BOA->Square 2->Ed Overcash: I've made payment to BOA, now CA is demanding PIF.

If BOA actually sold the debt (which is what it sounds like has happened), then you have no further business with them. Sending them money would be a waste of your time and money. The CA should be sending you a dunning letter (within 5 days of initial contact), so I would watch for that and then send debt vaidation letter to the CA. Once you receive proper validation of the debt, then you can make payment arrangements with them. If you have the money to settle, that's what I would do. Why didn't you call BOA when your payments didn't resume last month?

I had no idea they didn't resume until I got the phone call; my bank statement had just arrived as well, and in looking at it I saw that the payment didn't resume. I wouldn't have known until then anyway, since the absence of the deduction from my bank account would have been my first red flag.

No, I don't have the money to settle. I'd love to and get them off my back, but I don't, hence the payment arrangement I had with BOA. I wouldn't mind continuing the same or a similar payment arrangement, but they aren't willing to accept that. They wouldn't even consider a settlement.

What exactly is a dunning letter? And how should I respond to this guy's threats of "we need an answer within 24 hours"?

Call BOA again and verify that the account was charged off and sold. Also verify the charge off date, the charge off amount and how much in fees was charged for your records. I would also suggest that you pull a credit report to verify this information and keep it in case you are ever sued. BOA probably charged you 4-6 months worth of $39 late fees, $39 over limit fees and a default interest rate of 33%. I believe those are around the max right now for credit cards.

If the account was charged off and sold then I think the best option is to save the money for a settlement in full. After validation, I would offer the JDB 20 ??? 30% of the charged off balance minus all the tacked on junk fees by both the credit card company and the JDB. Do not send them any money until you have the agreement in writing. Do not give them electronic access to any bank accounts. If they monkey around then send them a limited CD letter removing their option to contact you by phone.

I will call BOA again; thanks. What is worrying me, however, is being sued. I had another cc debt that we handled WRONG by ignoring them, and ended up with a default judgement filed against us. Since I was improperly served (left papers on the doorstep; not allowed here), but had no proof, I was able to settle with them. And that's where my funds are going right now, so I have to rebuild some cash to settle again, or continue a payment plan. I guess that is what makes this so darned frustrating - we maintained communication with BOA, made payments and worked it out (we thought) when we couldn't, and thought we were doing it right by NOT ignoring them. I'm willing to wait and try and work it out with them over time, but I also want to have my ducks in a row in case they jump to a lawsuit, to show that I did pay, maintained communication with BOA, and tried to work out a similar payment plan with the CA, and didn't just try to run away from my debt. I also don't want to have to worry about my neighbors or my mother in law being called anymore. Should I speak with them every time they call and make the same offer of a payment plan? Should I do so in writing? Should I do ANYTHING until I've received debt verification from them? And if they do not do so within 5 days, what are my options then? I don't want to ignore them, but I also want to proceed with caution, since Overcash doesn't seem to have the best reputation for playing fair. :)

And Overcash's office is leaving a message right now as I posted...what is your advice for handling them at this point, since they're demanding payment by the end of the day today? I don't want to give them ammunition of "ignoring" them, but I also don't want to do anything until I get verification of information from them and from BOA.

Keep in mind that if they sue you at best they will end up with similar monthly payments to what you offered them to begin with. A judge is not going to force you to pay in full if you don???t have any money. If suing you was really worth pursing, BOA would have done it probably. Don???t let them push you around. I would determine a settlement amount you are willing to pay and stick to it leaving them only the option to accept or sue if they think a judge will award more. I certainly would not discuss it with them every day either. I would give them one or two shots on the phone of about 3-5 minutes per call or until they get abusive and then make them do everything in writing.

I don't have anything for a settlement right now; my only option is to do what we intended and that is to pay $280/month on the account. Should I call him back since he said "we must hear from you today"? and offer the payment schedule; should I call him back and say I'm waiting for debt information from BOA? Or should I not even call him at all today, until I talk to BOA? Also, I'm thinking that he shouldn't be pushing me into ANYTHING without me having the benefit of debt verification in writing. So far I have NOTHING in writing from them.

Hiya--

a few questions....first, you live in Texas, is that correct?

Second, what type of account is this--is it a credit card, bank account?--and how far past due was it?

Here is some info for you...they cannot threaten to sue you in order to force you to pay right now. It is called "overshadowing" and it is not allowed, per the FDCPA. FDCPA states that they must notify you in writing within 5 days of initial contact of your rights. One of those rights is that you have 30 days from initial contact in which to send them a written request for validation of the debt. Incidentally, if I were you, I would be sending them that letter out ASAP, by certified mail return receipt requested.

