Rcvd DV response--need help with next step!

Anonymous · ‎07-12-2010

Hi all,

I DV'd Portfolio Recovery for a debt on an old Bank of America CC. The original debt was for $4000, however Portfolio Recovery is reporting 3 DIFFERENT amounts owed under their collection, all over $10,000.

So, I DVd them this:

To whom it may concern;
I pulled my credit bureau report, and I discovered that you claim I owe you a debt. I do not have the whole account number, only what is showing on my report 431304999990XXXX. I have disputed this with the credit agencies and under § 809 of FDCPA, I am requesting validation of the debt. And under § 808, Unfair practices, I am also requesting validation for the totals you are reporting. Each credit report shows a different amount due, off by hundreds of dollars.
Please send me:

. 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;
· 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
· Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent

Thank you,

my name

my address which they have mailed items to

my email

Here is their response:

With the information you provided in your E-mail, I could not locate your account. Please provide more information in order to locate your account, i.e, account #, ss #, and the name that the account is in.

Edited

Customer Service Representative

IMPORTANT/CONFIDENTIAL: This communication is intended for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addresses. This message contains information which may be privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this communication is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited.

What should I do?? Thank you all for your help!

llecs · ‎07-12-2010

Is this three different TLs per CR (total of 9) or is this 3 different amount, one for each CR? If the latter, then you can look at the "reported date" or "status" date and get a feel as to how much is owed on what date. They are allowed to add simple interest. Per the DV sent, they don't have to provide all of that info. Personally, I'd send a PFD for $4k and see what happens.

Anonymous · ‎07-13-2010

Looks like they don't have the proper documents to prove your debt. Watch out! If I were you, I will only provide them with my name and the partial account number provided on your the credit report. No ss#, no full account#. By providing just your name, they should be able to locate you in their system. If they can't locate you, I would ignore them and dispute the information directly with the credit bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion, Experian).

Anonymous · ‎07-13-2010

Thank you both for your advice!

I did reply to the email with only the partial account number, my name and address. It is outside of the SOL for Georgia, so maybe they did get rid of my file? I guess now I just have to wait! And then possibly PFD. I just can't believe how much they are allowed to raise the amount due, over 100%!!

Anonymous · ‎07-13-2010

@Anonymous wrote:
Hi all,
I DV'd Portfolio Recovery for a debt on an old Bank of America CC. The original debt was for $4000, however Portfolio Recovery is reporting 3 DIFFERENT amounts owed under their collection, all over $10,000.
So, I DVd them this:

To whom it may concern;
I pulled my credit bureau report, and I discovered that you claim I owe you a debt. I do not have the whole account number, only what is showing on my report 431304999990XXXX. I have disputed this with the credit agencies and under § 809 of FDCPA, I am requesting validation of the debt. And under § 808, Unfair practices, I am also requesting validation for the totals you are reporting. Each credit report shows a different amount due, off by hundreds of dollars.
Please send me:

. 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;
· 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
· Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent

Thank you,
my name
my address which they have mailed items to
my email

Here is their response:

With the information you provided in your E-mail, I could not locate your account. Please provide more information in order to locate your account, i.e, account #, ss #, and the name that the account is in.

Edited
Customer Service Representative
IMPORTANT/CONFIDENTIAL: This communication is intended for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addresses. This message contains information which may be privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this communication is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited.

What should I do?? Thank you all for your help!

You do know that none of the items highlighted are even remotely required for a proper DV response, right?

At most, they only have to provide:

1. OC and address;

2. Judgment details;

3. Amount owed; and

4. Breakdown of amount.

It is enough that they just transcribe this data and include it in their letter / response to you.

Anonymous · ‎07-13-2010

The items were highlighted by the moderator to show me that those things are not required. I used a template for a DV letter I found on this site. However, I was not asking about what was 'wrong' with my DV letter, but rather what my next course of action should be. Next DV letter I send will not have those things included in them. Thank you.

Anonymous · ‎07-13-2010

@Anonymous wrote:
The items were highlighted by the moderator to show me that those things are not required. I used a template for a DV letter I found on this site. However, I was not asking about what was 'wrong' with my DV letter, but rather what my next course of action should be. Next DV letter I send will not have those things included in them. Thank you.

You could try a PFD for a minimal amount.

You do need to provide them enough information so that they can "find" you in their system. Last 4 digits of SSN is usually ok along with name, address and the partial account # on your credit report. I'm sure there must be thousands of people named, for example, E. Martinez and since it seems that you never received anything in the mail from them about this debt they likely don't have your correct address.

Anonymous · ‎07-13-2010

06--What do you think a good minimal amount for the pfd should be? The original debt that was charged off from Bank of America was $4000, now its up to $10,000 with the collection agency. Is it ok to ask for an explanation of the extra charges, such as interest, fees, etc.?

Thank you!

Anonymous · ‎07-13-2010

@Anonymous wrote:
06--What do you think a good minimal amount for the pfd should be? The original debt that was charged off from Bank of America was $4000, now its up to $10,000 with the collection agency. Is it ok to ask for an explanation of the extra charges, such as interest, fees, etc.?
Thank you!

It's hard to say what, from the debtor's point of view, a reasonable offer would be. A lot depends on how old the debt is, whether the SOL has expired, if the CA knows the existence of any external pressure on you (i.e. buying a house) that would require you to settle the debt and, in general, how much of a jerk the CA is.

IMO the CA will always justify the excess amount with the usual 30+% interest, multiple late fees and legal fees. No matter how they justify them, the fact remains that nobody would want to pay them.

I would look for other threads -- there are numerous -- that describe how others have handled Portfolio Recovery. You've indicated that the debt is outside of the Georgia's SOL so that would mean that the debts are over 6 years old. After 7.5 years they must drop from your credit report. Unless you have external pressure to pay, you might offer them $500 - $750 and see if they will bite. I think my top offer would be 40% of the original $4,000.

bruiseviolet · ‎04-16-2012

What on earth? I don't get this logic. You sent them a DV and they obviously COULD NOT VERIFY the debt- so why on this green earth would you offer a PFD? Why did you even DV in the first place then?