.
By the time I got done ripping into him about his WAY obvious screwups, he mumbled, "I'm transferring you to a supervisor, hold on" and put me on hold. The supervisor claimed that because they received my dispute they never put these debts on my credit report. He also says that they dont have 20 accounts for me, and that the $300 debt was in fact not mine at all.
Up to this point, I have them on at least the following:
1--continued collection activity while ignoring DV letter
2--deceptive practices, in claiming that I owed on 20 accounts
3--deceptive practices, in claiming that he was allowed by law to start with the disputed debt and "work his way onto others" demanding payment
4--third party disclosure of protected information--he gave me someone else's complete address and attributed the $300 debt to that address
I need to mention that I have all of these conversations on tape.
I sent them an ITS letter. In this letter, I documented what has taken place. Word for word in this letter, I said this:
[SIZE=2][QUOTE]
As we speak, I am notifying the party at that address of your company's apparent careless attitude towards what is supposed to be private, protected information about them. They may choose to act upon your reckless and illegal third-party disclosure. I am also notifying
your client in this matter so that they will be aware of how your company has chosen to operate.
[/QUOTE]
I got a response from this CA's attorney. The attorney accused me of extortion....they claimed that by "threatening to inform the third party", I was attempting to scare them into making reparations to me. The attorney went as far as to quote my state's definition of extortion and the penalties for a conviction. Here's the problem--extortion requires that the intent is established--in other words, he would have to prove that I threatened to notify the third party UNLESS the CA paid me money. In my letter I clearly stated that I was ALREADY notifying the third party, and my act of doing so had no correlation with the CA's decision on how to respond to my ITS letter. Clearly there was no such intent, as the third party was already notified before the CA even got my ITS letter in their hands.
Anyways, the attorney implied that they would move against me for extortion if I proceeded with any further action. Funny thing--that implication in itself DOES meet the definition of extortion. So, in the end, I have a CA that I have documented all over the place breakign federal law....and their attorney, who has attempted extortion by trying to scare me away from taking action against their client. The attorney also told me that his client is under no obligation to validate because they never received a LETTER from me disputing the debt. Then again, I have their supervisor on tape saying that because they got my dispute, they didnt report the debt on my credit reports.....
Talk about a zoo....I responded to the attorney with another letter, clearly showing that there was no possible intent to extort anything. I did also point out, however, that their actions in the letter to me DO fit the law's definition, and that if they choose to continue down this path, I will not hesitate to take all necessary legal action to protect my rights from any further abuses.
I find it totally laughable that both debt collectors and their lawyers think they can bully consumers into ignoring their violations of state and federal laws.....next step is to just haul them into court. I cant wait to see the attorney's response....
[/SIZE]
nothing to add cept.KA-CHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!some of these place,an
nothing to add cept.KA-CHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!some of these place,and slime attorney's(who should be disbarred by the way)don't know jack about the law.take them to the woodshed sktdiver.they deserve nothing less.
