@RobertEG wrote:As soon as any debt collector initiates a communication, by phone or in writing, with a consumer, that automatically triggers the requirement upon the debt collector to send a formal collection ("dunning") notice to the consumer within 5 days thereafter. FDCPA 809(a).
That dunning notice must, at a minimum, identify the current owner of the asserted debt, its amount, and provide the consumer explicit notice of their right to request debt validation.
Thus, they become in violation of FDCPA 809(a) after 5 days from the date of the call if they do not send you a formal dunning notice.
You then can send a formal complaint with the CFPB of their violation of the FDCPA, and/or file a civil action seeking statutory damages of $1,000.
If the CFPB receives complaints from multiple consumers, which is likely if it is a scam, that will spur them to consider taking their own action against the offending debt collector.
Thanks Robert! They said they've sent "multiple notices" to me and I have yet to respond. We'll see if they end up mailing anything, but I doubt it. I strongly believe this was a scam and they were just trying to get more info for me, or get me to pay them for something that's not mine. I KNOW 100% for a fact, without a doubt, never been so sure about anything, that I didn't take out a payday loan in 2016. I didn't even start working again until late 2016 (end of November), and they were claiming I took the loan out in the beginning of the year. Not sure how I would get a "PAYDAY" loan, when I wasn't receiving any paychecks lol.
