Found a $76 derog - PTD sequence question.

[Anonymous]

So I was going over my report in depth today and found out I have a innovate collections derog for $76 on my account.  It's a parking ticket I though I have succesfully defended, guess I was wrong.  Never recieved any notices about this even after I sent in my letter and photo evidence of the spot my car was in not being a time sensetive park(the spot NEXT to mine was a 2hr but the curb in front of my car wasn't painted nor were the others down the line).

Anyway even though I'm a broke college student and the $76 could be helpful, I feel that since its already in collections the court isn't even going to give me the time of day if I try to prove the ticket was a mistake.  I'm just gonna bite the bullet and pay the thing, but if I'm gonna do that I want it off my CR!

I've been reading up on the process of sending a PTD letter and just wanted to confirm the information that I have gather is correct both in accurary and sequence of events.

1) Calls/E-mails are only good to get talking with the collector, don't give payment info over the phone to anyone as they may not actually follow through

2) Try to get this done at the end of the month as more people will be trying to fill quotas and be more likely to help you.

3) Don't accept the debt in your contacts with the collector, basically just say you wanna pay it to remove it but your not reconizging that it is YOUR debt (SoL protection)

4) Get it in writing with a hand written signature (no stamps,seals etc) that when you pay the account it will be deleted from your CR in the agreed upon terms

5) Once you get the above send the payment in the form of an untraceble check, i.e. cashiers (so they don't have your account information in case they wanna get sneaky)

6) Wait out the accepted terms, check to see if derog was removed if it was Congrats, if not it's time to send a Breach of Agreement letter

7) Send Breach of Agreement letter informing the company they have 7 days to right the wrong
8) Wait the 7 days and check CR to see if item is removed

9) After that it seems like you gotta play hardball but most the time it never gets this far

The above seems like the *best* way to go about it in terms of making sure the Collector is gonna play ball.  But I have also read of people simply calling up, paying the debt and sending a goodwill letter.  Then, 2 weeks later it's off the account.  This method leaves you open to the collector kinda screwing you over it seems but, seems to work for some people.

The account was opened 7/9/2013 so going by standards of parking tickets it can't have been in collections for that long.  It's only $15 over the original amount of $61

Like I said I do remember the ticket, I just though I had successfully proved I was not at fault or it was issued incorrectly.  My current "end of year" goal is to boost my credit as much as I can, get my car loan right side up, refinance then pay it all off.  This is my only derog mark so I'm under the impression that it's a causing a pretty big hit.  That being said I do have some time to play the legal game and send letters back and forth if needed.  But, I really just wanna get this dealt with and off my mind in the more effeincy manner possiable and move on to other areas of repairing.

Thanks for your advice and time =)

[Anonymous]

Just send out a Validation of Debt letter certified mail so we'll see how that goes, report back with any info I get

[takeshi74]

Thread is really better suited for the Rebuilding subforum.

[Anonymous]

I see they have signed for and recieved the letter, how long do I wait to see if the ignored the letter or not?

[Anonymous]

So I received a response today.

All they sent was basically a bill for the $76 amount with a note attached that says the following:

The account remains outstanding for the amount indicated on this notification.  Full payment is required to clear this account.

The Fair Debt collection Practices Act does not apply to debts for fines, only to consumer debts.  The amount indicated is due

Per your request, we are including information about your original citation.

on the bill it have Client: City of San Clemente and that's it.

I looked into the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and http://www.sfandllaw.com/Articles/The-Federal-Fair-Debt-Collection-Practices-Act-Revised.shtml

Clearly says:

"n this article and in the Act, a "consumer" means any natural person obligated or allegedly obligated to pay any debt.5 A "debt" means any obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to pay money arising out of a transaction in which the money, property, insurance, or services which are the subject of the transaction are primarily for personal, family, household purpose, whether or not such obligation has been reduced to judgment.6 The purpose of the credit extended to the consumer determines whether the Act applies.7 The Act does not cover commercial/business debts.8 A "debt" includes consumer installment credit such as small loans, retail installment sales,9 dishonored checks, unpaid rent, medical bills, utility bills, insurance bills, student loans, parking tickets, and judgments.10 In a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) opinion, a debt includes overdue rent.11 As a result, an attorney should be careful complying with the act."

so where would I go from here?  Do I ask for a pay to Delete or ignore the letter completely since they didn't send it registrated mail and I could have technically not ever got it?

Here is my original Letter I sent them in case that helps at all:

Date:

My info here

Innovative Collections <<

PO Box 3500 <<

Tustin, CA 92781 <<

RE: Account # 58ISC4258932NQ**** <<

To Whom It May Concern:

Be advised this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice that your claim is disputed and validation is requested. Under the Fair Debt collection Practices Act (FDCPA), I have the right to request validation of the debt you say I owe you. I am requesting proof that I am indeed the party you are asking to pay this debt, and there is some contractual obligation that is binding on me to pay this debt. This is NOT a request for “verification” or proof of my mailing address, but a request for VALIDATION made pursuant to 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) of the FDCPA. I respectfully request that your offices provide me with competent evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you. At this time I will also inform you that if your offices have or continue to report invalidated information to any of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, Trans Union), this action might constitute fraud under both federal and state laws. Due to this fact, if any negative mark is found or continues to report on any of my credit reports by your company or the company you represent, I will not hesitate in bringing legal action against you and your client for the following.

Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

Defamation of Character

I am sure your legal staff will agree that non-compliance with this request could put your company in serious legal trouble with the FTC and other state or federal agencies. If your offices are able to provide the proper documentation as requested in the following declaration, I will require 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 for suit. This includes any listing of any information to a credit-reporting repository that could be inaccurate or invalidated. 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. It would be advisable that you and your client assure that your records are in order before I am forced to take legal action.

CREDITOR/DEBT COLLECTOR DECLARATION

Please provide the following:

• Agreement with your client that grants you the authority to collect on this alleged debt.

• Agreement that bears the signature of the alleged debtor wherein he/she agreed to pay the creditor.

• Any insurance claims been made by any creditor regarding this account.

• Any Judgments obtained by any creditor regarding this account.

• Name and address of alleged creditor.

• Name on file of alleged debtor.

• Alleged account number.

• Address on file for alleged debtor.

• Amount of alleged debt.

• Date this alleged debt became payable.

• Date of original charge off or delinquency.

• Verification that this debt was assigned or sold to collector.

• Complete accounting of alleged debt.

• Commission for debt collector if collection efforts are successful.

Please provide the name and address of the bonding agent for Innovative Collections in case legal action becomes necessary.

Your claim cannot and WILL NOT be considered if any portion of the above is not completed and returned with copies of all requested documents. This is a request for validation made pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Please allow 30 days for processing after I receive this information back.

Best Regards,

My Name