Debt Verification letter - A tool to verify your debt

SOL varies from state to state (even from 3 to 10 years), we have tried to cover SOL and related laws under the ranking charts of reach state.

Received my First Debt Verification Letter Reply back yesterday:

From FCNB Credit Card Services

Dear My Full NAme

Thank you for your recent inquiry regarding your Card Processing Center Account.

Unfortuanately, we are unable to locate the above referenced account. Pleasde be advised that it may no onger be in our data system, and cannot be accessed. Therefore, you must contact the reporting agencies indicated below to obtain copies of your credit bureau to verify any information, as we regrettable unable to be of assistance. You may notify the folloowing agencies directly of any discrepancies:

Experian
Trans Union
Equifax

We hope this information will be helpful to you and we consider this matter resolved.

Sincerely:

Card Processing Center
Customer Service Department

I sent them EXACTLY: the account info as it was displayed on my credit report as they have been reporting it.

Now I get the joy of having these entries deleted form my Credit Reports...

One step closer to improving my Report and Scores :P

Jerry.

(PS: in regards to the Debt Verification Letter I used, it is a complilation with edits/changes/ideas I have come across, reworded and/or rephrased to fit my needs/circumstances.

Got another reply back on Debt Verification Letter...it kinda looks like a fishing expidition and delaying tactic maybe ?

This is actually from a Doctors Office (Orthodontist) in W.V. listing on my credit report as S.E. 2 Investments real weird :?

Anyway the contents are as follows:

Dear [My Full Name here]

I received your letter regarding your credit report. I have tried to contact Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion to get additional information regarding your account. The credit agencies are unable to give me information unless I have your Social Security Number.

I cannot find any records in my office relating to your name. I will need aditional information to help you solve this problem.

If you could please contact my office as soon as possible I will try to help get this matter resolved.

Sincerely

[His Name]


He has to think I am a fool if I am going to revel my Social Security Number to him, especially as I have never lived in W.V., have never had Orthodotic Work done by any dentist esp $4,000+ worth. And besides his S.E.2 Investments has it listed as a Legal Repossession. What did he Repo? Teeth? LOL...and besides if we had done business togeter he should have that information already.


My Social Security Number I never like to give out and will always find alternatives to using it for Identification purposes, I dont even have it listed on my Drivers License.

Guess I will have to draft a follow up letter and include a copy of his listing from my credit report as a answer for more info, But I dont think this should increase his time to validate my Debt past the 30 days afforded onced asked for.

Any opinions on this one?

Jerry

Got another reply this evening when I got home from work :P

This on eis a GOOD one..and shows WHY asking to Validate a debt is prob. a Very Good Idea.

Content of Letter:

Dear Mt. {My Full name here]

Attached is the Document you have requested. Your Itemized Bill was created while the Hospital was in the process of billing your Insurance. The balance on the Itemized Statement may not reflect your Current BALANCE. Your Correct Balance is listed below:

The below listed medical Acount balances are being provided as per your request:

Account # Service Date Balance
XXXXXX 05/25/2000 $0.00

Sincerely:

XXXXXXX
Collection Representitive

There ya go...another bites the dust and another step closer to cleaning up my credit.

Jerry

Do you have an opinion on that request for my SSN requested in the privious letter for me to reply to?

But the last reply to Debt Verification Letter should illustrate how important it is to check your credit report and follow up on entries.

I have good insurance and Use a flex Spending account maxed each year so am suprised to see medical bills there ..maybe a few more of them will disaappear.

Jerry

Here is my Letter to the credit Reporting Agency to have this Mutual Hospital Severices Entry corrected or remove.


[My Full Name]
[My Address]
[My city, State,zip]

Date: April 1, 2005

Credit Reporting Agency Name
Address
[Their city, State,zip]

RE: Dispute and Investigation Requests
Personal Information
Report Date: 03/02, 2005
Report Number: XXXXXXXXX
[My Full Name]
Social Security Number: xxx-xx-xxxx Date of Birth: Month xx, xxxx

Dear Sir or Madam,

I received my credit report on March 02, 2005 from your company. I had an entry from "Mutual Hospital Srvcs IN" on my report from your agency that is in error. I sent them a Validation of the Debt letter asking for details on this entry. I have now received a letter dated March 21, 2005, informing me that this entry was in error and this entry should be "Paid in full" and not listed as "Paid in Settlement" the way it is currently showing. I expect to have this entry correct and/or removed at the earliest opportunity. As shown and indicated in attached letter/invoice I have a $0 Balance as the debt was paid by my insurance company and this listing was generated while the Hospital was billing my Insurance Company.(See attached copy of letter)

This is a letter to request for the removal of inaccurate information on my credit report. This inaccuracy has resulted in many inconveniences. Error Prone Entries like this has a negative impact on my Credit Scores and limit my options unfairly. I have not been able to apply for various loans and/or have received less favorable credit decisions due to errors of this type.

