How do I stop this collection

[WCambridge]

What is the name of your state? CA


What do I need to do to stop getting collection notices from different companies that pop-up once every two years for monies they state I owe from the original creditor back in 1996?

Apparently companies buy and sell accounts of people they deemed still owing. I had dispatced the last company by proving to them I do not know the money they were trying to collect from me by sending them an official statement from a trustee that showed a zero balance on the account. So they in turn sold my account to a new company and the cycle of collection begins again.

This is now the 3rd company collecting for the same account and amount they claim I owe.What is the name of your state?

 

[sburgen97]

First, go to www.annualcreditreport.com

Here, you will be able to pull up your credit reports from the Big 3. Your can do this for FREE once a year!!! Check and see if this item appears on your report, and if so, what the status is. If there is any incorrect information, your report will also include instructions on how to get it corrected, as well as make any consumer statement, which will also appear on your credit report! Good Luck!

 

[WCambridge]

Hello-

Thank you for the response. Your advice is exactly what I have done with the previous companies, but now I am once again on square 1 about this matter with this new company. I have sent the old collection companies a copy of my credit report showing a 'zero' balance AND a trustee statement showing 'zero' balance. The collection stops, then a new company shows up.

They refer to the old company as their 'client'; saying they are collecting money owed for their client. It's a cycle...

I just thought there was a legal way for me to stop this once and for all.

Thank you.

 

[Debt Guy]

If the debts are from 1996 they are not going to be on the credit report any longer.

You are in a cycle. Even though the debts are out of statute, if there is a balance then you still owe the debts and the owner has the right to ask you to pay. If the debts have been paid and you are getting calls then clearly there is a computer foul-up.

Is there a legal way to stop the collection activity? Yes. But it may not be worth the effort.

Send to each CA a letter certified mail return receipt requested. Just say "I dispute this debt" and "cease and desist all contact" and "this debt is time-barred". Be sure the letter has your name and address and attach copies of any correspondence you have from the CA.

The activity should stop. If it does not, then you decide if you want to sue. Or, you can write letters of complaint to the FTC, the BBB in their city, the AG of your state and their state. It may or may not do any good.

The debt could be sold again and pop up with another CA. Then the cycle starts over.

Personally, I don't think it is worth going to court because it "pops up every two years". But, your call.

 

[WCambridge]

Hello Debt Guy-

Thank you for your response.

I woke up this morning to a nightmare. In checking my emails, I received a notification from the credit monitoring service that entries have been inserted into my credit profile. I have reasons to believe this company I mentioned in this thread did this.

The information entered was past derogatory entries in my credit profile that were disputed and previously removed (i.e. fictitious addresses I never lived in before, a Chapter 13 filed and dismissed in '96 which was eventually removed under the 10-year rule).

I had previously authored a thread about this matter here last year. I hope the link will work so that you can get a background of my situation.

https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?t=365805

Right now I have tried so hard to keep and maintain an impeccable credibility. My FICO score presently is mid 700s. I am certain this is no longer the case today.

Please someone help me and let me know what I can do now, and if this is the work of the subject company; do I have legal recourse to pursue.

Please help. Thank you.

 

[Zigner]

Dispute the inproper/inaccurate information with each credit agency.

 

[Debt Guy]

do I have legal recourse to pursue.

You can sue anyone anytime for anything. The better question is can you win?

Bringing legal action means you are the plaintiff. Our legal system places the burden of proof on the plaintiff. There are hurdles:

1. can you determine what law has been violated?
2. Can you prove the violation?
3. Can you bring the action yourself or find an attorney who will do it for you?

You can hire an attorney to handle all 3 issues or you can handle part of them yourself. A god legal resource for issues of this type is the National Association of Consumer Attorneys (naca.com)

Zigner is right that the very first step is to dispute the entries to the CRAs. Certified mail return receipt requested.

In the meantime, start reading the FCRA.