Also, since you live in Texas, your state has an even tougher law about that. In TX, once you send them that validation letter, they are REQUIRED to stop collection of the debt until they validate--and TX allows them only 30 days to do it. If they do not validate within 30 days, then they are NOT ALLOWED TO EVER COLLECT ON THE DEBT AGAIN. Texas has the best laws in place to protect consumers.

Also, it is a violation of federal law for them to contact your relatives because they know where to contact you directly. FDCPA only allows them to call a third party to try to locate you--if they already know your location, they have no legal reason to call anyone else to ask about you.

You might consider speaking with a consumer attorney in your area. Many of them offer free initial consultations, and you definitely have them already violating laws. You seem to have a pretty good case, and in FDCPA cases, lawyers often take them on contingency basis, meaning you do not have to pay the attorney any money. They get their fees from the debt collector when you win in court.

Quote:

The first thing you need to do is make them validate the debt. Do not let them scare you into making any payment over the phone. At this point just relax. If they decided to sue it will be several months from today at the earliest if it ever happens. Chances are they will sell the debt and never sue if you refuse to pay. You should consider speaking to them one more time to obtain the name and address. After they give you the name and address then inform them that you will be sending a debt validation letter. Also, consider sending them a limited cease and desist to stop them from contacting anyone and everyone by phone. Finally tell them if they properly validate then you will be willing to accept $xxx/month as settled in full. This phone call should take at most 3 minutes. Anymore than that is a great indicator of them just being abusive.

Thanks Skydivr7673. You are much better at covering the laws than I.

Quote:

^ that's my post above...forgot to put in my name...sorry! :)

Lots of answers were posted as I typed up my questions, so I think you can disregard my last set of questions. Again, thank you all SO much. I've spent all day trying to get answers on this, and I learned so much right here in just a few minutes. Awesome.

here is the address:

Law Offices of Ed Overcash, LLC
33 Villa Road, Suite 401
Greenville, SC 29615 Telephone:
Toll Free:
Fax:
email:
(864) 233-5800
(888) 511-1130
(864) 233-5588
[EMAIL="ask@overcashlaw.com?subject=General Web Request"]ask@overcashlaw.com[/EMAIL]

Ed overcashs office has contacte me as well. Does the 5 day in writing rule apply to IA as well? They want a payment from us today. Getting very overwhelmed and not sure what to do.

Quote:

So at this point what can I do? Since I haven't recd anything in writing from the attorney, what do I tell them when they call agan?

Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

Ed Overcash is not located in Texas. Unless he is admitted to practice law in Texas, he can't sue you. This is the modus operandi of the CACH/Collect America now known as Square 2 JDB outfit. First they send it to an attorney out of state to harass you. They may later send the account to an attorney in your state who can sue you, however.

This is a JDB, and BofA is now out of the picture. Send a DV letter to Overcash, and ask them not to call you anymore. I'm betting they will violate FDCPA, by continuing to collect without responding to your DV letter. Another of their MOs. Contact a consumer lawyer, you can sue them.

Spoke to them....rude, abusive. Accused me of stalling. Said I confirmed the debt was real with them on the phone Wednesday (I said my debt was with BOA). I said I had the right to receive validation, and the accusation of stalling started. Said I spoke with an attorney who recommeded I send the debt validation letter, and I was entitled to have verification in writing; I said that any consumer would be foolish to pay that amount of money ($9K) over the phone without confirmation that they were legit. They said that "you admitted to the debt by saying you were paying $280 a month". Asked for name of my attorney and basically insinuated that the atty I spoke with was an idiot. Transferred me to supervisor (who accused me of raising my voice, and I said I didn't raise my voice any more than her staff member Louis did to me). Supervisor asked "what are you looking for in the validation letter?". I said the letter would state what needed to be sent. They wanted to fax or email; I said I wanted it in writing. They said they did send out a letter 10/2, which I haven't received yet. I asked if they sent it certified mail...she paused, and said quietly, "no". But obviously they have a problem with me requesting information in writing. They wanted to send it now, by fax or email, and I refused. Working quickly is what they want; they don't want to give me time to think about it.

So, wanting confirmation of ownership of debt in writing and getting additional information from original creditor = stalling. Wow, these people at Ed Overcash are a piece of work.

And btw, Louis said that his recommendation when I didn't call him back in 24 hours was to move forward with legal action. Yeesh.

I just hope I didn't tell them too much. But again, they have proof that I admit to the debt since I was paying $280/mo to BOA. I didn't make any commitments to them, however. Just said I want verification of debt (to which they said, "you admitted to the debt already"). And I said that upon advice from an attorney, I was sending out a DV letter and needed their address. Which brought the accusations of stalling, and questions of "what are you needing to have verified? YOu already know the debt is real!". Wow, I hope they break a law so that they don't get a penny from me...and that's not because I want out of the debt, it's because they are scum!

