Dv response received, is my reply strong enough?

[Anonymous]

Sent out a DV letter to a CA after getting a SW alert a little over a month ago. I received their response, which included a final statement from the OC, but nothing else. This was not a real DV, so I want to send them another letter.

Is this letter enough, or should I use a stronger dv non-compliance letter since they are past the 30 day timeframe?

This letter is being sent to you in response to my continued attempt to validate an alleged debt. Your response, however, failed to include the information necessary for me to verify the validity of this debt. While the statements of the account were included, there was no information enclosed showing proof of CA's legal authorization to collect this debt. Additionally, no proof of bonding/licensing was provided. I have enclosed a copy of my original letter for your review and again request the above information. The omitted information has been highlighted for your reference.

Please provide to me, by mail, information requested and/or update your records accordingly within a timely manner. As you know, continuing to report information to my credit report without providing me with validation of this debt can be considered collection activity, thus violating the FDCPA.

I anticipate you speedy response to this matter.

 

[Anonymous]

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Sprinty2 wrote:

Sent out a DV letter to a CA after getting a SW alert a little over a month ago. I received their response, which included a final statement from the OC, but nothing else. This was not a real DV, so I want to send them another letter.

Is this letter enough, or should I use a stronger dv non-compliance letter since they are past the 30 day timeframe?

This letter is being sent to you in response to my continued attempt to validate an alleged debt. Your response, however, failed to include the information necessary for me to verify the validity of this debt. While the statements of the account were included, there was no information enclosed showing proof of CA's legal authorization to collect this debt. Additionally, no proof of bonding/licensing was provided. I have enclosed a copy of my original letter for your review and again request the above information. The omitted information has been highlighted for your reference.

Please provide to me, by mail, information requested and/or update your records accordingly within a timely manner. As you know, continuing to report information to my credit report without providing me with validation of this debt can be considered collection activity, thus violating the FDCPA.

I anticipate you speedy response to this matter.

 

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Those things are not required by FDCPA 809. If they provided you with a copy of the debt and the OCs name/address.....they validated.

[Anonymous]

Wow, maybe I was just not looking carefully enough at what was sent to me. The main billing page they sent me was from Jan-05, this shows the balance that the CA is alleging I owe. The second page of what they sent me is "Page 3" which shows an additional charge, however, it is not from the same bill, it is from Mar-05. I was almost certain I had not carried over any balances on this account.

Do I need to go after Verizon directly in order to get a complete balance history, or is the CA responsible for providing that information?

Additionally, I never received any dunning letter from this CA about this balance, so I am going to file complaints with the BBB, AG, and FTC. The more I send these letters out and have to deal with these CAs, the more angry I get that they try and take advantage of people the way they do.

I was under the inpression that the CA  is responsible for sending a complete history of the account if the collection is disputed. Did I get this wrong?

Message Edited by Sprinty2 on 12-11-2008 10:07 PM

[Anonymous]

bump

[Anonymous]

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Sprinty2 wrote:

I was under the inpression that the CA  is responsible for sending a complete history of the account if the collection is disputed. Did I get this wrong?

Message Edited by Sprinty2 on 12-11-2008 10:07 PM

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If the amount is disputed, the CA must send you something from the OC showing the balance, not just a computer printout of their own records they have.

[PayYouNever]

What state do you live in?

[Anonymous]

I live in New Jersey now, debt was incurred in Cali. SOL should be 4 years, which if the balance they showed me was accurate would put DOFD sometime before 1/05, meaning I'm on the border of SOL

[RobertEG]

I would back up a step. 

You only became aware of the CA based on a SW alert?  That indicates that the CA made a post to your CR.

That is a legal "initial communication" of debt collection activity, and requires the CA to send a formal dunning letter within five days of that date.  FDCPA 809(a). So they may be in violoation of the FDCPA.

As for their non-validation, the FDCPA is not a REQIIREMENT for validation. Section 809 of the FDCPA is directed at ending collection activities until the CA chooses to validate.  Failure to validate is not an FDCPA violation.  But once you DV them, any further collection activity on their part is an FDCPA violation.  They can choose to not send validation.

The level of detail you are seeking in your DV letter is not statutory.  They only have to verify that the debt was assigned, or sold, to them, and if you request it, the name and address of the OC.  It is not a legal discovery proceeding, and documentation is not required under the law. 

Some individual federal circuits have ruled in favor of a higher level of disclosure, but that is limuited to your jurisdiction.   You need a lawyer to compel more.

[Anonymous]

Ultimately, I would like them to prove to me that I owe the amount that they say I owe. They sent me one page each from two different statements, which do not indicate whether any payments were made between that time frame. The part that gets me is the CA is only requesting the "original" balance from the statement. They haven't tacked on ANY fees, interest or other. That is very un-CA like.

They did make an entry to my CR without a dunning letter. I know that is a violation. I don't care if they don't want to validate... I realize they do not have to, but they should remove the entry from my report if they don't want to verify. If I owe the money, I'll pay it, but I don't want to send a single penny to any CA until they prove to me that I should be paying them.

How do you think that I should proceed here? Should I dispute the balance with the CA so they will be forced to send me more documentation?

[Anonymous]

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Sprinty2 wrote:

Ultimately, I would like them to prove to me that I owe the amount that they say I owe. They sent me one page each from two different statements, which do not indicate whether any payments were made between that time frame. The part that gets me is the CA is only requesting the "original" balance from the statement. They haven't tacked on ANY fees, interest or other. That is very un-CA like.

Were those statements from the OC? Do they show the amount the CA is trying to collect for or is there a discrepancy in that amount and what the CA is trying to collect? Some CA's do not tack on charges. I've had this happen more than once. They are paid a percentage of the debt to collect for the OC or if they bought the debt, they just have to collect more than what they paid for it to make a profit. Depending on the situation, they may actually be prohibited from adding charges.

They did make an entry to my CR without a dunning letter. I know that is a violation. I don't care if they don't want to validate... I realize they do not have to, but they should remove the entry from my report if they don't want to verify. If I owe the money, I'll pay it, but I don't want to send a single penny to any CA until they prove to me that I should be paying them.

How do you think that I should proceed here? Should I dispute the balance with the CA so they will be forced to send me more documentation?

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Ask for what FDCPA states they need to respond with. A copy of the debt or judgment. But, if they provided you with statements showing your balance that equals what they are trying to collect, this requirement may already be filled.

Have you spoke with the OC regarding the account and the amount?