Midland meddling again

[Anonymous]

Hi, I have a question. I had a credit card with FCNB Spiegel in the 1990s-early 2000s. I couldnt pay on it in time and thus it went to collections. I heard that they went bankrupt or somthing, Anyway, I first got a collection letter from Midland Credit Management in 2008, february I think, I DVed them and havent heard from them in like 2 years. They were on 2 of my credit reports at that time under ACCOUNTS, and not COLLECTIONS. Since then, now in March 2010, They have been removed and are not on any credit reports that I can see, at least Transunion and Equifax.  Now they decide to send me payment option letter out of the blue, 2 years later. Settle this account , here are your 3 options, pay a reduced in full amount, 12 monthly payments, or 100 dollars a month, please call our office, etc. etc. So what is the deal with this, they are obviously not being reported on the CRs, and they did not validate back in 2008, and I think the SOL is up, but I dont know, I dont know the date of last negative. So I was going to DV them again and see what happens,, if they cant validate  then, how can they validate now. Anyone else have any input, thanks for the help.

[Anonymous]

It seems they are trying to collect on a time barred debt.  And if you DV'd them in the past and they never answered they cannot attempt to collect now.

If you are sure it is beyond SOL, I would send them a C and D letter. 

Or, you could possibly bring a suit against them for failing to validate and continuing collection activity.  I don't know if the 2 years would make a difference or not.

[Anonymous]

Yes, they never answered the DV sent back in 2008, I am not sure about the SOL, what does it go by? I dont even know if I have any records of that account since it was so long ago.

[RobertEG]

This is a joke.  They are looking for uneducated consumers to rake a buck from.

If you sent them a timely DV request back in 2008, and they did not respond, and they now intiate further collection activity, that is a clear and blatant violation of FDCPA  809(b).

If the date of first delinquency (DOFD) on the original credit card was more than 7 1/2 years ago, they cannot post to  your CR. No dates posted by the CA or dates of later delinquencies or activity have anything to do with your DOFD, and cannot reset the fall off date of ANY collection reporting on the OC debt.

SOL has nothing to do with credit reporting.  It is your legal defense it court should they bring suit. 

I, personally, would do absolutely nothing.  I would not respond to them at all.

If you want to advise them that they are barred from their current collection activity, at the most, I would send them a letter stating that their latest communication to you is a clear violation of FDCPA 809(b), and that any further such activity will be reported to the FTC as a violation of the FDCPA.

[Anonymous]

Nobody said anything about SOL and credit reporting times. 

If it was in SOL and he sent a C and D they could sue.

SOL is a state law and it determines the timeframe in which someone can sue you and win.   Expired SOL would be a defense on your part if someone sues and it has expired.

Message Edited by guiness56 on 03-06-2010 08:05 PM

[RobertEG]

If you sent them a timely DV letter, and they have not responded, that IS a cease and desist letter until such time as they first validate.  That is the purpose of FDCPA 809(b).

Message Edited by RobertEG on 03-06-2010 08:59 PM

[Anonymous]

so do you think I should send them another DV letter, 2 years later, or just blow them off. I dont think I have any records when I first opened that account back in the 1990s, I really dont know the DOFD, or the SOL for that account.

[Anonymous]

from what I can find from old records, I think the last payment to them was in November 2003, I dont have any records past that. The SOL in Missouri where I live is 5 years, so would that mean, they are past the SOL?

[Jazzzy]

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@Anonymous wrote:

from what I can find from old records, I think the last payment to them was in November 2003, I dont have any records past that. The SOL in Missouri where I live is 5 years, so would that mean, they are past the SOL?

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It should mean that they are beyond SOL. I think a C & D letter is in order.

[RobertEG]

You have already DV'd them with no response.  Under FDCPA 609(b), that already bars them from ANY collection activity until such time as they provide debt validation.  I see no reason for a further cease and desist letter when cease and desist is already in force.

I see absolutely no reason to DV them again.  None. Nothing to accomplish other than what you have already done.

They had no statutory requirement to respond to your prior DV then, so another DV is like making the snow yellow.

If your state SOL has expired, that is only a consideration should they be brash enough to bring legal action against you.

You then just march into court, show proof of the date of running of your SOL under your state law, show that the period from that date has expiired, and you have an absolute legal defense of any action they might bring.

I would ignore them.  Period.

Message Edited by RobertEG on 03-08-2010 08:42 PM