cl5776 wrote:
I made no admission at all. The letter I received from the collection agency (Malcolm S. Gerard & Associates) is pretty generic and only has an account number, an amount due, and the original collection agent (Portfolio Recovery Association).
PRA ... why am I not surprised?
I contacted the current collection agency and asked to speak to someone about this account. I was transferred to some guy.I asked him if there was any record of this debt actually belonging to me. He said, "look at your credit report. It is on there." I told him no it is not.
Don't EVER admit that. Ever. Now keep a vigilant eye on your CRs, just in case. Leastways, I would.
He then repeated that I should look at my credit report and there is nothing more that he can do for me. He tried to give me his direct phone number but I just hung up.
I did some back tracking and determined that, based on the account number listed (begins with a 5. Only Master Cards begin with the number 5 and I have had only one Mastercard in my life), and the fact that this Mastercard was received when I was in college, I went online and looked for credit card company that provided personalized credit cards to schools in the midwest.
I found one that appeared correct, Intrust Bank. I contacted Intrust Bank and asked to speak to a manager about a very old credit card account. After some time, the manager did pull up the account information that had my name but I did not verbally indicate that the charge was valid.
At that time, I had no idea about Date of First Deliquency or Date of Last Activity so I did not write that down. The only way I could find that out would be to call Intrust Bank back....or send the Debt Verification letter, correct?
Calling Intrust would tell you the Date of Last Activity (again, the date that could very well determine if you run the risk of being sued) for THEIR side of the account, but not the CA's.
Meaning, since you haven't told us what state you reside in or where the debt was incurred, we have no idea WHO held the account when you made your last payment (therefore, the last "activity" on that account). And therefore, we don't know if it would be worthwhile for them to attempt to construe your call to them as "admitting ownership" of the debt.
ETA: You CAN send a DV, but you do risk poking a sleeping dragon with a pointy stick IF you don't know what the SoL of the applicable states are.
IF you DV and you ARE still in SoL, that could cause them to initiate a lawsuit. Just FYI.
Okee-dokee ... I think this is what the facts are:
New Jersey (goes by Uniformed Commercial Code):
SoL on credit cards is 4 years.
Iowa:
Credit cards = 5 years. Acknowledgment of debt (in writing) or promise to pay DOES reset the clock.
PA:
Credit cards = 4 years.
I'd go by the strictest SoL: Iowa. If you've managed to get free and clear of that SoL, you should be able to send them a FOAD letter.
Still keep an eye out for legal-looking papers. CAs aren't necessarily known for playing by the rules, yannow.
New Jersey (goes by Uniformed Commercial Code):
SoL on credit cards is 4 years.
Iowa:
Credit cards = 5 years. Acknowledgment of debt (in writing) or promise to pay DOES reset the clock.
PA:
Credit cards = 4 years.
I'd go by the strictest SoL: Iowa. If you've managed to get free and clear of that SoL, you should be able to send them a FOAD letter.
Still keep an eye out for legal-looking papers. CAs aren't necessarily known for playing by the rules, yannow.
