Wrongfully place Collection

[Anonymous]

I have a collection on my credit that i never agreed to take responsibility for and would like to know how to go about fighting this.

I have disputed with Transunion but the results were "Verified, no change".

Here is the scoop...

I lived with someone that rented a "lot" (land space) of which the house was on.

I helped pay half the rent and wrote checks to the "land lord".

Land lord wanted to do a "security check" on me in order to live on said land lot, witht he person renting the lot, so i consented and give photo copies of my drivers license and ssn, and signed the authorization to do said security check.

The land lord stated i will in no way be responisble for the rent, it was just for the security check, so i signed. And nowhere on the paper did i read i was responsible for rent.

The person i was living with had purchased the home a year prior to me moving in, there was no lease or contract signed by her(home owner/land renter), she was just paying the rent as agreed.

A few months after i moved in and had the security check done, land lord wanted her to sign a lease agreement or move out, we decided to move out of state, as we did not want to live there anymore, home abandoned (not ideal i know, so no ethic comments please) and after several months of "24 hour eviction notices via mail" they took ownership of the home and placed a collection on her and ME. 

^ these are the facts, and i would like to fight this.

Steps i have taken:

• dispute with CRA.
   I thought since i did not sign anything stating i was responsible for payments...this would be cleared up without hassle. Yaaa not the case.

In the response to the investigation i received in the mail it says i may request a description of how the investigation was conducted along with the buisness name, address and telephone number OF the source of information.

Does this mean i can get access to the paperwork used to determine the desicion?

Isnt this fruad?

Can simply writing checks to help with rent make me a liable participant on the account?

If there were fine print about liability of payment, wouldnt this be duress? as i was told this is in no way making me responsible for payment of rent? and thus the ONLY reason i signed the security check.

I just bought a house and i needed to take a loan out for repairs as i have a child on the way (july) and my house is gutted and i have been doing alot of work with my month to month paycheck, plumbing and electrical...need insulation and drywall.... but i cannot do all the work needed in the time frame of my kid being born.. hospital checks the homeplace before sending them home...tried to get a loan but was denied.... kind of in a rock and a hard place here. 

HELP

[omskillet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have a collection on my credit that i never agreed to take responsibility for and would like to know how to go about fighting this.

I have disputed with Transunion but the results were "Verified, no change".

Here is the scoop...

I lived with someone that rented a "lot" (land space) of which the house was on.

I helped pay half the rent and wrote checks to the "land lord".

Land lord wanted to do a "security check" on me in order to live on said land lot, witht he person renting the lot, so i consented and give photo copies of my drivers license and ssn, and signed the authorization to do said security check.

The land lord stated i will in no way be responisble for the rent, it was just for the security check, so i signed. And nowhere on the paper did i read i was responsible for rent.

The person i was living with had purchased the home a year prior to me moving in, there was no lease or contract signed by her(home owner/land renter), she was just paying the rent as agreed.

A few months after i moved in and had the security check done, land lord wanted her to sign a lease agreement or move out, we decided to move out of state, as we did not want to live there anymore, home abandoned (not ideal i know, so no ethic comments please) and after several months of "24 hour eviction notices via mail" they took ownership of the home and placed a collection on her and ME. 

^ these are the facts, and i would like to fight this.

Steps i have taken:

• dispute with CRA.
   I thought since i did not sign anything stating i was responsible for payments...this would be cleared up without hassle. Yaaa not the case.

In the response to the investigation i received in the mail it says i may request a description of how the investigation was conducted along with the buisness name, address and telephone number OF the source of information.

Does this mean i can get access to the paperwork used to determine the desicion?

Isnt this fruad?

Can simply writing checks to help with rent make me a liable participant on the account?

If there were fine print about liability of payment, wouldnt this be duress? as i was told this is in no way making me responsible for payment of rent? and thus the ONLY reason i signed the security check.

I just bought a house and i needed to take a loan out for repairs as i have a child on the way (july) and my house is gutted and i have been doing alot of work with my month to month paycheck, plumbing and electrical...need insulation and drywall.... but i cannot do all the work needed in the time frame of my kid being born.. hospital checks the homeplace before sending them home...tried to get a loan but was denied.... kind of in a rock and a hard place here. 

