Debt Verification letter - A tool to verify your debt

Hi All:

Can someone recommend a legitimate attorney to settle the credit card debt with Visa/TARGET......they are a nightmare. I have already disputed the amount by making a complaint to one credit bureau. I spoke to attorney Hess Kennedy......but has anyone dealt with them cuz they want to get your social security # and bank # before signing the contract and something doesn't feel right about that. Is that legal?

thank you all..
Margarette

Hi Margarette, welcome aboard :D

HK is holding satisfactory record with BBB. You can also contact Office of Consumer Protection and Attorney General to know more about them.

I haven't dealt with HK personally. You can search this forum to read some feedback on Hess Kennedy.

I am trying to find what constitues Proof that the collection company owns the debt/or has been assigned the debt. A collection agency provided me an itemized statement that appears to be from data gathered from a creditor. It does show the account was transferred into a collection account. They don't provide me with a copy of a contract between themselves and the creditor.

A debt validation letter must give you the complete information about the account for which the collection agency is collecting. Request them to send you the copies of the contract signed with your credit company.

I send a letter to a creditor requesting verification of debt several weeks ago. I received a response today. In the response they are saying that in order properly fullfill my request to verify the debt they need me to call them. Should I call?

Yes, you must give a call to the creditor if this is about a legitimate debt. You need to have the complete information in writing before sending the payments. Go ahead and place the call. You have to repair some of the negative remarks if they are appearing in your credit file.

wow Jerry, thats great work!!--how is it that you get answers back when you write letters, I just go on getting ignored? :roll: (sigh) shirley

My 8 year old could write a better letter.
The very first sentence makes no since and the remainder of this missive is riddled with spelling error, grammatical mistake, run-on sentences, syntax errors, and improper punctuation.

The recipient(s) must think you're an uneducated, alcoholic, nut job. Or perhaps, English is your second language?

I was forwarded this link from a friend after I asked for a letter I could send to a collection agency.
This letter is terrible - I can't believe it wasn't proof read before you mailed it out, and more importantly, you posted it for others.

I know this is harsh, but this web site seems to be informational and instructive. If you want to offer a letter to send to a professional business, it better be written professionally.

BTW, the grammer and spelling contained in most of the posts on this thread are equally dreadful.

Are most adults this illiterate ?

I'm still reading through this -incredible.

What does the follwing sentence mean ?

"? What the money you say I owe is for; "

What does that mean ?
What is the purpose of all the question marks before your questions ?

This forum should be titled "Trailer Park deadbeats who won't pay ther bills and never graduated from 8th grade"

You obviously came to this site looking for information regarding your current collection issue. Would you classify yourself as a deadbeat? What makes you any different? If you have a suggestion, or idea, why not share it to help others? Does it make you feel better to insult others? It's okay to offer constructive criticism so a person can learn from their mistakes? But insults are not necessary.

I apologize, I make this correction in the above statement: It's okay to offer constructive criticism so a person can learn from their mistakes. (Did not intend to end that sentence with a ? in the above statement).

Thanks for the sample letter. I am using it with changes, I made, to suit my situation.

You know what Steve O--we are all here for the same reason and it is NOT spelling or grammar class. No one is going to want to help if you have that I am perfect and you are idiots attitude. I hope you are not that way with your child. Do you have a question or some helpful information for any of us or did you just come here to bash us to make yourself feel better?

I have read and understand that after the first contact by a collection agency a debtor has 30 days to dispute a claim and if they request a verification, the CA must cease all collections activities until the verification is sent. However, what if (like many do) you scrapped that first letter 2 minutes after opening it? Do you have any right to demand verification (and expect a timely response) at that point?

I'd like to quote something if I may?

"My 8 year old could write a better letter. (I would have assumed this poster WAS 8 years old)
The very first sentence makes no since (SENSE?) and the remainder of this missive is riddled with spelling error(S?), grammatical mistake(S?), run-on sentences, syntax errors, and improper punctuation."

I hope the spelling and grammar in this paragraph were intentionally skewed to make a point.. By the way, I'd like to add a new word to your vocabulary.. 'redundant'
You listed grammatical errors, then proceeded to list the different types of grammatical errors in the same sentence..
I'd also like to introduce a second new word for you...
'concise'
The opposite of this unnecessarily long attempt at enlarging your E-peen.

