Debt Validation Question - Debt Recovery Solutions/Southwestern Investment Group

[Anonymous]

Hi, All,

Quick question!

I received a dunning letter from Debt Recovery Solutions on behalf of Southwestern Investment Group, naming Ann Taylor as the original creditor. I have never had any credit with Ann Taylor. I have been dealing with some identity theft issues recently and have followed the identity theft process, and I planned on following that same process with this account because I know that it is not mine.

Anyway, I received the dunning notice dated June 20th, and another one dated June 27th. On July 5th I sent a debt validation letter to Debt Recovery Solutions CMRRR. I didn't hear anything back for several weeks so I determined that they couldn't validate the debt. This was not a big surprise to me because it is not mine.

On August 4th I received a credit monitoring notification - those jerks put the account on my credit reports without validating the debt! If I understand the validation process correctly, they are not allowed to continue collection efforts (including reporting to the credit bureaus) unless they validate the debt. Is this correct?

What are my options at this point? Should I just go through the identity theft process and have the Ann Taylor account added to my FTC and law enforcement reports? Or did they violate anything under the FDCPA?

Any help is appreciated! Thank you!

[RobertEG]

The DV process does not set any period for or requriment to send validation, but does impose a cease collection bar on the debt collector if the DV is sent within 30 days of dunning notice.  The cease collection bar remains in effect until the debt collector has first sent the requested validation

FDCPA 809(b) does not explicitly state that reporting to a CRA is a collection activity that is included under the bar, but case law generally supports such an interpretation.

You can thus file a formal complaint with the CFPB, asserting violation of FDCPA 809(b) by their reporting to a CRA without first sending validation.

You must include a showing that your DV was timely (i.e., sent within 30 days after dunning notice) to establish the presence of a cease collection bar.

However, that could result in a lot or unnecessary effort, as they can simply validate at any time, and immediately re-report.

If you can state in a sworn police report that the debt/account that established the debt was not yours, then use of the identity theft process of FCRA 605B will get their collection blocked from your credit report without any input or involvment of the debt collection.

That would  be my advised procedure.......