topic Re: CA refusing to validate debt ~ please help in Rebuilding Your Credit

CA refusing to validate debt ~ please help

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 15:19:36 GMT

Hello again,

I sent a DV letter to CA and they responded and said :

"We are in Receipt of your letter requesting formal validation for the above reference account. Unfortunately the validation period for this account has expired. The validation period starts 5 days after first communication with a debt collector. Upon receipt of the initial notice the consumer has 30 days to dispute the valididty of a debt. You can find this in the FDCPA (15 yadda yadd yadda) We do not report until the notice reaches the consumer and we send all outgoing mail through the National Change of Address system. We never received mail flagged as being returned through the NCOA system"

Ok, I have NEVER received anything from them and only found out about them when they started reporting on my report. They never sent anything certified or Return Receipt so they can't just assume I got a letter from them.

How do I address this?

Re: CA refusing to validate debt ~ please help

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 15:26:49 GMT

I would send them another DV and say something along the lines that you recently found this on your CR and want validation. How long ago did you find it on your CR?

You wouldn't by chance be in TX?

Re: CA refusing to validate debt ~ please help

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 15:29:15 GMT

Hello and thank you for responding.

I am in Ohio.

I found this on my credit report in August 2010 and I mailed the letter to them in August 2010.

I was going through my files today and I see that I never responded to their letter.

Am I too late to respond back to them now?

Re: CA refusing to validate debt ~ please help

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 15:35:26 GMT

You got a dunning letter prior to Aug 2010?

Re: CA refusing to validate debt ~ please help

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 15:37:33 GMT

No, I never received a dunning letter at all. I found out about the account when I pulled my credit report.

Re: CA refusing to validate debt ~ please help

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 15:48:05 GMT

You made the comment you never responded to their letter so I am confused.

Is the amount owed large? How old is the account, is it still within your states SOL?

Re: CA refusing to validate debt ~ please help

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 15:59:40 GMT

To clarify, I meant that I never responded to their letter that stated they refused to verify the debt.

Here is what happened:

1. Pulled my credit, found the account on CR

2. Mailed letter to CA in August 2010

3. CA Responded in August 2010 (refused to verify debt)

4. I never followed up to their refusal

5. Now, March 2011- wondering if there is anything I can do about this

The amount is $144 for one account and $61 dollars for the other. They have 2 accounts.

The accounts are about 3-4 years old. Old cable bills.

Thanks again for your help, I really appreciate it!

So, am I out of luck?

Re: CA refusing to validate debt ~ please help

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:11:28 GMT

All you can do is keep trying.

Another option is contact the OC and ask if you pay them will they recall the accounts from the CA. Let them know you knew nothing about the bills until you pulled your CR.

Re: CA refusing to validate debt ~ please help

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:14:09 GMT

Is the fact that they refuse to validate and they are still reporting on my CR a violation of the FDCPA?

Re: CA refusing to validate debt ~ please help

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:38:48 GMT

Well, if they just refused it would be.

They are saying they sent you a dunning letter and you did not ask for validation. Whether they actually did send a letter or not would be hard to prove.

Re: CA refusing to validate debt ~ please help

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:41:22 GMT

Ok, thank you for helping me.

Re: CA refusing to validate debt ~ please help

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:52:22 GMT

I'd definitely contact the OC. It's ridiculous that the CA won't itemize the charges for you. I don't care about the time limit - why would you ever pay a debt that they won't itemize and tell you the OC on? Ever?

Re: CA refusing to validate debt ~ please help

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:03:07 GMT

I agree.

I would try to work with the OC anyway.

Re: CA refusing to validate debt ~ please help

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:06:34 GMT

Ok, the original creditor is Time Warner, should I contact them by mail or by phone? And then what do I say? Can you guys tell I am sooo new to this? Sorry for all the questions, but thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge.

Re: CA refusing to validate debt ~ please help

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:15:28 GMT

I'd call. "Hi, I have these items on my credit report for bills I thought I had paid. I'd like to do so now. Also, the CA won't validate the balances at all. Can you confirm them for me? Also, is it at all possible for you to ask them to remove the negative reporting from my credit report?"

Re: CA refusing to validate debt ~ please help

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:18:58 GMT

Ok, sounds good. I will give it a shot. If they tell me that they can only have the CA update the accounts as paid, but not pull back the information, is there anything else that I can do? Should I pay them (OC) over the phone with a check or credit card?

Re: CA refusing to validate debt ~ please help

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:21:16 GMT

Pay the OC any way you see fit. OK, don't express mail them coins or try to barter with goats. But yes, charge it or do a check over the phone. If they make you deal with the CA, send the CA a PfD despite them being difficult.

Re: CA refusing to validate debt ~ please help

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:23:59 GMT

LOL, ok. I have a plan of action now. Thank you guys so much. Cross my fingers with this one. I will update if I get any results.

Re: CA refusing to validate debt ~ please help

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:25:25 GMT

Oh! I forgot to ask, if the OC agrees to pull account from the CA, do I need to get that in writing before I pay? Or do I just take their word for it?

Re: CA refusing to validate debt ~ please help

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:31:19 GMT

Take their word for it. They may or may not be able to do it.