DV Response from Portfolio Recovery... What Next? Texas

[Anonymous]

I sent a dv letter to PRA and they responding pretty timely, what's next? I do not feel like they have validated the debt, however they mailed a letter stating they purchased the account from the original creditor, on 07/23/14 and the amount that I owe. I am just curious how to respond to this letter or should I file a complaint with the BBB or OAG..

[RobertEG]

What is or is not adequate debt verification is not clearly defined under FDCPA 809(b), thus leaving it to the courts to build judicial interpretation via case law.

The preponderance of case law does not require that they provide documentation in order to verify.... only a statement that they have obtained verification.

Statement only that they purchased the debt is a bit iffy as to verification, but ony a judge can make a determination as to whether they consider it adequate.

In the interim, lack of what you consider to be adequate verification is the same as having not provided verification.

It is not, in and of itself, an violation of the FDCPA to have provided what you dont consider to be adequate.

What is means is that you consider them to still be under a cease collection bar (assuming your DV was timely).

Complaint to the BBB or CFPB would become proper if/when they resume active collection on the debt without having first provided adequate debt validation.

That would constitute violation of their cease collection bar.....

As an aside, you refer to beng a resident of TX.

Did you file a DV under the FDCPA, or a request under the TX Financial Code?  They are separate statutes with separate requirements.

If it was identified as under the TX Financial Code, for example, then you might additionally assert that lack of verification would require CR deletion until they do verify, which is not a requirement of the federal FDCPA.

[Anonymous]

This is what I sent.

To Whom It May Concern,  

I am sending this letter to you in response to a dispute of debt. Be advised, this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested.  

This is NOT a request for "verification" or proof of my mailing address, but a request for VALIDATION made pursuant to the above named Title and Section. I respectfully request that your office provide me with competent evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you.  

Please provide me with the following:  

• What the money you say I owe is for;  

• Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe;  

• Provide me with copies of any papers that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe;  

• Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable;  

• Identify the original creditor;  

• Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account;  

• Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state; and  

• Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent.  

If your offices have reported invalidated information to any of the three major Credit Bureau's (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion), said action might constitute fraud under both Federal and State Laws. Due to this fact, if any negative mark is found on any of my credit reports by your company or the company that you represent I will not hesitate in bringing legal action against you for the following:  

• Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act  

• Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act  

• Defamation of Character  

If your offices are able to provide the proper documentation as requested, I will require at least 30 days to investigate this information and during such time all collection activity must cease and desist.  

Also during this validation period, if any action is taken which could be considered detrimental to any of my credit reports, I will consult with my legal counsel. This includes any information to a credit reporting repository that could be inaccurate or invalidated or verifying an account as accurate when in fact there is no provided proof that it is.  

If your offices fail to respond to this validation request within 30 days from the date of your receipt, all references to this account must be deleted and completely removed from my credit file and a copy of such deletion request shall be sent to me immediately.  

I would also like to request, in writing, that no telephone contact be made by your offices to my home or to my place of employment. If your offices attempt telephone communication with me, including but not limited to computer generated calls or correspondence sent to any third parties, it will be considered harassment and I will have no choice but to file suit. All future communications with me MUST be done in writing and sent to the address noted in this letter.  

This is an attempt to correct your records, any information obtained shall be used for that purpose.  

[RobertEG]

Items 1, 2, and 5 are supported by case law.

The rest are generally not recognized as required items under debt validation.

You could sue and hope to find a judge who agrees with your expansive interpretation.

However, if the debt is valid, the outcome  is unlikely to result in required deletion of any credit reporting and still won't satisfy the debt.

I am not sure the hassle is worth a finding of lack of compliance with their debt validation obligation prior to resuiming collection on the debt, particularly when yuor post does not assert that you dont consider the debt to be yours.

Best of luck.....

[Anonymous]

Thank you, I am simply going off from things, I google, and find on credit forums in an attempt to repair my credit. I was advised for older third party collections (as such) do not pay, but dispute. Reason being is, it still reports negatively. And this happens to be a company that is listed as not to pfd. 

[Anonymous]

I'll tell you that 3rd party debt collectors never can validate fully no matter what they claim. This is because you have never agreed to do business with them and you have no contract with them, and even if they show you paperwork you signed with the original creditor or hospital, that's not proving that you agreed to contract with them. So you just keep rejecting and demanding validation.

[RobertEG]

The fallacy in that approach is that it assumes that debt validation means they must validate that you owe them the debt.

Many collections involve assignment of collection authority, and thus the debt is not owed to the debt collector.

Debt validation goes to the validity of the debt established under the creditor, not current ownership.

[Anonymous]

Kyree - the problem is that you requested Validation under FDCPA. You need to send them another Validation request, citing the applicable Texas Financial code, not FDCPA. There are examples here of proper Texas DV request.