 

[WCambridge]

Thank you Zigner / Debt Guy-

I've already begun writing letter to the credit bureaus about this. I also asked in the letter who entered the items. I also looked into the company to see if they are in my state as the letter they sent me before was addressed in Ohio. I came to find out there's a lot in the internet about this company and their unsavory practices.

Debt Guy, I'm not sure if those were rhetorical questions, but I am going to read up in depth about protecting my rights. If in fact this is the same company that entered these information, and I suffered damages because of it; I'll either seek counsel or determine what I can do for recourse.

For question No. 2, hopefully the CAs will be able to furnish me the information on who made the entries. I had given them (collection company) the proper information in my letter response before. The lady I also spoke with from their firm was belligerent when she claimed that there are no statute of limitations for monies owed, and it didn't matter what the trustees statement showed, their client claims I owed money despite their entry into the trustee statement that showed zero owing.

Thank you for your replies.

 

[Debt Guy]

OK. I'm all confused. Let's take a deep breath and think about this for a minute. Lets start over.

You say the debt dates from 1996. Exactly what happened in 1996?

You live in CA. The statute of limitations is 4 years. The 4 years starts running from the date of first default (DOFD) -- which is generally 30 days after the last payment you made on the account. If DOFD was 2003 or earlier (like 1996) the debt is out of statute.

Getting a letter from a collection agency every couple of years is an annoyance. But that is all it is -- an annoyance.

My advice would be to send the CA a cease and desist letter. Simply say "I dispute this debt" and "cease and desist all contact" and "this debt is time barred". Send the letter certified mail return receipt requested. Attach to your letter any correspondence you have from the CA and be sure to clearly identify yourself.

That should stop the collection calls. If it pops up with another CA, repeat the process.

This debt should not be on your credit report because of its age. Check your report. If the debt is there, dispute to the credit bureau that the debt is past the reporting period. Again, certified mail etc. etc.

If for some reason, the debt gets verified by the CRA that means the data furnisher has "reaged" the account. That is illegal and is actionable. I am not trying to be clever with you. You will need to be able to prove that the debt has been reaged. You will need some sort of documentation that shows the DOFD is more than 7 1/2 years ago.

But, before you go off hiring a lawyer, write one more letter-- this time to the data furnisher. Say you are disputing the debt under FACTA and tell them they are reporting a debt that is past the federal reporting period. If they don't remove the item, you now have a papertrail to demonstrate they knew what they were doing. You will still need the proof I talked about above.

Now, all this is based on my assumption that the DOFD is really 1996. Is that right?

 

[WCambridge]

Debt Guy-

Thanks for the response and apologies for taking a while to respond to your post.

You asked about how the debt is dated in 1996; as I have posted on another thread before (that I gave a link to), this debt (creditor) was one of the companies that I named during my Chapter 13 filing. This company is one of two (maybe 3, I don't remember) that filed a statement to the Trustee at the time that I do not owe them money. They sent a statement saying the balance on my account was zero.

My C13 was a 36 month plan and was filed on 1996. I paid every single dollar on my C13 statement as scheduled to all the creditors that claimed an amount on my accounts. During the course of my payment plan, apparently the IRS had filed a lien against me for owed taxes two years into the C13 plan. I paid this money to the IRS later that year (separately), but unbeknownst to me the lien was filed. The law firm I had acquired to handle all the filings claimed last year (2007 - this is when I found out all of these mess) )that they sent me a notice to either refute the IRS' filing or pay the owed taxes. I moved and never received the notice. I always file a forwarding address to the post office when I change residence. I told the law firm I'd be happy to get a copy of this Change of Address notice to prove what I was saying is true, but they told me it was no longer necessary since the Trustee ultimately dismissed my case filing in 1999. All the while I was making payment as scheduled. I have a statement from the trustee that all scheduled payments were made, and it shows the dispersion of the money.

Even on that statement, these subject creditors' line item shows a 'zero' balance before, during, and after.

Just a background as a response to your question. Thanks for taking the time. I have began writing the necessary correspondence to the credit agencies. Hopefully this will all work out in the end.