Jefferson Capital Misleading Communications

[Anonymous]

February 23, 2019 Jefferson capital sends me the following letter:
"We acknowledge receipt of your communication concerning the above referenced account.
Based on your stated dispute we have ceased collection of this account. In addition, we have requested that the consumer reporting agencies delete the account from your credit file.
Should you have any questions regarding this matter please free to contact us at the number listed above."

I had no further contact with jefferson capital until they sent the following letters:

August 27, 2021 jefferson capital sends a letter to me saying they "received my recent communication, are sending me the requested verification, and that their records indicate they are not reporting this account to the credit bureaus". I have not had any communication with jefferson capital since Jan/Feb 2019 when I disputed and documented my verizon collection account was incorrect. They voluntarily agreed to " cease collection of the account and to request the bureaus delete the account from my credit report based on my stated dispute". 

August 28, 2021 jefferson capital sends me a letter stating they are "introducing themselves as the current owner of the verizon collection account and unless I dispute the validity or any portion thereof in writing within 30 days they will assume the debt is valid" 

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Is it legal to say I contacted them recently when I did not? Can they pursue collections after they agreed to cease collections on their own? Can they report this account to the credit bureaus after they requested the bureaus delete the account 2 years and 6 months ago? They seem to have forgotten my dispute 2 1/2 years ago and are acting as if this is a new account. After 2 1/2 years I do not have the supporting documentation anymore, but I do have the letter they sent in Feb 2019 agreeing to cease collections and delete account from bureaus. 

Thanks in advance for anyone with knowledge regarding a situation like this.

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[Coco_The_Awesome]

Personally, I would send them a copy of the letter from 2019 reminding them of their agreement to cease collections.....and that after numerous attempts at debt validation they too determined they were unable to meet the criteria so they had to cease....

[vntrsc]

It's possible that when Jefferson was collecting in 2019, it did not own the account.  It may have been collecting for the original creditor.

When a consumer sends a timely DV request, a debt collector is not obligated to provide validation within a certain period of time.  It must simply cease collection efforts until it does provide validation.   Jefferson ceased collection efforts.

Between 2019 and 2021, the agency did not attempt to collect the debt.  The August 21, 2021 letter provided the validation you requested in 2019.   The August 28 letter introduced Jefferson as the new owner and included the 30-day notice which could simply be "insurance" to cover itself from liability since it is the "new owner".  

The fact that the letter referenced a "recent" dispute could either be a mistake or simply a reference to your previous for which they provided the validation you requested in 2019 which would enable them to resume collection efforts.  Did the letter include a demand for payment?

Is the debt still within your state's SOL for collection?

[Anonymous]

Re: VNTRSC

November 2018 I received letters from Dynamic recovery solutions claiming they were collecting on behalf of their client Jefferson capital, but until August 2021 I did not receive a letter from anyone claiming they "owned" the account, but Dynamic did state they were collecting on behalf of Jefferson in 2018. 

The August 20201 letter did not include the phrase "demand for payment" but did have the referenced verizon account listed, the incorrect balance, and that "this was an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose".

I never communicated with Dynamic other than to send them a cease and desist letter. I went through everything with Jefferson in 2019, and through registered snail mail showed them how the balance was incorrect, and that I did not owe verizon anything. Jefferson never acknowleged the documents I sent sent them, they just sent the February 2019 letter that said they would cease collections and delete the account from the bureaus.

My state sol is 6 years on written contracts, credit card debt, but I think I remember seeing something that said phone bill debt is capped federaly at 2 years. In short I'm not sure where I stand as far as sol, but if it is 6 years that would be next spring/summer

[CyberChick]

It's possible both are true.

Remember, everyone was on lockdown. It's a chance a letter was misfield. Notes or records misplaced. Could be a very honst mistake. If it is not reporting and you have the letters, you are fine.

[Anonymous]

Trying to figure out my next move in dealing with a collections company.

