topic Re: DV Letter sent to LHR, INC "Law Office" in Rebuilding Your Credit

DV Letter sent to LHR, INC "Law Office"

Anonymous — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 19:51:53 GMT

After several CRA disputes regarding a company named LHR, Inc, I decided to give them a call (even though this collection is due to fall off my reports on 02/2014). I tried to get information as to who they were and who the original creditor was. I called the LHR, INC number I found on the Internet and was told that my case is being handled by a local Attorney in my area. I pressed for more details and was told by the LHR rep Maya that she could not discuss this with me as the case was in "litigation" and I needed to communicate with the lawyer. I asked for the contact information and she gave it to me.

I called the number and asked for the attorney in question, I was asked what this was regarding and the lady I was speaking with told me that this call would be recorded for quality purposes, she went on to say that they are a Collection Agency, collecting on behlaf of LHR Inc. I pressed her about why I was misled into thinking I was calling a law firm and she said they were a collection agency/law firm.

I provided her my info, she had the right name and social but wrong address(old address I lived at in a different State). I asked her to give me info as I have been trying to challenge this with the CRAs for quite some time and I always see that it comes back as "validated" yet I have no idea who they are, who the OC is, or what this is all about.

She tells me that the OC was Barclays Bank/Juniper (I actually do have a charged off collection from them back in 2006(on all 3 credit reports) for roughly 500.00 but do not know who they are either and disputes with them also came back as "verified". So I tell the girl on the phone that I do not know who this is and am not admitting I owe them any money but just want this off my credit report. She says she will be happy to take a payment from me. I told her the only way I would pay anything at all was if this would be deleted from all 3 CRAS and no longer show up at all on my credit report as long as the number she gives me is cheap enough.

She comes back and tells me that I now them $3200.00 (LOL). I ask her why it is that the original amount listed on my credit report has a max limit of $500.00 yet she wants 3200 and she says she will be happy to submit a request in to LHC Inc to get verification. I told her that I will be sending out a Debt Verification letter today via certified mail with a reciept request and I expect a timely accuarte response.

Should I have just ignored this as both Barclays and LHR, INC are due to fall off my credit reports next Feb anyway? Any ideas what I should expect going forward? The letter was just sent from my office via certified male with a recieve reciept. (cost me 5.60 to send the letter)

Re: DV Letter sent to LHR, INC "Law Office"

Anonymous — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 19:56:35 GMT

Is it your debt?

Re: DV Letter sent to LHR, INC "Law Office"

Anonymous — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 19:59:54 GMT

I don't think so, I have never heard of any of these companies at all(well, Barclays...from these forums)

Re: DV Letter sent to LHR, INC "Law Office"

RobertEG — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:06:38 GMT

Did they ever send dunning notice, as was required within 5 days of reporting to the CRA?

If so, then a DV at this point would be untimely, and thus would not invoke a cease collection bar.

However, if no dunning notice was sent, a DV would still be timely, and invoke a cease collection bar.

If a DV is sent, I would include a request for the name of the OC, and an itemized listing of the current debt.

Representing that there is pending litigation is an unfair debt collection practice for which you can file a formal complaint with the FTC.

Re: DV Letter sent to LHR, INC "Law Office"

Anonymous — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:11:06 GMT

Send them this direct dispute with the furnisher of information under FCRA 623(a)(8). They are required to investigate, make corrections, deletions etc and let you know within 30 days. If they do not they are in violation of the FCRA.

The black bolded areas stay. Just fill in the areas in blue. Because it is a CA I put that blurb in red. You can even leave it like that to get their attention.

“This is a Notice of Direct Dispute with you, under the provisions of FCRA §623(a)(8)(D), of the accuracy of information you have reported to my credit file.

“This is a direct dispute of credit reporting. This is not a request for debt validation/verification under FDCPA §809(b).”.
(don’t let them just simply sluff it off as a meaningless DV letter)

“In compliance with FCRA §623(a)(8)(D), and enacting regulations published at 16 CFR § 660.4, this Notice of Direct dispute includes:

“Identification of the specific information being disputed:

(specify the account number, and the specific information that is disputed under that identifying account)

“Basis for the dispute:

(how the reporting was inaccurate; was any reporting in violation of any statutory or regulatory provisions? account or express agreements? CRA reporting gudelines? Account not yours? etc.)

“Supporting documentation:

(all documents that support your dispute; it is recommened to also include, as part of your documentation, at least a copy of the portion only of your recent credit report showing their reporting of the disputed information was actually reported to your credit flle. The implementing rule suggests a showing that it appeared in your credit report)

Re: DV Letter sent to LHR, INC "Law Office"

Anonymous — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:51:09 GMT

I already sent the following via certified mail with a read receipt request:

03/12/2013

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXX XXXX XX, XXI XXXXX

Re: File # XXXX XXXXXX:

I am sending this letter to you in response to an entry on my credit report. Be advised, this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested. This is NOT a request for "verification" or proof of my mailing address, but a request for VALIDATION made pursuant to the above named Title and Section. I respectfully request that your office provide me with competent evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you. Please provide me with the following:

• 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;

• Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable;

• 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; and

• Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent.

