New CA - Great Call

[treehugger1]

I received a call this morning from DRS. I promptly returned their call and spoke to a very well-educated gentleman. He was cordial and I was cordial. I stated that I could not discuss personal financial information over the phone, but I will look for written information in the mail. He totally understood that the law requires them to send me written notice within 5 days of initial contact. He went on to say that they are working hard to acknowledge both debtor and CA rights. He did exactly what he is supposed to do. And, he didn't even have a thick "accent."

I don't begrudge any collector who acknowledges the "rules of engagement." I googled the company prior to returning the call and there are plenty of horror stories out there. This was not my case.

I believe that GoingDown is correct in his "don't speak to CA's." However, I do think it is important to either answer the phone when they call the first time, or return their call the first time. All you need to do is make it clear that you expect some information in writing. Verify who you are and your correct mailing address. Turn on your recorder, if allowed in your state, and tell them you are recording the message to protect you and them. Once you've done this, ignore all future calls.

I get about 2-4 calls per week. I have now removed all the silent ringer ID's from my phone tied to OC's. It's quite peaceful. LOL I am seeing my last unsecured debts charge off. The CA's are far easier to deal with when it comes to DV's and C&D's.

[treehugger1]

After some research today, DRS bonded is not registered as a collection company in Oregon. I can now hardly wait for their dunning letter! I will include a line in my DV request related to positive verification of their required registration status in my state. I will also send a pdf of their dunning letter along with m complaint to to my attorney general's office.

No wonder the guy was "so nice."

[albacore44]

Who was your original creditor for the debt ??

[treehugger1]

CitiFin. I think that the OC's simply put out the "collection calls" for charged-off debt and asign the debt to the "lowest CA bidder." I wish I knew how the original assignment model worked, but it seems clear that the model breaks down as soon as an educated consumer gets involved. This thenm sets into motion a situation where the first CA, wanting to get a "take," eventually passes it on to another CA or JDB and the OC has no idea of such an exchange. Since I'll run this out to teh last minute for sending a FV and C&D, I'll report the outcome somtime in the future. The first shot at CA's is a no-brainer. I simply pull up my old requests and change a bit of information in the letter I send them, <yawn.>

[deepend]

I wish my state required CAs to register; sounds like that helps in several ways. In OK, I think there are no state protections; just the fed rules Good for you for "keeping them honest"! It's inspiring.

[treehugger1]

In Oregon, it appears the consumer has the right to "complain" to the court and pray for relief against violations of the state debt collection law. What I find interesting is that the revised statutes here allow for $200 per violation (FCDPA allow $1000 per CA.) However, the statute also refers to any federal laws. I wonder if it would be possible to sue for $1200?

In terms of small-claims here, I can't find anything that disallows a small-claim against a CA. From what I am reading here, all civil actions under $7500 can be tried in small claims under a circuit court jurisdiction. If one were to try this, I suppose the worst that could happen is that the debtor could look like a bufoon.