Euler Hermes "proof" of my debt.

Hi..

ok, I just want to make sure I understand your situation. Who is the original creditor here? I mean, when this account was first opened, before it went to collections, who was it with?

About the law firm, they may have closed down, or they may have changed names, but in either case, the owner can still press for people who owe them money to pay up.

Alright, without knowing who your original creditor was, I can say with a fair amount of certainty that they did not give you proper validation. Here's the thing about validation--it MUST come from the original creditor. The CA, in this case Euler Hermes, gets your request for validation, then they send off a form to the original creditor. The OC then fills out the information and provides documentation back to Euler Hermes, who then provides it to you. Anything less than this is not proper validation under the law. If they cannot provide you with proper proof, or if they are unwilling to, then dont send them a dime....they are not allowed to continue trying to collect from you unless they have provided the proof you requested, and in this case they have not. Proof would constitute a copy of a court judgment)if one existed) or copy of an original contract with your signature on it, as well as statements that show the balance owed is what they claim it is. Also, a CA has to prove that they have the right to collect on the debt, that they either own it or are assigned to it. You dont have any of that in the "proof" they sent you, from the sound of it.

I would send them a second letter, certified mail RRR. In this letter, I would inform them that the response they have sent does not satisfy the burden of proof that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act places upon them. Tell them that, in accordance with Section 809 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, they must respond with the proper information concerning this debt or cease collection efforts entirely. Then, reiterate exactly what information you are requesting from them. This time, if they do not provide you with the correct information, but continue to try to collect, then you sue them for violating federal law.

divorce which ended up costing me roughly 42,000. I paid all but around 6,000 as of 2/2006. I made a verbal agreement to pay 200 a month or more if I was able. I've been paying that and now owe roughly 4500 total.

The CA tried to claim I owed them over 4900.00.

I have sent a certified RRR letter and will follow up with another. Other then the original contract in which I signed when I hired the attorney, I never signed anything else.

Thanks for you info.

hi again jobb,

it sounds to me like the CA that has it now probably bought it from the attorney, since this law firm has closed. I could be wrong, but thats what I have seen before.

These people really do make me laugh...if I called them up and told them they owed me $5,000....the first thing they would say to me is "what do I owe you this money for?". And the second would be "how did you get to this amount?"....but when they contact us, they dont use any common sense at all about the issue.

ARe they directing you to send payments to them, or to the attorney?

I would send them a letter explaining that they havent satisfied the burden of proof according to federal law, to show that you owe them one penny. And until they do, you should not discuss any amount with them, ESPECIALLY not over the phone. If they finally do provide proer validation, I would try to explain to them that they got this account because the previous creditor closed, NOT because you were not paying. Explain to them that you were paying as agreed the whole time. If they are willing to use a little common sense there, they would agree to let you keep that same arrangement with them. Or, perhaps you can offer them a settlement for a lesser amount total. But the first step is to address validation. Please let us know if we can help with anything else, or if you still have questions now.

One needs to be extremely cautious while dealing with the collection agencies. Often the main purpose behind their collection attempts is to make you agree to the validity of the debt. They will make all efforts to make you enter into a new payment plan or will send you credit cards so that you can pay off the debts (another sleazy tactic). But before you take any action request evidence that you actually owe the money. You should send them a letter via certified mail with a return receipt request stating that they have not properly verified the debt. If you actually owe money to the collector and that too the amount they are claiming then in my opinion the debt collector should not have any problems to provide you with the evidences.