If your offices have reported invalidated information to any of the three major Credit Bureau's (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion), said action might constitute fraud under both Federal and State Laws. Due to this fact, if any negative mark is found on any of my credit reports by your company or the company that you represent I will not hesitate in bringing legal action against you for the following:

• Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act

• Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

• Defamation of Character If your offices are able to provide the proper documentation as requested,

I will require at least 30 days to investigate this information and during such time all collection activity must cease and desist. Also during this validation period, if any action is taken which could be considered detrimental to any of my credit reports, I will consult with my legal counsel. This includes any information to a credit reporting repository that could be inaccurate or invalidated or verifying an account as accurate when in fact there is no provided proof that it is.

If your offices fail to respond to this validation request within 30 days from the date of your receipt, all references to this account must be deleted and completely removed from my credit file and a copy of such deletion request shall be sent to me immediately. I would also like to request, in writing, that no telephone contact be made by your offices to my home or to my place of employment. If your offices attempt telephone communication with me, including but not limited to computer generated calls or correspondence sent to any third parties, it will be considered harassment and I will have no choice but to file suit. All future communications with me MUST be done in writing and sent to the address noted in this letter.

This is an attempt to correct your records, any information obtained shall be used for that purpose.

Best Regards,

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

They had the wrong address on file for me so I do not have any documentation from them at all at this point, however, my mother did tell me she got a court summons back around august or so last year for me, i asked her to give me the case information and it was all blank, so i determined it to be a fake summons as it had no case #, no docket number, no court official anything aside from it being on my state letterhead. I immediately thought it as suspect and told my mother just to throw it away as they need to see me for any legal documents, but that i felt this was just a fake document to try and scare me. I lost all the formatting of the letter for some reason

Re: DV Letter sent to LHR, INC "Law Office"

Anonymous — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 22:52:18 GMT

Validation under FDCPA 809 only requires them to tell you there is a debt and who is collecting. If you ask for the OC and their address they have to furnish that also. If you ask, they also need to provide an itemized listing of your account.

The rest of it, in no way do they have to give you that information.

That is an old DV letter floating around.

Re: DV Letter sent to LHR, INC "Law Office"

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 11:24:23 GMT

Do you have any suggestions for what my next course of action is as this letter has already been sent?

Re: DV Letter sent to LHR, INC "Law Office"

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:37:25 GMT

Did you ever receive a dunning notice from them?

Re: DV Letter sent to LHR, INC "Law Office"

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:23:40 GMT

no sir. NOt yet anyway, although I suspect since I gave them my home address they will be sending it soon.

Re: DV Letter sent to LHR, INC "Law Office"

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:59:58 GMT

Since the letter is already gone out just wait and see what they do. They can ignore it completely but cannot continue collection activity until they validate.

If they choose to validate, they are only required to tell you who is collecting and how much. If you ask for the name and address of the OC and an itemized accounting they have to give you that. The rest they can ignore.

There is no time limit for them to respond either. If you haven't received anything in 30 days, I would send the direct dispute. By federal law, they have to respond to that within 30 days.

Re: DV Letter sent to LHR, INC "Law Office"

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 17:10:23 GMT

Ok, So I have an update on this:

I located the Executive office for Barclays Bank and spoke with a nice woman. She was able to pull up my information and this account was opened in Septermber of 2006, used and defaulted a few months after that. The balance she lists on it is 1400 or so but said that there is probably a hefty amount of interest charges and other fees included in that number but that she would look on another system to get all the records as this account is so old. The original line of credit maximum listed on the credit reports is 500 so I am sure most of that 1400 is in fees and interest.

The problem is that I was in the military overseas all of 2006 and most of 2007, however, because I was deployed, we were told to appoint someone back home to handle our finances. I had a power of attorney who handled everything for me, it was a family member who has been suspect at times so I suspect that is what happened.

The same thing happened with a vehicle purchase from my own checking account in 2006(he purchased a car for 14k cash) as well and I fought that but was told it would have to be a civil matter between my cousin and I because he had full permission to do whatever he wanted AS ME due to the power of Attorney documentation.

I don't believe in suing family, so I ate the 14k loss.

This lady seemed really nice and said she would get back to me after she sees the old records and that she will see what she can do for me. Therefore, I am convinced this is something I simply need to pay, I just hope she offers me a reasonable number. Let that be a lesson folks, never trust family to handle your finances when you are deployed.

