Need Advice,Amex sent attorney letter

[EverHopeful]

I am in Norcal, Amex sent this letter via their attorney Jaffe & Asher in New York and offices in NJ as well (must be small firm, the letter was not very official looking and also had some mispelt words :-0

Your time to dispute the validity of yr debt to American Express is running out.

Although you still have the right to dispute as described in our previous letter to you, several days have passed since we first contacted you regarding your delinquent American Express account.As of the date of this letter (June 18) you owe American Express $50,695.62 for the above referenced accout.

This is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained from you will be used for that purpose.

I am not filing till Ch 7 mid to late August and stopped paying Amex around March.

What should i do? Pls advise me as to how I should reply to this , any form letter would be appreciated (via PM or posted here, please)

Do I have to do debt validation or what at this point? What does this letter mean? I never got the first letter, btw.

Thanks, I need help asap!!

[OhioFiler]

Send a DV letter. You're fine at this point if you intend to file in August.

[EverHopeful]

??

Thanks OhioF but what should I say in the Debt verification or is it debt validation letter?Is there a form letter or format template I can use?

Anyone can help me?Thanks ! What sort of time will this buy me before they file a lawsuit I wonder?

[njguy1972]

if you have retained a lawyer for your ch 7 ask the lawyer to respond on your behalf. They can contact your lawyer about details of your bankruptcy.

[liz417]

Everhopeful, I received the same letter from an "attorney's office" for my AMEX bill. I just ignored it, they too asked me to "verify the balance" otherwise I would be agreeing that I owe the bill. I just ignored it and if you see my signature, I stopped paying my CCs a year before I finally filed.

Good Luck!

[EverHopeful]

if you have retained a lawyer for your ch 7 ask the lawyer to respond on your behalf. They can contact your lawyer about details of your bankruptcy.

I haven't retained a lawyer, that is why I am asking here on this site.:-) I also won't be filing till august or maybe a bit later.(trying to d0 my due diligence of looking for the right attorney and waiting for cash advance to have a longer time to pass before the Ch 7.Meanwhile this letter comes and it claims to the second one. Can anyone tell me if I need to do a DV letter? Now going by what Liz said about ignoring it , would sending that DV letter do more harm than good??? I am new to this, so would appreciate all input.

I am amazed Amex did not send to a collection agency but went straight to a lawyer, could it be the high amount of 50K per card/Optima?(with interest accrueing too)Those who have sent a DV letter, what DO YOU SAY?Or not say?Thanks!

[Rick9972]

One thing I think most people here seem not to realize is that a lawyer acting as a debt collector is nothing more than a debt collector. They are governed by the FDCPA and must follow law.

On the next subject, "you should always believe what a debt collector tells you!!!!" because they have your best interests in mind and would never dream of stating a falsehood.


DEAR BIGBOY2U

I SEE THAT YOU FAILED TO RESPOND TO MY LETTER DATED XXXXXX REQUESTING THAT YOU PAY THE $2400.00 THAT YOU OWE ME. I INCLUDED ALL THE DOCUMENTATION YOU MAY REQUIRE ABOUT THIS ALLEGED DEBT IN THAT LETTER AND I KNOW THAT YOU WILL NOT ALLOW THIS OVERSIGHT ON YOUR PART TO CONTINUE.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PAYMENT
FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD DEBT COLLECTOR


If I have seen one, I probably have seen 20 letters like this. It is called trolling, and I have heard it is truly amazing the amount of money this simple initial debt collection technique will bring in.

So I will keep checking the mailbox for Bigboy2u contribution to my retirement fun.

[EverHopeful]

Ok guys, no more jokes here, I am serious I need constructive input.

I think this attorney office is also a collection agency (I checked online and even though they say they have officers across the country, it seems they are a "fulls service" shop and even do BKS!!

Honestly, what is the reason / benefit of sending a DV letter? Can someone please tell me.

I also dont think they have an office in CA .

BigBoy, pls post yr sample letters , pretty please!!!!

[treehugger1]

In my opinion, the legal firm is testing to see if you will respond and determine if you have any indication of your civil rights under the law. If it were me, I'd send them a DV request. But, hey, that's me. I would think that a "no-response" sets the stage in most legal firms' minds' that you are ripe for a quick lawsuit and default judgment. Again, just my own thoughts, not to be construed as a legal opinion.

[EverHopeful]

In my opinion, the legal firm is testing to see if you will respond and determine if you have any indication of your civil rights under the law. If it were me, I'd send them a DV request. But, hey, that's me. I would think that a "no-response" sets the stage in most legal firms' minds' that you are ripe for a quick lawsuit and default judgment. Again, just my own thoughts, not to be construed as a legal opinion.

Treehugger what would you say in your DV letter given I have the letter above? i understand you are not an attorney, but neither am I

[SobStory]

Big boy, why is it important to not sign your name, just initial? Thanks.

[Trixie007]

I received tons of letters and calls from "attorneys" - I never responded to them and never got sued. With the letters I just scanned the letterhead to see if they had offices in my state and they never did. I went a year with missed payments.

[kvangild]

Big boy, why is it important to not sign your name, just initial? Thanks.

I think it's so they can't use your signature and copy/place it on some other documents/agreements. But I could be wrong

[I_Suck]

BigBoy2U,

I used your sample for JDB and swapped the information for NC Statutes. Thanks a lot.

[I_Suck]

Oh yeah and one more thing, I like this line in BigBoy2U's sample DV for JDB...


Provide documented proof of your purchase price for the debt claimed.


Probably bought this as part of a portfolio and can't break down the 5 to 8 cents per dollar they actually paid for it. But funny, none the less.