nco query

What is the name of your state? texas

good evening, i have a question concerning a line of credit account that was turned over to nco, a notoriously wicked collection agency. the amount in question is a little less than 3k. the agent i am dealing with filed a complaint against me, which was the first contact i received from them. he continually badgers me to give him a post-dated check for the amount or some portion of the amount, and threatens to summon me to a court. (generally, his messages on my machine ask about whom i am selecting for legal counsel.)

a few questions: wouldn't any debt less than 4k be settled in small claims court, in which case there would be no legal counselors? can he legally threaten me to pursue legal counsel when small claims court cannot require counsel without a judge's permission? he has also mentioned his own corporate attorneys... (no summons has yet been issued.)

also, the fair debt collections practices act states that "The solicitation by a debt collector of any postdated check or other postdated payment instrument for the purpose of threatening or instituting criminal prosecution" is illegal. how am i to know when he has crossed this line?

any help would be monumental. thanks!

[Ladynred]

He has ALREADY crossed the line by soliciting a post-dated check ! The threats of legal actions that they do not intend to take or cannot take (not the owner of the debt) is ALSO a violation. NCO will cut the line to shreds !

Yes, if the limit for small claims in TX is $4K, then it would have to go to small claims where no attorneys are allowed as you stated. The BS about 'corporate attorneys' is pure hogwash. IF the OC were to actually sue you, you'd probably end up with some local boy they hired to represent them in court.. NOT their 'corporate attorneys'.

You say they 'filed a complaint' .. what exactly do you mean by that ? Were you served papers ?

In the first letter they sent, did they include the mini-miranda and the statement about your right to dispute ? They are bad about leaving out the dispute verbage and that is ALSO a violation of the FDCPA.

Write NCO a cease and desist if you want the phone calls to stop and make them use the mail only (send it certified RRR). You might also want to go the debt validation route with them. From what I've read, they almost never validate and when they do send something its NOT proper validation. Going this route would also protect your rights IF they do go as far as court.

You can find a lot of info on debt validation at [url]www.creditinfocenter.com[/url]