According to the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (fdcpa), the FCRA and Pursuant to United States Code, Title 15, Chapter 41, Subchapter III, Section 1681I an item must be removed if upon investigation by the credit bureau it is found to be inaccurate, incorrect, erroneous, misleading or outdated.

I do understand that you have a huge work load and this would have been a minor flaw. But this has curbed my financial options. For your convenience I am sending you the proofs of the items you need to verify. According to the law these changes must be made at the earliest. Otherwise you are likely to violate the federal law.

Please complete the changes at the earliest and send me a copy of the changed credit report.
Thanks,
Sincerely,

[My Full Name].

Heres what I finally drafted to that DR who asked for my SSN cause he couldnt find any record on me with his busniess:


[My Full Name]
[My Address]
[My city, State,zip]

Date: April 1, 2005

S.E.2 Investments
1040 20th Street
Huntington, WV 25703-2059

Re: Acct Ref. # XXXXXX

Dear Dr. Sammons:

I hope you can see and understand my reluctance in disclosing my SSN to anyone, none the less an unknown individual and/or company I have never done business with.

I have never lived nor worked in West Virginia, nor have I ever had Orthodontic Work done to the tune of almost 5,000.00 dollars as is listed as the "HIGH" with a balance of almost 3,000.00 (see enclosed documents I have copied from my credit report for your inspection). Also, the Entry on my credit reports is for a "Legal Repossession" which further confuses the issue, as I notice from your Letter head you are a Doctor of Dentistry. I can only assume you do not "repossess" teeth/dentures?

I refuse to disclose my SSN in this manner and it is my legal right to do so. If as you say, in your reply letter to me, you have no record of my Name. SSN, etc. then I would expect to have these entries removed from my credit files immediately as it is obvious that we have never had any business dealings of any kind.

I also see by my CMRR stamping that your received my initial VOD letter on 3/22/2005, and I am expecting that 30 days from that date is when this will be cleared up and no later.

Your business some how in error placed my name/Address etc. in the Credit bureaus and I expect if this can not be validated to have it removed in the same manner.

I have included copies of the EXACT entry on my TransUnion Report and the header of my report page with the Personal Information removed, leaving my mailing Address, and file number for reference.

Sincerely



[My Full Name]


I am no way in heck giving my SSN to anyone/Business I have never done business with or am unsure I did busnies with and they cant fully justify a legal reason to ask for it.

Jerry

Quote:

This case is closed :P

received a letter today informing me this is a case of a mistyped SSN/Name from the OC reporting tbhis, told me as I did not supply my whole SSN number he can not delete it properly as the CRA will not revel any info to him with out my SSN.

He told me to dispute it with the CRA and he would have it removed as a incorrectly listed Item at that point.

This makes like 8 tiems I haev confirmed removed from my reports since I satrted this clean-up campaign :P

Jerry

Hi jtucker,

This is great news :D

Keep sharing your experience and insights on Debt Verification Letter with other members of the forum in the coming days.

Cheers,
Jason

Hi jtucker... wantd to thank you for taking the time to post your sample letters and results...would like to know how things are going...

A FAN :D

Hi Guest,

Welcome to the forums. It will be a pleasure to have you on the board with us. Please sign up at the forums to interact with our community members. You will be enjoying all the benefits and services exclusively designed for the members.

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/signup/

Regards
Roxette

Thanks jtucker, I'm trying this letter out and sending it out to T-Mobile, Superior Asset Management and their attorney Arthur S Corrales. I will let you know the results!
Scully_93

Jtuck,

Out of curiosity, were these debts valid or all errors. i was just wondering if i should try sending this letter if i know a debt is actually mine.

Well I wanted to up my credit limit on my credit card and they denied it cause of Superior Asset Management was on my credit report in collections saying I owe money to T-Mobile, $462. So I got the info from my bank and so I tried calling SAM but no answer or their closed or it hangs up on me. So I sent them a letter of my situation and Experian. I didn't have T-Mobile address until now, so I mailed the letter that jtucker shared with us. I mailed 7 certified letters, to T-Mobile, 5 different addresses of Superior Asset Management and one to their attorney. The attorney they are using sent me a bill the one and only that I have recieved. So I called them up and told them my situation and they didn't care and told me that I had to pay it or they would garnish my wages. So I called my boyfriend's divorce lawyer to see if he can help and he said he would. Now I am going to go to the police station and fill out a police report and call T-Mobile. Man its alot of work but I am determined to get this fixed. If anyone else can give me any advice of what else I can do it would be appreciated! Thanks
Scully_93

Scully

It is a federal crime to report inaccurate information to the credit bureaus. As you are trying to contact the collection agency and the financial institution, you should also send a dispute letter to the credit bureau.

