topic * UPDATE ** I think my strategy worked!!! in Rebuilding Your Credit

* UPDATE ** I think my strategy worked!!!

webhopper — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 22:29:32 GMT

So this is for my DH, he has 2 collections on EX and 1 on EQ... None on TU.

1 of the collections is from ID theft, the other is a bill from a law office he used during divorce, but he never received a final bill for $396 for the lawyer... We are thinking they sent the bill to his old house, which his wife got in the divorce. Keep in mind that he paid them over $3k during the course of this divorce

While reviewing his free annual credit reports, he discovered this this collection for $396 OC is a Law Office and the collection agency is MARS Inc..

We used NFCU bill pay service to send the $396 to the Law Office. The item that appears on his report is from MARS Inc.

So, we received confirmation of the payment to the LAW Office on 4/1/13

Today we mailed out this letter to the Law Office.

Name

Address

City State Zip

Law Office

Address
City, State Zip

Re: Acct # **** with MARS Inc. for _____ Law Office

To Whom It May Concern:

I am sending this letter to you in response to a negative account listed on my consumer credit report. The account is listed as follows:

	M.A.R.S.INC
	Account No.:		*****
	Original Creditor:		LAW OFFICE
	Responsibility:		Individual
	Original Balance:
	Balance:		$396
	Date Opened:

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;
Proof that you attempted to notify me of a debt owed prior to reporting of such information on my consumer credit report, as required by law
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; and
Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent.

Please Note: I have paid the amount of $396 to Law Office via my online Bill Pay service, therefore, I insist that a debt is no longer owed. I am enclosing documentation to that effect, and have sent this documentation to MARS Inc. as well.

If your offices continue to report this information to any of the three major Credit Bureau's (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion), or to any other collection agency; said action might constitute fraud under both Federal and State Laws, since I do not owe your office any money. 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 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.

Best Regards,

Webhopper's husband

Re: What do you think of this strategy? MARS Inc.

webhopper — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 17:12:28 GMT

And sent this letter to MARS Inc.

Name

Address

City State Zip

MARS Inc
Address

City State Zip

Re: Acct # ****** with MARS Inc. for Law Office

To Whom It May Concern:

I am sending this letter to you in response to a negative account listed on my consumer credit report. The account is listed as follows:

	M.A.R.S.INC
	Account No.:		XXXXX
	Original Creditor:		LAW OFFICE
	Responsibility:		Individual
	Original Balance:
	Balance:		$396
	Date Opened:		05/2011

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.

Please provide me with the following:

What the money you say I owe is for;
Proof that you attempted to notify me of a debt owed prior to reporting of such information on my consumer credit report, as required by law
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; and
Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent.

Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Defamation of Character

Best Regards,

Webhoppers Husband

Re: What do you think of this strategy? MARS Inc.

webhopper — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 17:20:31 GMT

Re: What do you think of this strategy? MARS Inc.

webhopper — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 17:22:20 GMT

So, do you guys think this is the right strategy for us??

Re: What do you think of this strategy? MARS Inc.

Anonymous — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 17:24:03 GMT

@webhopper wrote:
And sent this letter to MARS Inc.

Name
Address
City State Zip

MARS Inc
Address
City State Zip

Re: Acct # ****** with MARS Inc. for Law Office

To Whom It May Concern:

I am sending this letter to you in response to a negative account listed on my consumer credit report. The account is listed as follows:

M.A.R.S.INC


Account No.:

XXXXX

Original Creditor:

LAW OFFICE

Responsibility:

Individual

Original Balance:


Balance:

$396

Date Opened:

05/2011

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;
Proof that you attempted to notify me of a debt owed prior to reporting of such information on my consumer credit report, as required by law
There is no law that says they have to noftify you prior to reporting.
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; They don't have to do this.
Identify the original creditor;
Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account; They aren't required to prove this
Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state; and No requirement
Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent. No requirement
Please Note: I have paid the amount of $396 to Law Office via my online Bill Pay service, therefore, I insist that a debt is no longer owed. I am enclosing documentation to that effect, and have sent this documentation to Law Office as well.

If your offices continue to report this information to any of the three major Credit Bureau's (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion), or to any other collection agency; said action might constitute fraud under both Federal and State Laws, since I do not owe your office any money. 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 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.

Best Regards,
Webhoppers Husband

Re: What do you think of this strategy? MARS Inc.