Taku- Has it been over 30 days since you received the first letter/ If not, you can still send a dv letter to them....Karen

Yes, it's been over 30 days. They sent an initial contact letter, then a settlement letter, and now a letter of Intent to Sue. I know for a fact it's well beyond the Statute of Limitations. Do I need to go through the hassle of getting verification from the law firm that wants to sue me (it's Wolpoff and Abramson, I could get screwed royally taking it to court), or can I send a letter to the credit bureau?

Taku, when you are confirmed from your side that the SOL on this particular account is over, send a letter simply disputing the item and mention that the SOL is expired. Thus, you don't have to pay it legally, but the company has the rights to report the negatives in your credit file only if they have your file legitimately. Send your dispute letter through US certified mail and get the receipt signed by them. If you get a court date sometime later, you will be able to prove that you were aware about the federal laws regarding statutes and show you part of the actions in resolving the matter.

Taku,if I'm not mistaken,you also have to provide the court with proof that is past the SOL. They won't take time to figure it out,so if you don't do it,they won't know...Karen

This is excellant............. I will use most of this while I am out to destroy Bass and Associates who threatened to send me to jail.....

Thanks
Jodi

Here's a copy of a letter I have used that has been very successful in getting derogatories removed:

Quote:

HeretoHelp, thanks for posting that. It will be very helpful to many people!!

I'm going to be sending out verification letters today, and I'll let you guys know what happens....

I do have one quick question though, I heard that if the debt is charged off that collection companies arn't supposed to go after it. Is that true?

I have 2 collection companies, different names but same addresses on my credit report after the same 1 charged off account...its crazy!

Thanks!

I started using a similar letter starting back in december.

So far I have had 3 items removed from each of the big 3 CRA's

and just received a letter from another one saying they have no record of that account and will have it deleted.


Another 1 I have problems with because they verified the 1-2 punch while it was in validation stages.

The 1-2 punch for those that dont know is you validate a Credit reporting agency but not an OC Original creditor.


They are prohibited from professional collection activiy while it is in validation..so as soon as you get the return receipt back from the certified letter you send..

You have already prepared the letter disputing it with the credit reporting agency.

You send that out the same day or the next day you get the return receipt back.

That way they cant verify and it is deleted.

You only have to win once, they have to win everytime.

If they do verify they are in violation of the fdcpa and the FCPA.

From there you send off a request for a procedural request to the CRA and find out exactly how they verified it.

Send another stern letter to the CA (collection agency) giving them 15 days to delete it and if they dont...let the complaints to the state and federal agencies fly.

Give it another 30-60 days...if no response...SUE THEM.

They are liable for 1000 dollars for each violation of each act.

Dont accept a partial validation..I cant tell you how many I have received with a computer printout.

If they do not do a full validation within 30 days then they are legally required to delete it.

I have a feeling I will be going into a court battle with the one that verified (and they did send a partial validation) after the 30 days even.

They have violated my rights 3 or 4 times and my suit will say as much.

You guys are life savers.

I have been ripping my hair out for the last two days, because one of the debt collection agencies is trying to use that bogus arbitration on me. I have asked lawyers and "experts", and they want a fee before they will even help you out. It makes me mad. Thanks though for all the resources you have provided, and if I was rich man I would buy a round for all you guys.

If you are dealing with arbitration,make darn sure you send written refusal to whichever company they use to arbitrate and demand to be taken to court.

Yeah I am doing that today, and plus with that sending a VOD also. So we will see what happens.

Sending 3 out today all of them to access capitol. They have been re-aging the things they have posted on my CR's. I am sending them one a week,instead of adding all 3 accounts to one letter, this way they have to do more grunt work. Wish me luck

I am in the process of disputing with Palisades collection agency. I have read all your entries and I feel a sense of empowerment. I hope that I have the same results as you.

does it matter how long the letter is when sending it to a CA? i heard that if it's over one page, they will just trash the letter?

not sure if this also makes a difference, but I'm sending a debt verification letter to LVNV...which one is the best to use, because they all sound great :)

Jackie- it doesn't matter which you choose, just be sure to send on, make copies, and send it certified, return receipt.

LVNV doesn't fully validate, meaning, they will only send a computer generated paper saying you owe xx dollars.