Upon receiving your dispute letter, they will conduct an investigation within 30 days with your information providers and inform you about the change shown in the credit file.

The credit bureau will provide all the proof of the investigation done and you will get the concrete result.

Regards
Roxette

Hi there jtucker! I haven't heard back from anyone yet on my letters. I will let you know though. I wanted to ask if you know of a letter that I can send to the credit bureaus? I just typed up a letter telling them my situation but wanted to get a more professional one. Do you have one or know of one?
Thanks!
Scully

Roxette
I did an online dispute with Experian and mailed them a letter they mailed me back their investigation report and they told me that it was accurate. So called yesterday to have them do it again. I also called TranUnion to one too. I had both put a fraud alert on my credit report.
Scully

Hi scully

If you have a proof of your dispute and are believed to be accurate in all terms, you have the right to take legal actions against CRA also. Send a follow up letter if you don't get a reply within 30 days.

Also, look for an attorney that specializes in lawsuits of fdcpa and FCRA violations.

Quote:

I noticed on the T-Mobile account that my last name is different by one letter, also on my credit report. I noticed on my credit report that there are names that with different middle initials and last names that aren't me. Can I delete those names off my credit report? They are different address too.
Scully

Surely, these invalid items that do not belong to you need to be deleted from your file. Highlight each of these items and dispute with the bureau reporting it.

Wait till their investigation is done and they will provide a free copy of your report.

Scully, let me know how things proceed.

Take care :D

Regards
Roxette

Hi everyone! I just received two letters from Experian and TransUnion letting me know that they are deleting the Superior Asset Management and T-Mobile account off my credit report! I am so happy! Hopefully its all over with. The letter really worked that I used from jtucker from the samaritan club!
Thanks again everyone!
Scully :D

Scully, this is great news. Repairing a negative remark put by Superior Asset Management is a tough job. Congrats!! You have done it. My best wishes are with you.

I have things on my credit that don't belong as well. I am going to use this sample letter with Word an Excel and make a mail merge and send these letters out tomorrow. There is stuff on there that is not even mine or should not be there and I know if I ask them to verify they can't (because it should not be there).

Thanks for the letter.... Will let you know how it goes...

BP

Keep us updated, bigpoppa!

~Mary

One of the factors that lower the credit scores are the incorrect entries in the credit report of the consumers. Credit bureaus handle millions and millions of consumer records and posting of incorrect entries is a common mistake. These must be disputed with the credit bureaus so that an investigation can be conducted and hence removed from the file. Besides, there are some other ways by which credit scores can be increased. Here is a link that gives some useful tips on how to improve the credit scores.

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/forums/credit-check.html

Jtucker,
It is blatantly obvious that you copied the above letters from other sources. Why would you send a letter you copied? We in the collection industry laugh at it. The letters you send do not contain any useful information about the account you are complaining or asking about. Your copied letters also contain threats. We never use "threats" as a means of communication. My agency does not take kindly threats of any kind, especially, ones that are nothing but phoney, fake, flim-flam. Why do you keep sending the same letter??? so unoriginal! Your letter also contains the following inaccurate statement "required 30 days to validate a debt". There is no such time limitation in any federal law. I also suggest that you consult with legal counsel insofar as your letter contains many inaccuracies of both state and federal laws. Additionally, we get a kick out of the line that states "this is not a request for verification of my mailing address". I only read it 70 times a day and then simply request the account to be resold. No matter how many copied letters you send, the bottom is, once a debt is not disputed with the original creditor. It never goes away. I'm glad I finally took the time to educate someone.

settleup, maybe you should take a look at the FTC website, I got the below quote straight from that website and it does in fact state that you can give 30 days to validate a debt. It is obvious you have never heard of the FTC.

In case you still don't get it...read section 809 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act...hopefully you have heard of that, but here it is for you just in case:

809. Validation of debts [15 USC 1692g]

(a) Within five days after the initial communication with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt, a debt collector shall, unless the following information is contained in the initial communication or the consumer has paid the debt, send the consumer a written notice containing --

(1) the amount of the debt;

(2) the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed;

(3) a statement that unless the consumer, within thirty days after receipt of the notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector;

(4) a statement that if the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, the debt collector will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against the consumer and a copy of such verification or judgment will be mailed to the consumer by the debt collector; and

(5) a statement that, upon the consumer's written request within the thirty-day period, the debt collector will provide the consumer with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor.