Update: Sent DV letter, despite their accusations that I was "stalling" on the debt. It's been 10 days since I spoke with them, and what I would think is their "initial contact" since up to that point they were calling relatives. I have received NO written documentation from them. Don't they have 5 days to send written notification of my rights? They *say* they sent a letter on 10/2. Well, if that was considered initial contact and/or notification of my rights, were they allowed then to continue to call local relatives and neighbors? And if 10/12 was that initial date since that is when we actually spoke (and therefore they had verification of proper address, etc.), then shouldn't I have received my rights from them by now? Frankly, the more they violate, the happier I am. Do I have them on anything yet?

Quote:

[SIZE=3]I have three separate BOA accounts. At any given time I could owe money on one of the credit card accounts and BOA could owe me money via the savings account. The point is, stating that you owe money to BOA over the phone to some dead beat collector does not mean you just validated whatever account they are trying to coerce you into paying. It is very unlikely they could use that phone conversation to enforce a debt. Furthermore, you did not give up your right to make them validate the debt just because they tricked you into stating you owed BOA some money. [/SIZE]

If they do not respond to your first DV letter, send them a second letter CMRR. Consider recording any phone conversations you have with them. Consider limiting all communications to snail mail.

The first DV letter was actually sent CMRR, and was received by them 10/25, according to USPS tracking. To date I have not received validation OR a statement of my rights...nothing AT ALL in writing from them. I should have recorded the phone calls I had from them, but at this point I'm just going to see if they don't respond at all within the 30 days they have to validate the debt. Question: Is it 30 days from receipt of the letter (10/25), or when I sent it (10/21)? Also, if they say they sent something to me but I didn't receive it, is the burden on them to prove that they actually sent it? For example, when I said I never received written notice, they said they sent something 10/2. I asked if they sent it certified mail, and they said no (after a long pause).

Assuming I actually do receive something, what would constitute proper validation of the debt? I'm thinking that if they get around to sending something, it likely will be insufficient, and if so, how can I tell, and what do I do at that point? I'm trying to get my ducks in a row, just in case.

I'm in the process of wrapping up another card that we got behind on; we were improperly served but cannot prove it. Adkins Assoc. is the holder of the debt. I should have validated, but by the time I knew better we were in default judgement. A free attorney hotline I called said that we'd have a tough time proving the improper summons, and that trying to settle before they started garnishing our bank accounts would be best. We thought of just closing our accounts, but my husband's name is on a few of his mother's accounts, and getting his name off of those would be impossible, so ignoring the judgement was really not an option. Adkins Assoc. was actually very nice when I called, treated me with great respect, and settled for about 50%. Payment is due at the end of this week, so I may, for my peace of mind, call Citibank to confirm that this is where they sold the debt, since it's really too late for verification. I probably could have done better with that one, but was completely in the dark on how to handle it...that's changed, however! :) These are the two big debts we lost a handle on when our income tanked, so I would love to have both of them taken care of as soon as possible.

Thanks for all the advice, everyone!!

Update: Today is day 29 from the date I sent a letter CMRR; no response from them as of yet. We never even received a dunning letter within the 5 days of contact. As of what date is the 30 day window closed on them; is it 30 days from when I sent the letter, or 30 days from their receipt of the letter? And if I do receive something in the next few days, how will I know it's sufficient validation of the debt? Just wondering when I can close the door on Overcash...thanks!

Update, again: Haven't heard boo from Overcash; I'm giving the mail another couple of days but it appears as if they've gone over their 30 days to validate. However, I'm now getting calls from Rausch, Sturm, Israel, Enerson & Hornik. I thought it may be for an advertising debt for my business that I'm disputing (didn't authorize the ad for another year; that's a story for another day), but then I realized the message was on my home phone and not my business line. I'm wondering if Overcash, instead of validating, simply sold the debt. If this is the case, what would you recommend? Start over by first finding out why these people are calling, and if it is the same debt, sending the same letter, etc.?

Did you DV Square 2 or Overstreet? It makes a difference.

If you DV'ed the owner of the debt, and they merely pulled the account from one collector and sent it to another, then they are violating the law because they are continuing collection activity without honoring a DV request.

It is not a good idea to tell them that you have been paying BOA. But even with that, you are still entitled to validation because a DV isnt only to show that it is your debt. DV is also to prove that they have the legal right to collect on the debt, and also to prove that they amount they claim you owe is legitimate.

If Square 2 owns it, and they hired Overstreet to collect it for them, and you DV'ed Overstreet, then no law has been broken by them pulling it and sending it to another collector.

I am the new wife since 2010 and this was a pre marriage debt with the ex wife and they are giving me his debt amount, yelling at me on the phone. I advised them to cease and desist. I guess I will follow up with an email and certified mail. Question is, Can they give me his balance info and harrass me if I have nothing to do with this debt? I am in Texas as well. What are yalls thoughts?