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Beyond Frustrated!!!

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adoak
Valued Member

Beyond Frustrated!!!

Since July 2012 I have been disputing two collection accounts on my credit report.  The purported debt ($6K) is related to an old California lease (2007-2008).  Second, two collection agencies are reporting the same debt to the CRAs.  The collection agencies report virtually the same date of assignment and the same collection amounts, so there should be no argument the debt is one and the same.  Third, according to California law, the statute of limitations on written lease contracts is four years.  Since the statute of limitations has expired, both collection agencies are legally barred from attempting to collect the debt.  Also, it is also unlawful under the FCRA, to have duplicate reporting of the same debt by two collection agencies.  Beginning in July, I've sent three rounds of dispute letters to all parties, i.e. the two collection agencies, and the three CRAs.  To no avail.  The CRAs respond each time by sending me the results of the dispute investigation and saying they have validated the debt amounts thru the collection agencies.  I am at my wits end.  I have read and re-read the forums on these types of collection account.  I believe I have done everything I could, documented it all via CMRRR etc.  At the very least, since the statute of limitations has expired, the collection agencies should close the collection accounts and report a $0 balance.  At best, they should DELETE the trade lines from my credit reports.

 

I attempted to buy a home a few months ago and these collection accounts related to this lease was a significant factor why my loan was not approved.

 

So my question is... what else can I do to get these trade lines deleted?!?  Is this now a situation where I should hire an attorney to get this resolved?

 

Message 1 of 17
16 REPLIES 16
GregB
Valued Contributor

Re: Beyond Frustrated!!!

SOL has nothing to do with a CA closing an account or changing the balance.

 

If they sue you, then you may use SOL as a defense in court. If it gets to that point, make sure you do lots of research on how SOL applies and which laws apply.

 

You might want to determine who actually owns the debt and then work on a Pay For Delete.

Message 2 of 17
adoak
Valued Member

Re: Beyond Frustrated!!!

If the SOL has expired, how can the CA still attempt to collect the debt?  The 2 collection accounts were reported in August 2008 and they would be otherwise scheduled to drop off my credit report in August 2015.  Since July, I've spent HOURS trying to determine who actually owns the debt.  I started by calling the apartment building.  The issue is that since 2008 the property manager of this apartment building in Los Angeles has changed at lease THREE times.  They have never sued me.  They have never entered a judgment of any kind.  Again, the SOL expired a few months ago.  I have done at least three rounds of letters to the CAs and CRAs, beginning with a DV letter via CMRRR.  I have not submitted a PFD or PIF letter because frankly I do not have $6K to toss to the wind.

Message 3 of 17
bahbahd
Established Contributor

Re: Beyond Frustrated!!!

Sorry to tell you this. SOL has nothing to do with debt absolvement or barring collection attempts for a debt.  Debts don't magically go away with time. What a SOL does is time bar taking you to court to sue, receive a judgement, etc.

 

statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated. In civil law systems, similar provisions are typically part of the civil code or criminal code and are often known collectively as periods of prescription.

 

from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_limitations

 

 

Message 4 of 17
adoak
Valued Member

Re: Beyond Frustrated!!!

If the SOL is time bar from CA taking me to court, to sue or to enter a judgment, then obviously the 2 collection agencies have no legal recourse to get me to pay the $6K.  Why would I be motivated to do a PFD?  I refuse to believe my only option is to wait until August 2015 until these 2 collection accounts drop off my credit report.  What else can I do?

Message 5 of 17
bahbahd
Established Contributor

Re: Beyond Frustrated!!!


@adoak wrote:

If the SOL is time bar from CA taking me to court, to sue or to enter a judgment, then obviously the 2 collection agencies have no legal recourse to get me to pay the $6K.  Why would I be motivated to do a PFD?  I refuse to believe my only option is to wait until August 2015 until these 2 collection accounts drop off my credit report.  What else can I do?


Q: "Why would I be motivated to do a PFD?"

 

A: because "my only option is to wait until August 2015 until these 2 collection accounts drop off my credit report"

 

A collection agency does not have to accept a PFD. Once paid, they should reflect Paid $0 balance, but will still remain as derogatory accounts. This is not optimal but might not have prevented you from getting a mortgage. As a side note, these two CA should not be reporting the same debt. Have you explicitly stated that there is multiple reportings of the same account in debt validation letters? I would DV again and highlight their lack of response to first communication attempts, the highlight the multiple reporting again, outline what they have violated in the FDCPA and FCRA, demand that they need to contact the OC a get proof of the debt they are trying to collect, furnish all of that information to you. If they do not, explain to them that you will be reporting them to the FTC and California AG office and may possibly sue for damages incurred while unable to obtain a mortgage. I would be very careful, informed and willing to proceed before I threatened to sue.