(b) If the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period described in subsection (a) that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, or that the consumer requests the name and address of the original creditor, the debt collector shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof, until the debt collector obtains verification of the debt or any copy of a judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy of such verification or judgment, or name and address of the original creditor, is mailed to the consumer by the debt collector.

(c) The failure of a consumer to dispute the validity of a debt under this section may not be construed by any court as an admission of liability by the consumer


"As you know, Section 1692g(b) requires the debt collector to cease collection of the debt at issue if a written dispute is received within the 30-day validation period until verification is obtained."

There again, the 30 days is mentioned.

Settleup...I think if you go to Amazon.com they have a book called Collections for Dummies...you might consider purchasing that.

You are not READING what I wrote. There is no 30 day time frame required to validate a debt. We can take as much time needed to order supporting documents.

I think you need to take a few more classes settleup...if you are going to take longer than 30 days, you are supposed to notify the person in writing that you are still validating the debt...then yes, you can take all the time you want.

As far as I know, they dont need to validate any debt. They can steal your SSN and search your credit to dig up your private info so they can start harrassing you into paying fake debts.

It should be illegal to intentionally destroy someones debt because they refuse to pay fraudulent or incorrect bills.

70 times a day you read these letters? MAYBE YOURE GETTING VALIDATION LETTERS BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE SICK OF BEING FRAUDED OUT AND SCAMMED FOR CASH THEY DONT OWE!

Here's a thought settleup...why don't you read the fdcpa 70 times instead...that will make better use of your time, and you might learn something along the way.

Very good work by JTucker, and a good example to all of us. As to "SettleUp": I personally am happy that most debt collectors dig in their heels and get nasty in response to what they see as "threats". It makes it so much easier for me to get a judgment against them (because it makes it easier to show a Court that they are behaving vindictively), and a stupid response tends to rack up the damages that I can collect in a big way really quickly.

One thing I really liked about that letter that JTucker started this thread off with, is the way the author asked for stuff. "You have not because you ask not." -- Jesus of Nazereth. I'm going to use some of his ideas and work 'em into my own standard demand for verification letter.

Two minor observations: Generally, where a statute uses specific terms, it's best to use those same terms as if they were some kind of magical incantation. The phrase, "demand for verification" has a specific meaning because of the way the term, "verification" is used in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. section 1692g(B)), which I think includes the concept of validation as used in the example letter as well as elsewhere in the statute.

Second issue of minor pickiness: collection agencies don't have a statutory time limit in which to respond. Lots of folks think there's a thirty-day limit, but that's not true. Debtors have a thirty-day limit from the time they got notice of their rights under the fdcpa in which to send off a demand for verification letter, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act 15 U.S.C. section 1681i, provides for a thirty-day period for credit reporting agencies to reinvestigate disputed data in their files. But the only condition for debt collectors who don't respond is that they're supposed to suspend collection activities unless and until they do respond.

Virginia-Legal-Defense, I read in the FTC website that the collection agencies are required to give the information when a particular account is disputed by the debtor. You pointed out that they are not bound to give this verification within the 30 days. But they cannot make any attempts till the debt is verified. Even if it takes as many days. Isn't there any section in the law that says the collection agency has to notify the debtor that they have failed to get the required info and as a result will stop all attempts? The reason is that the person will be informed of the collectors' activities if he is notified with this kind of legal letter

The simple answer is, "no". They don't have to tell the consumer anything, and in my experience, never do.

Although I'd point out that they're supposed to cease all collections efforts of all kinds. If they send some kind of a record to a credit bureau subsequent to the date the purported debtor mailed a timely demand for verification letter, I'd say that is an "attempt to collect", and would subject them to a lawsuit.

The fdcpa is what's called a "private attorney general" statute, in that it shifts law enforcement from the government directly to the affected citizen and, in theory, gives him an incentive in the form of enhanced statutory damages and attorneys' fee. In theory, that's a way of both getting the remedy closer to the harm and shifting the burden to the person who's in the best position to determine whether it's worth taking action.

That's all in theory, of course, because the people who are most affected can't go out and hire a lawyer, and don't know what to do about such things. But the burden is on the consumer to take action. The FTC and state agencies can enforce the law, but they don't have the money or the staff to do so effectively. (That's why I like this website, because it's getting information to the people who need it.)