I suppose once she calls me back, I'll just pay whatever amount she tells me I owe (hopefully less than 1400) and hope that she removes the negative entry on my credit report. It looks as though I will then have to fight with the collections agency after this to get it removed from them as well. (I will not have to pay them too will I?)

Re: DV Letter sent to LHR, INC "Law Office"

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 17:26:32 GMT

So, is the card fraud?

Re: DV Letter sent to LHR, INC "Law Office"

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 17:36:45 GMT

it probably could be if I pressed charges on my cousin, but he now lives in California and the entire family would go ballistic if I did that. It seems like it will just be easier to pay them and ask them to remove it from my credit report. It appears from talking to the lady that she is going to work with me here, so I guess i'll have to pay up and chalk it up to a lesson learned.

I just wish I was able to get more info about it sooner as this was a REAL PAIN IN THE BUTT when I was trying to get my mortgage approved. Lucky for me it was approved anyway.

Re: DV Letter sent to LHR, INC "Law Office"

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 17:42:41 GMT

When I get back from overseas last time, I noticed a huge chunk of my pay was missing from my checking account, including my re-enlistment bonus and my combat pay, but there was still plenty in there. I found out that my cousin really needed money, so he bought a car in my name, paid for it with cash, and then he tried to give it to me as payment for the missing money. Ultimately, I let him keep it as I already had one and he paid me back money every week until I decided to tell him he didn't need to pay any more (about 6 months later).

At the time, I had plenty of cash and didn't realize he opened credit card(s) in my name as well.

Hindsight 20/20, I should have known to look deeper before as when I went to APP for my mortgage, there were a lot of bad items on my report. I just challenged everything I didn't recognize and the majority of them were removed. There were 2 remaining on my report and it appears(now) they are both the same thing. I only decided to go after them and investigate them thoroughly because my credit cards currently have low limits and I want to balance transfer Dell and Jareds to lower rate cards so I am not paying so much interest...thus my latest adventure into fixing my credit.

Re: DV Letter sent to LHR, INC "Law Office"

RobertEG — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:03:21 GMT

What a debt collector can attempt to collect is regulated by FDCPA 808(1), which states that it is a violation to attempt to collect any amount that is either not specifically authorized in the account agreement that created the debt, or is not otherwise permitted by law.

So the first step in determiing whether any amount can be included in their collection is to carefully review your original account agreement, and determine specifically what it authorizes. If any amount, including fees, interest, etc., that is above the principal amount of the debt is included in their total, and it is not specifically authorized in the original account agreement, there must be a specific provision of law in your state that authorizes a debt collector to collect that amount.

That might require a bit of digging into state debt collection statutes, but might well be worth the effort to contest an asserted amount. Some state statutes go so far as to list items that a debt collector may not attempt to collect, which is your silver bullet.

That is the reason why the courts have consistently held that a debt collector must provide an itemization of the asserted debt if requested, as it is the only way the consumer can determine if any amount is authorized under section 808(1).

Re: DV Letter sent to LHR, INC "Law Office"

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:14:44 GMT

but if this woman comes back to me and says she will accept say 700 as full payment, shouldn't I pay it and ask her to remove all negative info from my credit report if I do?

I thought the OC would not be able to take any payment from me as it is listed as "Account Transferred or Sold/Charged Off Account"

Howeverm if they are able to, and I apy them and they agree to delete from my credit report, how would I handle the collection agency that is also listed on my credit report?

Re: DV Letter sent to LHR, INC "Law Office"

RobertEG — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:24:57 GMT

If the OC has sold the debt, which would be stated in your credit report if they are now reporting a $0 balance, you are correct, they can no longer accept payment.

Thus, no PFD offer to them.

If the OC still owns the debt and accepts payment, that does not compel the debt collector to delete the reporting of their collection activity prior to payment.

You can ask the CO to delete whatever reporting they made on their own account, such as a prior charge-off or monthly delinquencies. Still some benefit.

You would then request a GW deletion from the debt collector, and possibly ask the creditor to give them a call and support your request.

Re: DV Letter sent to LHR, INC "Law Office"

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:28:11 GMT

Update:

The OC says I still have a balance with them and it appears as though they are willing to work with me to resolve it...However

LHR, INC's "law office" lady told me that they did indeed send out a "summons" in August of 2012 but haven't "completed" the process to file a formal suit yet. I was under the assumption that they had within 30 days of serving a summons, to file it with the courts, else they are no longer able to file a suit.

Just the act of issuing a court summons without following through with an actual court date seems like intimidation to me and should void all collection claims they have right? Am I missing something here?

Re: DV Letter sent to LHR, INC "Law Office"

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:42:03 GMT

Also, in terms of the SOL, is the SOL determined by the state you currently live in or is it determined by the state you lived in years ago when the OC was created? Or... Is it determined bythe HQ of the OC? Additionally, How can you check to see if a CA is licensed to collect in your current State of residence?