@thegrapelady wrote:I received a letter yesterday from Alpha recovery services, claiming I owe around 8K for an account with webbank which was then sold to Oliphant Financial LLC. I have never had an account with webbank, and have never heard of Oliphant Financial LLC. They have also been calling for a few days using a fake local number, but aren't local. Is there anything I need to include in my debt validation letter when asking for information about a debt I don't believe is mine, and doesn't appear on my credit report? Also, everything I keep reading online says it is best to just ignore such letters, but everything I read on the forums says not to ignore these letters. This is the letter I have drafted. Is this okay? Thanks!
(my info plus the creditors info)
This letter is sent in response to letter received by you on 10/29/2018. I am disputing the above-referenced account and request validation of this debt as per my rights under the FDCPA. I have never held an account with webbank or Oliphant Financial Services and see no reference of either of these on my credit report.
Sincerly,
my name
Anything you would add or leave out? Thanks!
I prefer this DV letter:
Date
Your Name
Address
City, State Zip
Via Certified Mail: #### #### #### #### ####
Debt Collector’s Name
Address
City, State Zip
Re: Account Number
This letter is sent in response to [a letter/phone call] received from you on [date you received the letter/call]. I am requesting that you provide validation of this debt.
If you do not comply with this request, I will immediately file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and the [your state here] Attorney General’s office. Civil and criminal claims will be pursued.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Be sure to send it by certified mail. Remember, when you send a mail piece by certified mail without the return receipt, you still have proof that it was delivered. The tracking number will produce a delivery confirmation, a signature will be collected, and the signature will be accessible to you for an additional fee if needed.
You can't make bottom dwelling scum suckers mad. You send it Certified Mail so you can prove you sent the DV letter. And now the ball is in their court. I would also add, come to think of it, a cease and desist of all phone calls paragraph in the letter and state that any and all communication must be by U.S. mail.
@vntrsc wrote:What civil and criminal claims can be pursued if they don’t validate?
Once a CA gets the DV letter they MUST cease all collection efforts until they can validate the debt. If there is a derogatory collection account on your CR it must be removed. As long as the delinquent account remains unverified the CA must act as if it does not exist. Now if the CA can show that it is, in fact, your account whether it is a week later or a year later that you owe money they can pursue it in court until it is time-barred by the SOL.
If the CA does not cease collection efforts then they can be held accountable under the FCRA by the FTC and State Attorney Generals Office and be prosecuted criminally and you can seek damages against the CA in civil court.
@vntrsc wrote:Yes, they must cease all collection efforts until the validate. Your letter was not clear about that fact.
Neither the FDCPA nor the FCRA states that a degratory collection account must be removed on the basis of an FDCPA validation request. However, it should not be updated until validation has been accomplished.
A legitimate CA knows that they have to stop collections efforts, that does not need to be expressed in a DV letter. I believe it is implied that the derogatory must be removed from the CR for a collection account is a coercive means to collect a debt as it makes it harder for a consumer to obtain credit as it adversely affects the consumer's credit rating.