Asset Acceptance, SOL, and looking for some confidence.

[Anonymous]

I've been reading all I can find regarding this but I wanted to double check my plans.

This:

Collection agency: Asset Acceptance Associates
Original balance: $4,705
Current balance: $8,051

DOFD (per equifax): 11/2006

Last Activity: 10/2006

Date Assigned: Mar 17 2008

 ... is the biggest hit to my current scores (TU 599 EQ629). 

Going from DOFD it looks like SOL has passed (I am in Oklahoma - 5 years for written, 3 years for open accounts). The thing is, I really don't think this debt is mine. The largest card balance I have ever carried is about 2300.00 - less than half the original amount.

I am thinking I should DV first.  Then, if that comes back with the required info... attempt a PFD.

Thanks for the great forum!

[MarcinXP]

Hi, welcome to the forum.

Definitely DV and then wait to see what happens. Remember if you carried a $2,300 balance, the original creditor probably added interest, fees, late payment fees and other things to the Balance before selling it to the collection agency, then on top of that the collection agency added interest over the year and now it's whopping $8,000+ dollars.

Good news is like you said it's past SOL so when DVing make sure you let them know that you want this debt verified and also that you are aware that this is past your state SOL. Sometimes collection companies can serve a judgement (They like to throw stuff up against the wall and make it stick), of course you should have no problem getting this vacated but its a hassle. Make sure you let them know up front that you are an educated consumer on collection laws FDCPA and FCRA..they might back down.

3 - If they respond back to a DV and you agree then decide what you want to do. Are you willing to pay $8,000 for a deletion of something that is going to be off your credit on or around 2/2013? About a year + 6 months from now? I would send them a PFD for $500 and see what they say? if they reject it then move up to $1000 for PFD..that is it. If they reject that then email the CEO and ask them if the economy has been great to them because they have a debt in your name which you are not going to pay, they can't sue you and it goes of the credit report in abotu a year and a half and if they don't want a nice $1000 for a deletion (Push of a button) then that is fine..

I did the same thing with few companies and even wrote one CEO going back and forth letting him know he can either take my offer or he won't see a dime...so if the business is great then that is cool...I can live with my debt falling off within a year and just relaxing knowing I have money..or he can take my offer....needless to say he took my money..

Do not dispute the debt once you know it is valid and make sure you get everything in writing.

[RobertEG]

If you think the debt is not yours, I would not pursue that path solely by way of DV to the debt collector.  They will just get a confirmation statement from the OC as their debt verification.  If you truly believe that the debt is not yours, you can compel the OC to provide more than just their statement to that effect.

If you have no knowledge of the debt, then you can make the assumption that it was reported due to someone else using your name.  If you take the step of reporting that assertion to a law enforecement agency and obtain a police report (which the FCRA calls an idenity theft report), then you can use that report to compel the creditor/OC to provide actual documenation of their claim to your responsibility for the debt.  This consumer discovery right is provided under FCRA 609(e).  You cant compel the creditor to provide copies of their business records by way of the DV process.

[notmyj]

I had a debt with AA that was past SOL. I tried to DV, they did. I tried to PFD they refused over and over. Finally I noticed they were reporting my debt as a Factoring company wtih 30 day terms. This was incorrect as I never signed a contract with them agreeing to a Net30 account or payment plan. I used this as the reasons for filing complaints against them with the BBB, the PA Attorney General, and the MI Attorney General. 2 weeks later I got a letter from the BBB, they attached AA's repsonse to my complaints, it stated in part, "...While we belive this debt to be valid, in teh interest of putting this complaint to rest we will delete this account from our records and remove the listing on any and all credit reporting companies."

2 days later it was gone. The funny thing is, I offered them alot of money to delete it. They refused but they ended up deleteing it anyway and didnt get a dime. They are a hard nut to crack, but I and others are proof that they can be beat.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all!

Under " type" on the 3 reports they have entered something different on each one:

"Installment"

"Factoring Company Account (debt buyer)"

"Open Account"

I cannot find payment term info, the only additional comment on EQ (the Factoring Company entry) is "Collection Account".

[GoodCredBen]

Asset Acceptance is a CA .... i had a debt with them i paid off (That i got while i was in oklahoma as well)..... 

[Anonymous]

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@BadCredBen wrote:

Asset Acceptance is a CA .... i had a debt with them i paid off (That i got while i was in oklahoma as well)..... 

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Did you pay off in full, Did they delete the account on your reports?

[GoodCredBen]

Yep they sure did.... they deleted the account without me even asking.... lol... i PIF and they deleted it on their own free will (though i am sure it will pop up again some day)....

my debt was only a couple hundred dollars though. 

[Anonymous]

The downside to DVing seems to be that if they do send all the required documents, I will have 30 days to get it cleared up before the debt is assumed valid.

I found this in the FDPCA :

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.

Seems like a DV on an account past SOL is a pretty no risk thing to try.

Still, I want to skip the DV and offer a partial PFD. Bad idea?

Also, I have a phobia of getting this deleted only to see it being resold to another CA. Is there anything I can do to keep that from happening... maybe something added to the PFD agreement?