[MISSION ACCOMPLISHED] CA Is Claiming I Owe Them A Debt. Please Help!

[Anonymous]

Ok Complaints have been filed. I have also sent an email to the OC. Tell me what you think.
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Dear Assistant Manager,

I am sending this email to notify you that a bill (Lease Contract for apartment N-303) sent to United Collection Service by ******** ***** contains incorrect information. I have contacted the Collections Agency asking for proof of this debt and they have sent me a copy of the original signed lease contract. After reviewing the lease it appears that it belongs to my father (Ed ******) who has signed it. However the lease has me listed as a Resident. That is an error. I had no knowledge of this lease contract. I have never seen it nor signed it. I did sign a previous lease contract for apartment N-203 witch was fulfilled. I am respectfully demanding that you contact the collection agency and request removal of this account from there records and to delete all information they have sent to the Credit Reporting Agencies. Ed ****** (The owner of this debt.) has agreed to pay this debt of $1178.62 and any additional fees and interest accrued, But only after the Collection agency has purged this account from there records and notified the Credit Reporting Agencies. Please give this matter the attention it deserves.

I am sending you an attachment of the lease contract that was provided to me by United Collection Service.

It is my hope that this matter can be resolved without the need for any Legal action.

Sincerely,
Justin ******

Message Edited by Justn on 08-11-2008 01:30 PM

[Anonymous]

Ok, I am also faxing this letter to the CA. Let me know what you guys think.


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Re: Acct# *******, Original Creditor: Meridian Pointe

To Whom It May Concern:
As of August 11, 2008, you have failed to validate this debt. The copy of the lease contract you have sent me does not bear my signature and therefore you are in violation of the FDCPA. The signature on the lease contract you sent me belongs to Ed ******. Incase you were wondering, My name is Justin ******. While I prefer not to litigate, I will use the courts as needed to enforce my rights under the FDCPA.  I look forward to an uneventful resolution of this matter.

I'm sure you know, under FDCPA Section 809 (b), you are not allowed to pursue collection activity until the debt is legally validated.  You should be made aware that in TWYLA BOATLEY, Plaintiff, vs. DIEM CORPORATION, No. CIV 03-0762 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA, 2004, the courts ruled that reporting a collection account indeed is considered collection activity.

As you are already in violation, I expect all reference to this account be deleted from my (Justin ******'s) credit report immediately, as this entry and any update of such entry will be considered another violation. I monitor my credit reports daily so I will be aware of such violations. I will also be keeping a record of every time you update this account on my credit report.
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In the spirit of compromise, Ed ****** is willing to pay this account IN FULL if you agree to immediate deletion of this account from any and all credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). The purpose of this settlement is merely to have this item removed from his credit files. It is not to be construed as an acknowledgment of liability for this debt in any form.

If you agree to the terms and accept this agreement, certified funds for the settlement amount of $1217.37 will be sent to UNITED COLLECTION SERVICE, INC for full deletion of ALL references regarding this account from our credit files and full satisfaction of the debt. As certified funds will be used for payment, there shall be no waiting period regarding the deletion of this account from the credit reporting agencies.

UNITED COLLECTION SERVICE, INC agrees to delete ALL information regarding this account from the credit reporting agencies WITHIN TEN CALENDAR (10) DAYS following receipt of payment as specified above and will not discuss the terms of this settlement with anyone, excluding your client on this account. If contacted by any third party, including credit-reporting agencies, Collection Agency will not acknowledge that any settlement offer was made, accepted or executed and will, in fact, deny knowledge of any such account.

If you agree to the above terms, please prepare a letter on your company letterhead explicity agreeing to the same terms as the above settlement offer and have it signed by an authorized representative of UNITED COLLECTION SERVICE, INC. It will be implied that this letter shall constitute a legally binding contract, enforceable under the laws of the State of Washington.

Sincerely,
Justin ******

[Anonymous]

Justn,

I'm not sure it's a good idea to state that your dad will pay the debt, for a couple of reasons:

1- assuming neither lease was ever broken and your dad left owing no monies, then the entire debt is bogus to begin with

2- they have no way of enforcing your commitment for somebody else to pay

JMO but I, personally, would leave your dad out of it when dealing with the CA and the OC, except when noting whose name was on the second lease, and that it was, in fact, his signature, not yours. 

Does your dad have a move-out report from unit N-203 stating that the lease was satisfied and no damages were due?  (IMO this is a given, considering they then leased yet ANOTHER unit to him immediately)

Does he maybe have proof that he received any part of the security deposit back? 

If this is a professional property management company, then they have copies of everything.  Even if it isn't a pro management company, they are a business and thus required to retain copies of documentation regarding leases for a certain period of time, especially if there is a receivable outstanding.

[Anonymous]

No, he didn't make the last payment. He moved into a house and just thought the last months rent would go away. He has the money for it and was going to pay it but I told him to hold off because I wanted to see if we could come to an agreement with the CA. I managed to get the email addresses for 4 of there employees and have sent them each a nice little message.

[Anonymous]

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Justn wrote:
No, he didn't make the last payment. He moved into a house and just thought the last months rent would go away. He has the money for it and was going to pay it but I told him to hold off because I wanted to see if we could come to an agreement with the CA. I managed to get the email addresses for 4 of there employees and have sent them each a nice little message.

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AAhhhh, gotcha!  Nice ~ let us know how that turns out and if they're able to help you at all. 

[southernficoaddict]

I just almost spit coffee all over my laptop.  Wonderin, that was a good one..

[Anonymous]

I agree-- leave your dad out of it. This is between you and the CA/OC. After you get your name removed, then let your dad deal with them.  

Do not provide them with any more information that they need.

I was not aware that you were listed as a resident on the lease. However, I do not think that makes you responsible for the debt. Read the lease carefully. If by chance it does, then you need to fix it with the OC.

[Anonymous]

Well, its to late now. They just left my dad a message. That was fast! Anyway he is going to call her back and hopefully she will be willing to negotiate. Especially because I was just advised by a lawyer to dispute this one with the CRA's and if it comes back verified, I would have enough evidence to file suit against Meridian Pointe.

[Anonymous]

Ok, They are saying because there was an error they will be looking into the deletion from my CR. But they are also saying it is against there policy to remove accurate information from my dads CR. so my dad said he will pay once they change there policy.

[Anonymous]

Good News Everyone

I just got a response from Meridian Pointe. Looks like they will be removing the collection from my reports ASAP!!! Thank you all for your help. If it wasn't for this forum I probably would never have gotten this neg removed.
Thank You!!!
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Justin-

I have contacted the collection agency in regards to the information provided to them. I apologize that we hadn't noticed that you had never signed the lease. We were never told that you would not be living in the apartment. Had we known that, your name would have never been on the paperwork in the first place. The collection agency will process the paperwork to have this information removed from your credit report. In the mean time if you speak with Ed, you may want to let him know that it is in his best interest to pay the debt. Should you have any further questions please let me know.
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Although it looks like they may be going after my dad. I hope that doesn't get ugly.