Q&A: Putting a face on debt collectors Philadelphia Inquirer
For help near you, look up the National Foundation for Credit Counseling at www.nfcc.org or the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies at www.aiccca.org . The California Association of Collectors maintains a consumer website, www.askdoctordebt.com , to answer debt-related questions and explain consumer rights
Here are some of Tavelli's answers to questions from McClatchy Newspapers readers:
Question: Debt collection consistently ranks high on U.S. consumer complaint lists. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission put it No. 2. Why do debt collectors have such a bad reputation?
Answer: There's always conflict when you call a consumer and they don't want to pay. Fortunately, there are very few bad actors. But they make big headlines. Unscrupulous debt collectors are those who break rules, who go after debt they shouldn't, who try to sue for debt that's 15 years old. Most debt collectors - about 97 percent - do it right.
Debt collectors threaten Americans
Profane, abusive, insulting, or threatening language that some debt collectors use is illegal according to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ...
How must a debt collector respond to a request to validate a debt?
A law firm contacted me via registered mail claiming I must pay them for money owed my condo home owners association. I wrote them and asked them to validate the debt and can show they received my letter. I never received a response. They continued to pursue collections and put a lien on my condo about a month after they received my request for debt validation. I contacted them about this and they said that they sent a valiation of debt via mail, but not registered mail etc. They can not then prove that I received validation of the debt. What can I do? Can I sue based on FDCPA violation? Now they want a lot more fees/money then they did in the first contact. Shouldn't they have stopped collection until they gave me proof I owed the debt and they were authorized to collect it? If the debt is valid I will pay it. But I don't think I should pay more because they failed to validate the debt properly.
They can't place a lien against your condo without first getting a judgement. Did you get a default judgement ruled against you?
Contact the lawyer and inform him you did not receive the validation. Instruct him to send it to you by certified mail to prove it was sent. Otherwise he will be considered in violation of the FDCA.
You need to give this warning because he will invoke rule 813(c) by claiming"....the debt collector shows by a preponderance of evidence that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adapted to avoid any such error.
I'm going to bet he'll just ignore it and proceed with a lawsuit anyway. He sounds like a jerk.
Sent Debt Validation letter with decease and desist calls,but creditor still call?
I've sent a debt validation letter to a debt collector (Rannefeld & Associations) to provide how much I owe on a debt about a month ago. I've sent it with signature confirmation. They sent me a statement saying the amount I owed nothing more, about three weeks ago. Then they sent me another collections letter dated the 1st of November asking me if I dispute the debt (which I do) to send them a letter saying so. But I've received a call from them yesterday at work (which I specifically said in the letter not to call me at work or at home and to only response to me through mail) asking for payment. I think this is a violation of the Fair Credit and Collections act isnt' it? I was think about reporting them to the BBB and the FTC about this because they are not following the law. What should I do? What are my rights? Do I have 30days from the time they sent out the other collections letter or do I have 30days from the time I sent the validation letter? Thanks.
I meant Cease and Desist letter.
On the surface it sounds as if you have a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act(FDCPA). Once you notify a collection agency that they are to not contact you by phone, they are not allowed to. The only thing that might be a problem in your case is how you worded the original verfication letter. If you stated something like "You are not to contact me by phone UNTIL you validate the debt". They could claim that they did as you said and waited UNTIL after they sent you the validation. If you made it clear that they were NEVER to contact you by phone again, then it would be a violation of the FDCPA.
If it is a violation reporting them to the BBB or FTC does nothing in reality. Instead you can sue them for $1000 per violation of the FDCPA. If you do this in small claims court you do not need an attorney.
As for the letter dated November 1st, you have 30 days from November 1st to send in your dispute for the debt. Not from the date of your original letter.
www.creditinfocenter.com
buddhibbs.com
Write another cease and desist letter, add on to dispute
you owe THEM the money, and add on your intent to sue
all in one letter.
Send a copy to the FTC and the State Attorney General
of the State they reside in.
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