 

I would use a better tone than you started this thread off with. I understand you are frustrated, but you are rather incorrect in your possible obligation to this debt.

 

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf

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

Message 6 of 17
Shogun
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Beyond Frustrated!!!

Hello and welcome to the forums.

 

Perhaps I can help clear some of this up for you.  You refer to the SOL, yes this refers to the time period in which a creditor can take you to court and get a judgement on you.  That is pretty much all it does.  The SOL has nothing however to do with the time period in which the debt may be posted to your credit report.  This is the CRTP or Credit Report Time Period.  This is generally 7 years + 180 days from the DOFD (Date of First Delinquincy), or when the debt went bad and was never caught back up.  The SOL and the CRTP clocks are both started by the DOFD.  So if the SOL of your state is 4 years and the CRTP is 7 1/2 years you can now see the difference.

 

Also to note that neither the SOL nor the CRTP expiring means the debt is gone.  It is still there, they can still try and collect it.  A debt is never gone until it is paid and settled.  So after the SOL is expired, they can't sue you, after the CRTP is expired, they can't post to your CR.  But they can still contact you for the debt.

 

Hope this has cleared it up some for you.

Starting Score: 504
July 2013 score:
EQ FICO 819, TU08 778, EX "806 lender pull 07/26/2013
Goal Score: All Scores 760+, Newest goal 800+
Take the myFICO Fitness Challenge

Current scores after adding $81K in CLs and 2 new cars since July 2013
EQ:809 TU 777 EX 790 Now it's just garden time!

June 2017 update: All scores over 820, just pure gardening now.
Message 7 of 17
adoak
Valued Member

Re: Beyond Frustrated!!!

Absolutely.  I have sent 3 rounds of DV letters via CMRRR since July and each instance I've outlined that the two CAs have violated FDCPA and FCRA due to the same collection being reported multiple times. 

 

Only one of the two CAs has responded to my DV by providing me with what is purportedly proof of the $6K debt. I wrote back to that CA and explained that I properly terminated my lease by giving the required 30-day written notice and that I do not owe any outstanding rent.  This high rise apartment building changed property managers at least 3 times since 2008 so there's been a bit of confusion over who the OC is.  I think I've finally figured out who the OC is and I've calling their corporate office multiple times.  Each phone call is an exercise in futility.  When I call OC, I an connected to a main switchboard that sends me into a circular series of records from which I can never navigate to get to speak with a LIVE person.

 

FYI, the 2 CAs are Corporate Trust Recovery and Kimball Tirey & St. John LLC. Each CA reports the same DOFD, the same date of assignment, and exact same collection amount on my credit report. BTW, these are the only two collection accounts on my credit report and in total it appears that I have collections in the amount of $12K!

 

The multiple reporting violation by the two CA has been completely ignored by Equifax, TransUnion and Experian when I point this out to them via DV via CMRRR.  I would have expected that due to the violation, at least one of the CA would have to drop off.  Not the case.  They both continue to repport.  The CRAs have done nothing to enforce FDCPA and FCRA.

 

Message 8 of 17
Shogun
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Beyond Frustrated!!!

I think you are going down the road now.  A direct dispute with the OC as to the whether the account is valid or not is your best course of action.  If you were to prove you did not owe the debt in the first place, this would mandate the removal of all the TLs to your CR.

Starting Score: 504
July 2013 score:
EQ FICO 819, TU08 778, EX "806 lender pull 07/26/2013
Goal Score: All Scores 760+, Newest goal 800+
Take the myFICO Fitness Challenge

Current scores after adding $81K in CLs and 2 new cars since July 2013
EQ:809 TU 777 EX 790 Now it's just garden time!

June 2017 update: All scores over 820, just pure gardening now.
Message 9 of 17
bahbahd
Established Contributor

Re: Beyond Frustrated!!!

Yes, have you sent at letter to the OC? If not do that. If they don't respond then I would suggest that it is time to send copies of all these communications and return receipts with a complaint letter to your AG office, the FTC and the BBB just for good measure. 

Message 10 of 17
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