November 2018 Dynamic recovery sends me letters claiming they are working for their client jefferson capital. I told dynamic to cease and desist and started dealing with jefferson directly. After documenting to jefferson that I did not owe verizon any money, jefferson sends me a very short letter in February 2019 stating:

"We acknowledge receipt of your communication concerning the above referenced account.
Based on your stated dispute we have ceased collection of this account. In addition, we have requested that the consumer reporting agencies delete the account from your credit file.
Should you have any questions regarding this matter please feel free to contact us at the number listed above."


The account was deleted from my credit file and I moved on. August 27, 2021 I get a letter from jefferson capital stating:
"Jefferson capital systems has purchased the above referenced account and we are in receipt of you recent communication. As you requested, inclosed is the verification of the account.
Our records indicate we are not reporting this account. For questions regarding your credit bureau report, please contact the bureaus"
August 28, 2021 jefferson sends the following letter: "Please allow this letter to introduce jefferson capital systems llc as the owner and current creditor of your referenced account."

I do not owe them or verizon anything. Wondering what I should do
 

[chiefone4u]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Trying to figure out my next move in dealing with a collections company.

November 2018 Dynamic recovery sends me letters claiming they are working for their client jefferson capital. I told dynamic to cease and desist and started dealing with jefferson directly. After documenting to jefferson that I did not owe verizon any money, jefferson sends me a very short letter in February 2019 stating:

"We acknowledge receipt of your communication concerning the above referenced account.
Based on your stated dispute we have ceased collection of this account. In addition, we have requested that the consumer reporting agencies delete the account from your credit file.
Should you have any questions regarding this matter please feel free to contact us at the number listed above."


The account was deleted from my credit file and I moved on. August 27, 2021 I get a letter from jefferson capital stating:
"Jefferson capital systems has purchased the above referenced account and we are in receipt of you recent communication. As you requested, inclosed is the verification of the account.
Our records indicate we are not reporting this account. For questions regarding your credit bureau report, please contact the bureaus"
August 28, 2021 jefferson sends the following letter: "Please allow this letter to introduce jefferson capital systems llc as the owner and current creditor of your referenced account."

I do not owe them or verizon anything. Wondering what I should do
 

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Send them a copy of the letter they sent you in 2019 via return receipt certified mail and a short letter/note basically telling them you dispute the validity of their claim of ownership of an account you've never had (or already paid to Verizon, with proof of payment).

This should either stop the collection attempt or they produce proof of debt and that you are the owner.

If for some reason they continue to attempt to collect and you have proof the account isn't yours (police report, etc) you may need to contact an attorney or your states Attorney General to put an end to it.

Best of luck!

[Taurus22]

@Anonymous  

Like mentioned before, you should send them a copy of the letter they sent you in 2019 (via Certified Mail) and make it clear that there is no debt, the collection was retracted, and further reporting was desisted. They have no debt to validate so they can't attempt to collect on anything.

Another thing you need to do is check to see what the statute of limitations is for the state you live in.  For my state the SOL is 3 years, and it varies from state-to-state. After the SOL passes, they can not legally pursue any further attempt to collect on anything, even if it did exist. (If there was an existing debt, they could still report it) But as you mentioned, they have already retracted the collection and desisted with reporting, and you have the letter of proof.  With that letter, they have legally forfeited any further attempt to collect or report. Once you send them the copy of the retraction letter showing their forfeiture, I would not respond to them any more and allow the statute of limitations to pass.

[Anonymous]

In addition to sending them a copy of the letter they sent you stating they would remove the account from your credit reports, I would include a letter that calls them on their crap.  State that no, this is not a newly acquired account, that Jefferson capital has owned the debt since at minimum 2019.  Also, if you are feeling particularly aggressive, include a copy of the letter from dynamic that proves Jefferson capital has owned the account in question for years.  

There are some collection agencies out there that either suffer from terrible record keeping, or will "stir" the unpaid accounts in their portfolio in an effort to boost collection revenue.  In some cases, they are hoping you blindly pay it, or that you no longer have any documentation to present as a defense.  In this case, i would spell it out plainly that you know very well this account was owned by and settled with Jefferson Capital 2 1/2 years ago, and then throw their own correspondence back at them to prove it, and be sure to send this package via certified mail.  I'm willing to bet that after that, they will leave you alone.