SSPA87 — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 20:50:46 GMT

I am confused as to what you are attempting to get out of the letters. You paid the debt - so why do you now need validation/verification? They are not required to remove the tradeline just because you paid the account... I think it would have been better to just GW them rather than threaten them. However, I am still new to this so that is just my opinion.

Re: What do you think of this strategy? MARS Inc.

webhopper — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 16:05:00 GMT

Considering that DH never received a bill or a phone call regarding the alleged debt, he is quite pissed.... especially if they sent the bill to the house which the attorney knows was granted to ex-wife in divorce.

A better solution would have been to phone him up, get an updated address, and send a bill... Keep in mind that my husband had already paid thousands, so $396 is not a big deal if he actually knew about it, it could have been paid and avoided this whole CA scenario

Anyways, there is no debt remaining hopefully, and if there were that's fine, but DH needs to have the documentation.

The $396 is fine, its a drop in the bucket so to speak.... the fact that there is a collection on his credit is infinitely worse.

Hopefully since there is no debt, there will be nothing to validate, and the CA will stop reporting.

We do know that this CA in particular does not own the debt, they just collect on behalf of the OC.

Ideally, since there is no debt, and nothing was actually paid to the CA there will be a deletion of this on the Credit Report.

Re: What do you think of this strategy? MARS Inc.

Anonymous — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 16:09:01 GMT

Just because the OC was paid they do not have to delete their TL. No regulations or laws say they do.

When they acquired the debt, there was a debt owed them. Whether or not it was on behalf of the OC or not. All they really have to do is update to paid and closed.

Re: What do you think of this strategy? MARS Inc.

webhopper — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 16:12:11 GMT

Maybe my thinking is flawed... I don't know much about CA's other than that if you pay the OC, then there shouldn't be a collection anymore, and the CA is not involved at that point

Re: What do you think of this strategy? MARS Inc.

webhopper — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 16:16:02 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Just because the OC was paid they do not have to delete their TL. No regulations or laws say they do.

When they acquired the debt, there was a debt owed them. Whether or not it was on behalf of the OC or not. All they really have to do is update to paid and closed.

I see, thanks for the explanation.

I had received a collection notice on a phone bill that I had co-signed for a friend once upon a time... ( I know its bad to co-sign, but I did co-sign knowing that I might one day be responsible for a bill)

So anyways, I called up the phone company, asked them about the charges, and then paid them over the phone with my credit card, then sent DV to the collection agency, and they wrote back saying that the collection was withdrawn, no debt owed.

Re: What do you think of this strategy? MARS Inc.

Anonymous — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 16:20:14 GMT

Yes, they can do that. Withdraw based on no debt being owed any longer. But, they don't have to. They can just update to paid and closed.

It depends on the CA too. Some will delete.

Re: What do you think of this strategy? MARS Inc.

webhopper — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 22:41:19 GMT

*** UPDATE ***

Guys I think my strategy worked

My husband just received the following letter from the Law Office

Law Office Header with Name and address

April 9, 2013

Mr. Webhopper

Our Address

Our City, State, Zip

Re: Attorney Fees and Costs Balance

Dear Mr. Webhopper,

I am in receipt of your letter dated April 6, 2013. The first billing was sent to you at the address we had on file for you on April 12, 2010, with a second letter on July 1, 2010 and then our final letter on October 22, 2010. Our final leter clearly states your account would be forwarded to collections if payment was not received within thirty (30) days. We did not receive a response to any of our letters.

On May 2, 2011, well after the 30 days your file was forwarded to collections.

On April 1, 2013, we received payment in full from you. The collection company has been notified to stop all collection procedures.

Respectfully Yours,

Law Office

Our response Letter:

04/11/2013

Mr. Webhopper

Address

City State Zip

Law Office
Address

City State Zip

Re: Attorney Fees and Cost Balance Response Letter Dated April 9, 2013

Dear Mr. Attorney,

Thank you for your timely response to my concerns.

I very much appreciate your quick response. I did not receive the letters referenced in your response; as the dwelling located at that address was awarded to ex spouse during the divorce. Had I received the final bill, the matter would not have escalated. I do appreciate your kindly response to the matter referenced in my original letter.

Please do not hesitate to call or write at the address and phone number listed on this letter if I may be of further assistance.

Best Regards,

Mr. Webhopper

Re: What do you think of this strategy? MARS Inc.

js0319 — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 01:03:01 GMT

How does the response validate if whether or not the strategy worked?

