Fighting old debts
Date: Mon, 08/06/2007 - 11:55
Upon finding the amount on the credit report, I went and negotiated the amount down to $700 with the apartment complex and agreed to pay $700 if the amount would be removed from my credit report. The apartment complex refused saying that only the collection agency could accept payments and remove it if they wished.
The debt was the changed to say $700 on the credit report.
I had a lot of discussions over the next year (2002-2003) with the collection agency. I offered to pay the full $700 if they would remove it, but they said that would be illegal, so I never paid them a dime. They thought they would intimidate me by yelling at me or threatening me with lawsuits, but I just told them to shove it.
During the time of those discussions, I challenged the debt with all three collection agencies. Transunion and Experian removed it, but the collection agency responded to Equifax, and it remained on the report. I challenged it a second time with Equifax, but again the collection agency verified it.
Over the year or so I got to be pretty familiar with the debt collector and would expect his calls every month, and I looked forward to harassing him and wasting his time while refusing to pay anything or admit liability for the amount. The only thing I ever offered to send him was a tootpick “so he could pick the dingleberries out of his teeth after he finished kissin’ my a**.â€Â
The one month the dude didn’t call, but another one did, so I asked what happened to the original dude. They told me he didn’t work there any more. So I challenged the debt a third time with Equifax and this time it was removed after 30 days. The collectors continued to call, but I could care less given that I had a clean credit report and enjoy having someone whose only purpose in my life is to accept verbal abuse. After a while they figured out I wasn’t worth their time, so they quit calling.
Earlier in 2007, I received a settlement offer from this same collection agency offering to settle for $350. I just threw it away because I didn’t want to restart anything with them and end up with the thing back on my credit report.
What I want to know is given the way this debt was “disposed ofâ€Â, is there any risk of this coming back up on my credit report?
If so, what can I do about it? I have a ton of “good debt†such as 0% balance transfers of about $50k along with some 1.9% for life balance transfers. I am afraid that some of them have the universal default clause on them, and if that 5 year old debt shows up on my credit report those good deals will be destroyed and instantly become a 29% interest nightmare.
I suspect that the old collection agency has sold the debt for pennies to another collection agency, but I haven’t gotten a letter or seen it on my credit report yet.
I understand that a debt validation letter is probably the first step to take. I seriously doubt that they have reasonable documentation of the debt since it was pretty sketchy even from the apartment complex. So I am pretty sure they will fail to validate the debt properly. What I don’t know much about is the next steps and forcing them to:
1. remove the debt from my credit report
2. pay damages for the “good deals†mentioned above that were destroyed
3. pay $1000 or whatever it is for violating the fair debt collection practices act.
Could anyone help me on this?
Thanks.
James
If you have received written notification from the CA that the d
If you have received written notification from the CA that the debt has been sold to, the validation letter should be sent via certified mail/return receipt within the first 30 days of having received CA's letter. If they don't validate the debt, then it is supposed to be removed by the CRA after you dispute.
If the CRA doesn't remove and has no verification, then you can file complaints against them. I don't know if you would receive damages for the "good deals", but I'm assuming that once you show the CRA was in violation of fdcpa regulations and advise to the action taken to remedy situation, they would put your deal back in place?
lack of validation on debt - steps required
I am not 100% clear on what I will need to send the CRA.
Here's what I understand I am supposed to do:
1. Send debt validation request to CA.
2. Get no response or response that does not meet fdcpa standards
3. After 30 days, challenge with CRA's.
So to me the problem is that the CRA's are likely to leave the debt on the CR because they won't look into much detail if any about what the CA sends them. This will especially be a problem if the CA sends the insufficient debt verification documentation. I am just wondering who I can sue where and on what cause of action and for what damages.
As far as who to sue?
1. CA
2. CRA's
Where to sue?
1. Local small claims court
2. Proper state court
3. Federal court
Causes of action:
1. Violating the FDCPA
2. Violating the FCRA
3. Defamation/slander
4. Negligence in giving out inaccurate info
Damages:
1. Statutory damages $1000.
2. Legal fees
3. Incidental damages (higher interest at default rates)
4. Consequential damages (loss of the good deals)
As far as suing for the consequential damages, I am thinking I would have a better shot at getting them if I notify the CA of the expected consequences of reporting inaccurate information about me. Can I include that in my letter to request debt verification?
Also, if the statute of limitations has run on the debt itself, is the new CA allowed to report it?
It would be hugely helpful if you can provide some advice on how to play hardball with these guys. If we want to stop this practice of CA's paying pennies on the dollar for ancient debts and harrassing people to force them to pay up, having a lot of people know how to punish them for their missteps will stop them in their tracks. We all know that reporting things to the FTC is a waste of time, but having to make lots of potentially losing court appearances will straighten them up real quick. The reason they get away is that very very few people have any idea what to do if they don't follow the laws, which we all know is quite common. If nothing else, do you have any recommendations for pitbull attorneys that will go after these guys?