HELP

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I'm not a lawyer or an expert but to me it sounds like that without a lease or contract the land lord really has no case here. UNLESS this state has some stipulations about verbally binding agreements. Either way...when you submitted that dispute the credit agency contacted the land lord directly and they "verified" the debt. Who knows how exactly. Could of been verbal or electronic verification. I would send a debt verifcation letter to the land lord and a carbon copy to the CB's. Basically you need to ask for the same verifcation that they gave to the CB. If they can't provid you with that in 30 days its my understanding that the collection must be removed.

At the same time I would most definitely contact a lawyer. Try to find someone who will give you consultation for free. In my city there are lawyers that will meet you at a coffee shop on certain days and give you an hour of their time for 40-50 bucks and a cup of coffee.

Definitely keep the thread updated with any news.

[IOBA]

PA79 - just clarifying for understanding.

1.   Your friend had a mobile home and placed it on a rented space/land?

2.   Your friend had a verbal agreement with the landlord to rent the land.

3.   You moved in and the landlord (owner of the land) wanted to do a security check on you for safety reasons.   

4.   You consented, signed, and gave a copy of your DL and SSN.

5.   You wrote out monthly checks to the landlord for land rent each month until you moved.

6.   The landlord decided to asked for a written lease agreement and your friend declined.  Both of you left the mobile home and moved out of state.

7.   Now the landlord wants monies owed for back rent and eviction costs.

This might qualify as a verbal agreement since you did agree to let the landlord check you out (no pun intended) and you paid the landlord directly on a monthly basis.

What state did this occur in?

When did the eviction occur?

[Anonymous]

1,2 correct

3 correct, verbal agreement stating in no way will i be responsible for rent.

4 correct, read 3

5, wrote half of rent on behalf of home owner/renter

6 correct, was "month to month"

7 correct, BUT, i have ammo(paperwork) that i found of court ruled desicision and on this paperwork states vs "renter"(not me) and liability joint: (blank), full: (renter's name)

so this is sure fire proof on my behalf i am not responsible solely by helping pay rent.

so i am going to write a DV(Debt Validation letter) to the credit collections/attorney that placed the collections on me, and CC to the credit bureau.

Need help wording this bad-boy DV letter in anticipation of either no response, or fruadulently signed papers, and go from there.

ps:these forums are great, tons of info to learn from, kind of like self defense karate lol

[RobertEG]

Neither the DV process nor a CRA dispute is going to compel the production of evidence, or get to a resolution of a facts in a legal contract dispute.

The debt collector verification will be based on a confirmation from the credtior that they consider the debt valid.

A dispute will require a statement that they have conducted an investigation, and find the informatin accurate.

Neither have the abilty to compel production of evidence, or a third party to rule on who is correct.

That is the jurisdiction of the courts.  I dont believe you will get the matter resolved through the administrative DV or dispute processes 

[Anonymous]

im not understanding. You are saying that it is acceptable for Transunion to keep an ill placed collections on my file soley based on my helping pay rent? (name on checks) clearly the court documents werent sent to the credit bureau with the rest of the "paperwork" which is why i wasnt summoned to court, or had no collection calls, mail, etc..

A) no rent agreement verbal or signed by me. (in fact there was a verbal agreement stating i WAS NOT responsible)

B) court documents stating in fact who is responsible for said debt, with my name nowhere on it.

This is not enough for Transunion to have the collections removed?

There has got to be something in the FCRA or w/e other regulations staing they cant do this.

This is the info i need, so if anyone is able to help it would be much appreciated.

Im going to try a letter and if that doesnt work i will have to take this to court.

Its a little more serious than waahh i want a loan so i can blow it on alchohol, gambling, and general yeehaw times....baby on the way and need to get my house up to par, to bring him home, ya know?

[RobertEG]

As I see it, you have a legal issue over whether or not you are obligated for the debt.  Both sides are entitled to due process in resolving the factual and legal issues over that dispute, and the CRA is not the party with the authority to do that.  I have no idea whether the landlord has justifiable legal reason for establishing your obligation for the debt, but they are entitled to argue it.

The CRAs conduct an administrative process that relies on the furnisher conducting a reasonable investigation of a dispute, and deciding whether or not, based on that investigation, they consider the debt to be legitimate. They dont conduct a trial upon receipt of verification.