Re: * UPDATE ** I think my strategy worked!!!

webhopper — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 03:15:53 GMT

The OC has pulled back the collection... so the debt is no longer valid.

Re: * UPDATE ** I think my strategy worked!!!

electra — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 11:31:21 GMT

I'm not sure, but I don't think that means that the CA is obligated to remove the TL from the CR. They can't try to collect anymore obviously but I think that it doesn't automatically come off of the CR. Is it still on there? Did they say they would remove it?

Re: * UPDATE ** I think my strategy worked!!!

VirtualCuriosity — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:33:55 GMT

I have a feeling that it did work. I bet before long he will have the CA TL removed. Just my opinion which isn't worth any fact.

Re: * UPDATE ** I think my strategy worked!!!

webhopper — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:59:46 GMT

@VirtualCuriosity wrote:
I have a feeling that it did work. I bet before long he will have the CA TL removed. Just my opinion which isn't worth any fact.

The best thing to do now in my opinion is to just wait to hear back from the DV that I sent to the CA.

Re: * UPDATE ** I think my strategy worked!!!

Anonymous — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:42:10 GMT

Hello! SOrry to jump in to the conversation, but I had a question about CAs. If you have a collection account on your credit report, pay it, does it remove itself from the collections section of your credit report? I have been trying to get caught up on collections accounts since I was laid off in 08 and have been making payment arrangements, but a couple of the accounts that I have made payment arrangements and paid off have not removed themselves from the collections account category of my credit report. Since it sounds like you have had some experience, I was wondering if you might be able to answer this for me.

Thanks so much!!!

Re: * UPDATE ** I think my strategy worked!!!

webhopper — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:47:58 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello! SOrry to jump in to the conversation, but I had a question about CAs. If you have a collection account on your credit report, pay it, does it remove itself from the collections section of your credit report? I have been trying to get caught up on collections accounts since I was laid off in 08 and have been making payment arrangements, but a couple of the accounts that I have made payment arrangements and paid off have not removed themselves from the collections account category of my credit report. Since it sounds like you have had some experience, I was wondering if you might be able to answer this for me.

Thanks so much!!!

Hi and welcome to Myfico forum!

I do know that if you pay the collection agency, they are not required to delete the collection from your credit report. They can simply update the account as "Paid" and your score is not increased.

What most forum members propose is that you negotiate a Pay for Deletion with them. Not all collection agencies will do a "Pay for Delete" but some will. Have you gone through the process of verifying that the debt is yours?

I am going to suggest that you read the following threads:

What Steps Do I Take?

That will give you a great place to start! Also you want to opt out first before contacting these creditors... to opt out go to: www.optoutprescreen.com

The next advice I can give is to contact and deal with each creditor one by one. If you wake all the sleeping bears at once you may not be able to deal with them fast enough to avoid a judgment being filed. Best of luck and if you use the search function to search for each of your creditors you can see how others have dealt with them successfully in the past. Best of luck!

Re: * UPDATE ** I think my strategy worked!!!

webhopper — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:52:08 GMT

Copied and pasted from sidewinder's "What steps do I take?" thread:

"If both the OC and CA are reporting, does the OC show a balance? When an OC sells an account, they have to report a $0 balance. If they still own the account, both the OC and the CA can report a balance.

If the OC still owns the account, I would call them first and ask if they could pull the account back from collections and allow you to PIF. If they agree then you need to pay them in full and then send the CA a DV.

If the OC doesn’t own the account, then the OC isn’t going to be able to do anything for you. You have to deal with the CA.

Send a DV letter CMRRR to the CA. (DV's are never sent to the OC). See this link. You then have to play the waiting game. A CA is under no time limit to answer a DV but all collection activity must stop until they do respond. If you happen to live in Texas you can file a "Notice of Inaccuracy" that compels a CA to respond within 30 days. Here is a link to the Texas Finance Code that covers debt collection."

topic *** UPDATE **** I think my strategy worked!!! in Rebuilding Your Credit

*** UPDATE **** I think my strategy worked!!!

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Re: *** UPDATE **** I think my strategy worked!!!

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topic * UPDATE ** I think my strategy worked!!! in Rebuilding Your Credit

* UPDATE ** I think my strategy worked!!!

Re: * UPDATE ** I think my strategy worked!!!

Re: * UPDATE ** I think my strategy worked!!!

Re: * UPDATE ** I think my strategy worked!!!

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Re: * UPDATE ** I think my strategy worked!!!