Validation of Debt

[smorr]

What is the name of your state? Mass.

What is a 'validation of debt'? I've read so many answers in this forum on the subject, but no one actually explains exactly what the creditor (or attorney) needs to do to validate a debt.

Can an affidavit from keeper of records be considered a validation? I made a request of this company to prove the interest they claimed was valid. The one I got had information on it I already knew (my name (of course... duh!), the name of the person making the affidavit, the company for which the affidavit was being made on behalf of, the original amount of the debt and what the acquisition company proposed as interest due them). I didn't consider this a validation since it didn't answer the questions I proposed to them - when did they buy the account, how much was the account when they bought it and how did they arrive at the interest amount they claimed they were owed.

The original debtor closed the debt (wrote it off) in 1996. No one attempted to make much of a collection effort after that. This acquisition company supposedly purchased the closed account in 2000 - just one year after they became a corporation authorized to do business in Massachusetts. There's four years already.... acquisition company never contacted me by mail or phone to make any collection requests or to notify me they owned the account - NEVER! In 2002 (nearly 6 years later) an attorney claiming to represent the acquisition company writes to me with an amount that's double the original debt. That's a lot of interest percentage for two years! ($5600 to $11,000!)

 

[bigun]

It no longer matters, the SOL ran out.

STATE: MASSACHUSETTS
INTEREST RATE

Legal: 6%
Judgment: 12%
Contract: 12%
STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS (IN YEARS)

Open Acct. on Contract: 6
Contract: 6
Sales (UCC) Contract: 4
Domestic Judgment: 20 (presumed satisfied after 20 years)
Foreign Judgment: 20
Contracts Under Seal: 20

 

[smorr]

Interesting and that was my initial thought too - but my guess is they counted the months also... these guys were quite sly - the month of the write off was Nov. 96 - the demand was July 2002 - which gave them four months play time. Even if I rode it out to the 6 year limitations statute, I'm sure these attorneys would have brought exact dates into play in court. I didn't dispute the original debt itself - I just couldn't figure out how they were able to add all that interest when they only owned the account for two years.

As a result of their response (the affidavit), I consulted an attorney who advised me to file bankruptcy - I did, it was discharged, and they never showed at the hearing of the creditors.

I just wondered what the heck a validation really was and if what they gave me was sufficient. The attorneys were also nasties - they'd already been investigated a couple times for bad faith in collection activities for threats and "HA" - inflated interest claims! (too bad I found this out after filing bankruptcy!). Oh, well - live and learn!

 

[Ladynred]

The SOL would have started 180 days BEFORE the write-off. That being the case, the SOL would have run out May 2002. If they had filed a lawsuit AFTER that, it would have been time-barred and you probably wouldn't have needed to file for BK.

 

[smorr]

They notified me mid-July, 2002. It was a typical pre-written demand letter from the attorney, stating they represented the interests of the acquisition company and I owed $11,767, etc.

The other kicker was that I found it too coincidental that the attorney just happened to come from the same town in New York as the acquisition company and that the A.C. had a satelite location in the same building as the attorney here in Massachusetts also. I wondered if the attorney WAS the acquisition company doing business under another entity name. My local Sec'y of State's office provided no confirmation that the acquisition company was a Massachusetts Corporation, even though somewhere along the line of my search I discovered they formed here in 1999, but can't recall where I discovered that info.

There were other debts that, along with this, that had me wondering if I should file BK, but this was the straw that broke the camel's back. It was actually a blessing in disguise - not only was I able to remove all my debts, I sleep much better and already acquired one small unsecured card - which is the ONLY one I'll ever have again and I pay it in full every time!

 

[bigun]

What is validation? Great question! If you figure it out, let us know! I'm coming to the conclusion that it's whatever a small claims court judge says it is.
The search function at www.creditnet.com is timing out but, check it in a bit and use the trem What is validation? Butch is the posters name and he has quite a few thoughts.