Good Luck..Karen

Perhaps someone can offer some advice? Back in 2002 I had a debt with Merrick Bank. My wife and I both believe that we settled this debt, also back in 2002. Maybe 3 weeks ago I received a letter from ACA (a collection agency) offering me a 50% settlement from this debt with Merrick Bank. Keep in mind that we have not received any other notices in the last 5 years. I emailed ACA saying that I believe this debt to be paid and that I was requesting, from the bank, our statements from 2002 to verify the payment(s). I have yet to get any reply. Today, I received a letter from the Law Offices of Mitchell N. Kay offering me the same 50% settlement. If tweeked, would the letter in the original posting be something that I could use in this matter? Any other ideas? Thanks in advance.

Chris

What is a SOL and how does it work?

Here is a link that has the SOL for each state at http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/SOL-by-State.html#T The SOl means that there are certain time limits that a debt can be collected on legally. You may still owe the detb, but they cannot legally collect on it.

You can use the letters you find on this site if you just put your info, and tweak it to fit your circumstances.

Be sure and make copies of everything, and send all correspondence, certified, return receipt from the post office..

Good Luck..Karen :D

Do you actually have to have an attorney to list one on the validation letter?

i was in the military for some time and they REQUIRED i take x number of days paid leave before i could be discharged, now 4 years later i have been contacted by a debt collector. i was told that the debt is for my taking paid leave that i didnt have and i was therefore overpaid...

do you think this would be okay to send in regards to a government debt?

Does anyone have experience with this collection agency? They bought a charge-off from 2002 and they are hounding me to death at my place of work. My employer is very upset about this. I have written them certified letters (which they never accept) have told them on the phone not to call (which they ignore) have faxed them (which they ignore). One of their collectors told me she is a freelancer who works from offshore and could care less. She also said Performance Capital Management is in bankruptcy so they don't care about fine from the government because they can't pay them anyway. Has anyone ever experience this agency? And if so what did you do?

I would say start taking legal channels.
1. File a complaint with the FTC.
2. File a complaint with your state Attorney General's office.
3. Explore the possibility of a civil suit, if you need a attorney you can start your search with naca.net

Here is information I was able to find on them through Yahoo Finance

I guess I don't understand some of this below post ... could someone please explain it to me?

FROM ANONYMOUS COWARD -

"Another 1 I have problems with because they verified the 1-2 punch while it was in validation stages.

The 1-2 punch for those that dont know is you validate a Credit reporting agency but not an OC Original creditor.


They are prohibited from professional collection activiy while it is in validation..so as soon as you get the return receipt back from the certified letter you send..

You have already prepared the letter disputing it with the credit reporting agency.

You send that out the same day or the next day you get the return receipt back.

That way they cant verify and it is deleted.

You only have to win once, they have to win everytime.

If they do verify they are in violation of the fdcpa and the FCPA.

From there you send off a request for a procedural request to the CRA and find out exactly how they verified it.

Send another stern letter to the CA (collection agency) giving them 15 days to delete it and if they dont...let the complaints to the state and federal agencies fly.

Give it another 30-60 days...if no response...SUE THEM.

They are liable for 1000 dollars for each violation of each act.

Dont accept a partial validation..I cant tell you how many I have received with a computer printout.

If they do not do a full validation within 30 days then they are legally required to delete it."

HeretoHelp's letter to get derogatories removed looks very good. (May 11, 2007) I think that I will merge the parts of it I like with jtucker Moderator's posting of March 9, 2005 6:45 am ['Proof that the collection company owns the debt/or has been assigned the debt. (You are legally entitled to collect this particular debt from me.) This is basic contract law.']


My problem is that Protocol has agreed over the phone to a settlement amount that is roughly one third of the original debt. I dont want to jeopardize this offer. I mostly want to verify that they are authorized.


They agreed to fax and mail me a copy of an agreement:
Payment = cease of collection activity,
&
"client"(Resurgent, not the original creditor) will be "notified" to "update the settled status" to the "appropriate credit reporting agencies".