Quote:

I'm impressed because one of my payday lenders actually sent me an itemized statement in the mail today. They knocked off all NSF charges and late fees. It's a good way to start out the week. :D

That is awesome. What a relief, huh? :)

~Mary

Virginia-Legal-Defense (or anyone capable of answering), I'm sorry if this sounds redundant. I read as many responses as possible in this forum but still have a slight misunderstanding. I sent a "debt verification letter" to Palisades Collection and they responded stating that they've received my request and will send me account information within a 90 day time frame. If they don't respond in that time frame what would be my next step to get this illegitimate debt off of my credit report? Thanks for your help!!

Quote:

[quote=sapontejr]Virginia-Legal-Defense (or anyone capable of answering), I'm sorry if this sounds redundant. I read as many responses as possible in this forum but still have a slight misunderstanding. I sent a "debt verification letter" to Palisades Collection and they responded stating that they've received my request and will send me account information within a 90 day time frame. If they don't respond in that time frame what would be my next step to get this illegitimate debt off of my credit report? Thanks for your help!![/quote]

Has Palisades responded to you about the verification in writing or is it just over the phone? If you have it in writing, keep this piece of paper in safe place. This letter will do everything needed for your credit file if Palisades does not come up with a response within 90 days. During this period, you can wish to contact the original creditor and get info about the accounts. If the debt is known to be valid, you can make payments to them also. You won't have to deal with Palisades.

If the debt account is completely invalid i.e.. the OC does not have any information about this account, Palisades will fail to respond within the stated period. Your move after this time period will be to contact the CRA reporting this account. Tell them that you contacted the information providers mentioned in the account and they have failed to give you information related to it. Do your correspondences with everyone in writing so that you can get important written proof. You can later bring to the notice of credit bureau also. They will start investigating the matter from their side. If the results of their actions fail, you can probably see this account removed from your file.

Hi curlycarl: Palisades responded via letter format so I will definitely save that letter and use it against them if they do not respond in that time frame. Thank you for the information in your post. It will be very useful!!
Thanks, sapontejr

Yes sapontejr, keep that letter in the folder of your important documents. You can use it as your important defense and prove the facts. In the meantime, you can also call the original company and get information about this account. And, do keep us posted on it.

Will do...It may be a while before I post back here though. 90 days is a long time!!! :) I'll keep you well informed though!

I posted a while back regarding the fact that I was going to use jtucker's letter on my creditors that re invalid. One of them immediately sent a letter back to remove it!

One of them sent me a letter stating they are ordering the statements from their client. My questions are: (1) how long should I give them to respond? 30 days? and (2) If they dont respond do I dispute it and tell the credit agency that they failed to respond or should I send them another letter to be sure?

One of the letters I sent was returned to sender with no forwarding address. I have not opened the returned letter. Should I dispute it with the credit agencies and use the unopened letter? If I only have one letter, how do I dispute with all three or do I make a copy of the front with the return stamp on it?

Lastly, One of them responded by sending a stack of previous bills for this account. They sent no proof that I agreed to these bills (i.e. a contract). Should I send them a letter telling them to send me the rest of the things I requested?

Thanks for everyone's help in all of this.

Bigpoppa

Quote:

Stanly, I called the creditor that sent me a stack of bills. They said that all they are legally required to do is verify my name, the billing address, and that the name and DOB matches the SSN. They said they dont care whether it is not mine or not. It is too late to dispute it with them. I can refuse to pay but they are not going to take it off. What I want to know is that true? They can just stick something on someone's credit like that? I asked them for proof and they said and I quote: "The way you request service with our client is you call up and request it. We run a credit check and you would have had to provide your info at that time. We then start delivery of the service." I asked them how can you be certain it was me who did this? She said doesn't matter to her. The time to dispute this has passed. They assume the debt to be good.

How can they get away with this? I am going to send her a letter telling her to state that in writing. I am going to send that to the Credit agencies and tell them to take it off because they have no proof that I have an obligation to pay them and have admitted that fact. Is that what I should do?

Stan, your expertise are needed here. :D

Debtor has 30 days to dispute the debt validation. I think you called her within the 30 day time frame right? It seems they are not following fdcpa rules. They cannot ignore your plea this way. Go through the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you will realize if they are doing anything wrong with you or not-

http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm

You should dispute with credit bureau with copies of all the relevant paperwork you have. Send your letter through certified mail with return receipt requested.

Also can you name the collection agency? Then forum members can help you find out if it is legit or not. Are you sure that this bill is not yours. You can file complaint against them with FTC, BBB and AG's office of your state. Keep us updated.

P.S. seems you forgot to log in. Feel free to PM me once you are logged in.