My biggest issue (among many) with the one they faxed has to do with the chain of ownership.
I called the original creditor last night and they said that all the information they had on the account was 'Asset sale' 'Sherman Financial' and Sherman Financial's phone number: 888-665-0374.
I went online and got a copy of my credit report today and this original account number is listed to lvnv funding llc (with Citibank as the 'original creditor').
The status is 'Collection account, $____.__ past due as of apr 2008'

After having the account rep's supervisor raise her voice at me and talk over me, I hung up.
I was trying to find out if they could include all company names on their 'settlement offer' :
Protocol [the Letterhead of the fax]
Sherman Financial (the name provided by Citibank)
Sherman Acquisition (name on the recorded message at 888-665-0374)
Resurgent Capital Services LP (another name on said greeting message AND 'client' as listed in the header of the fax)
and
LVNV Funding LLC (yet another name on the same message, and the same name as on my credit report)

I don't want to pay money to Protocol (by bank check, from a newly opened account) and find myself no further dug out of this mess. I don't want Protocol to use it to pay fees and interest and find out that I still have obligations to Citibank, Sherman Financial or Sherman Acquisition....Especially since 'all collection activity will cease on this account' may refer to the Protocol account # at the top of the fax and NOT the 'Original Acct #' listed at the top of the fax.

A poster on this site or another said that a Debt Verification of debt validation letter may be one way to finalize links, authority, etc.

I also want the collection agency to agree to change the account status to 'paid in full' or 'paid satisfactory', instead of anything involving 'settled'.

As I said above, I don't want to jeopardize the one-third offer. I just want it to be iron-clad so that I don't become one of those sob stories that you hear about on the radio or internet - learn from this hapless person's mistake who sent in money to an unauthorized company, and they are laughing all the way to the bank.

(PS: I found lvnvfunding dot com on the internet, and the home page has 'the management of purchased assets is outsourced to a third-party specializing in the management of these types of consumer assets, Resurgent Capital Services LP (Resurgent)'...and [Resurgent] has been hired by LVNV Funding to perform these services on its behalf'.

The header on my fax from Protocol includes 'Client: Resurgent Capital Services, LP')

I agree with smo65d11 that I am confused by anonymous coward????????s advice.

I think the posting needs a combination of punctuation, re-reading to another person for suggestions on clarity, addition of some words, syntax help, replacement of some ???????it???????s, ???????one???????s, ???????you???????s, ???????they???????s with nouns and pronouns, etc.

Maybe someone with a lot of familiarity with debt, credit, collections, and the law, and reinterpret the advice.

Am I right in my interpretation of the advice from anonymous coward that basically you send a debt validation demand, which they have to respond to or delete account from your report. If they respond, they are in violation. If they don't delete, they are in violation. They are screwed either way. Do I have that right?

Now on one hand, that's great to punish the unscrupulous companies. But what about the people whose valid debt it is? They've gotten a free ride, don't have to pay back the money they owe, and the creditor has to pay $1,000? That just doesn't seem fair. I have worked hard to pay off my debt in full and using this method, you get away scott free?

These post are great. I have a couple of questions thou. Are you sending this letter to the collection agency or the company they say they bought the debt from. For example i have a company saying i owe them money from a phone company i never used.

The company is Midland Cred but the Individual Account is from southwestern Bell. Do i send the letters to both companies. And in what point of this process do i send the info to the 3 credit bureau? I learned so much from these forums ,cant thank you enough.

P.S How are you finding the address of the names on the credit report to send the letters too or companies they they bought the debt from.

Hello CplusE2ent.
You can send the validation letter to the collection agency, if they do not provide you with validation in/around 30 days go ahead and dispute it with the credit reporting bureaus. If they validate it with the bureaus then you can ask them the method of validation that was used with them, if they have none then they may find themselves in trouble as well.

Thank you JCEMT for the help.

Do you just type your name on the bottom or do i have to sign it too. I'm not sure where i read, that it not good to sign the DV letter. But looking at the sample DV letter. It has
Your signature on the bottom. Just making sure before I send.

Only type your name, never sign anything.

The guest is right. Never sign that letter. Otherwise, you may see your signature appearing on fake documents that they manufactured in-house.

It's a trivial matter to put your signature on a paper you've never seen. Anybody who's halfway good with computers and has a scanner can do it in about ten minutes.

Thanksd for this info! I reieved a letter from this company for who knows what. thanks again for providing the proper sets to take care of this.