Do collectors have to answer debt validation letter?

[nervous1]

This ?? is not actually for me. I myself am planning to file BK7 in the very near future.

However, someone I know rec'd a court summons today. Zwicker is the collections agency representing Citi. Several months ago, they had rec'd a letter from Zwicker and responded with a DV letter. He sent the letter by certified mail. Zwicker never responded.

He knows he owes the $$. He just hasn't had it (currently unemployed). The debt is several years old. He assumed (I guess wrongly) that since he never heard back from Zwicker, they had given up.

So...did they violate anything by not answering, or does it even matter at this point?

[catleg]

If the suit was filed by Zwicker, they violated FDCPA, at least by NJ state law, which says that a lawsuit constitutes collection activity, and a law firm is subject to FDCPA rules.

If the suit was filed by another firm then no, no violation.

[tobee43]

actually cat's right on....the answer is NO.

[nervous1]

actually cat's right on....the answer is NO.

The suit was filed by Zwicker.

What happens next?

[heidiheidi87]

What I did when I received a summons was I written an answer saying that I was filing Ch. 7. I took it to the courthouse and they did whatever they do to it, and they stamped my copy for me to mail to the creditors. I mailed it to them (regular mail), and a week later they sent me a letter saying that they received my answer, and it had a name and number for me to give to my attorney. They answer will give you time to file, and put the suit on hold, and you can file. Any attorney's office worth it's salt can tell you how to properly format an answer...it's very simple. Good luck to you

[tobee43]

The suit was filed by Zwicker.

What happens next?

usually when you write them back then do nothing but proceed. your writing them back will not help stop the process, however, the only benefit would be to stall the court date until you file the bk at which point it would put a stay on the law firm from continuing to collect.

the worse that can happen is they get a judgment against you, then after the discharge of you bk your atty files a motion to vacate the judgment. it does end up costing you more usually. however, most all judgments with the exception of some can be vacated after discharge.

[BrokeIn2010]

usually when you write them back then do nothing but proceed. your writing them back will not help stop the process, however, the only benefit would be to stall the court date until you file the bk at which point it would put a stay on the law firm from continuing to collect.

the worse that can happen is they get a judgment against you, then after the discharge of you bk your atty files a motion to vacate the judgment. it does end up costing you more usually. however, most all judgments with the exception of some can be vacated after discharge.

Isn't the "rule of thumb", IRC, that judgment regarding unsecured debt can be discharged (with additional fee) same as the original debt; but tax, student loan, secured, judgments can't.

[tobee43]

Isn't the "rule of thumb", IRC, that judgment regarding unsecured debt can be discharged (with additional fee) same as the original debt; but tax, student loan, secured, judgments can't.

while it may be "discharged" in the bankruptcy, the judgment, itself, a separate instrument, granted by a court order, and needs to be vacated and removed from your record...unlike simply owning citi bank 5k. this is a debt that must be treated differently to get removed from your records. it is a lien that was filed against you therefore the motion must be filed and the order issued to remove it.

one of the atty's may be able to "reword" it better for clearer understanding...but that is the way it works.

[BrokeIn2010]

while it may be "discharged" in the bankruptcy, the judgment, itself, a separate instrument, granted by a court order, and needs to be vacated and removed from your record...unlike simply owning citi bank 5k. this is a debt that must be treated differently to get removed from your records. it is a lien that was filed against you therefore the motion must be filed and the order issued to remove it.

one of the atty's may be able to "reword" it better for clearer understanding...but that is the way it works.

This is were I keep getting confused with our attorney: Cause he just hand-waves the judgment and says "well I'll get it taken care of in discharge so long as it's not against a secured note".

[tobee43]

This is were I keep getting confused with our attorney: Cause he just hand-waves the judgment and says "well I'll get it taken care of in discharge so long as it's not against a secured note".

oh...and yes, indeed he or she will i'm certain. but remind him or her to make certain they file the motion AFTER the discharge to clear the judgment.

step one is the discharge...

step two is the the motion to vacate the judgment...

step three...get the order in your little hands signed by the judge !

[OHBOY]

Sorry, I am confused...back to the initial question of poster, if Zwicker is filing the law suit are they or are they not in violation for not answering the DV ?... and how could their failure to answer the DV affect a lawsuit brought on by them ?

[tobee43]

Sorry, I am confused...back to the initial question of poster, if Zwicker is filing the law suit are they or are they not in violation for not answering the DV ?... and how could their failure to answer the DV affect a lawsuit brought on by them ?

the answer to the OP's question is no.

and as long as the creditor that Zwicker is representing is listed and it will be discharged with the chapter 7 the OP will be fine.

there is no punishment in not answering....you can attempt to stall by answering...but really they don't care.

if they succeed in obtaining a judgment, prior to the filing....then after the discharge, a motion to vacate the judgment will be entered and then the judgment will be removed.

zwicker is NOT in violation until the stay in put in place and that will only happen after the filing of the bk. until the petition is filed and a docket number is issued a creditor can attempt to collect the debt whether contacting the debtor by phone or summons.

[treehugger1]

Actually, they are in violation. Zwicker meets the criteria of debt collector under the FDCPA. I even think there is case law directly related. On the other hand, for you to take them on and file counter-claims or file your own FDCPA suit would require a real investment of your time. I am not all that familiar with case law and related suits. Make your decisions wisely.

[tobee43]

Actually, they are in violation. Zwicker meets the criteria of debt collector under the FDCPA. I even think there is case law directly related. On the other hand, for you to take them on and file counter-claims or file your own FDCPA suit would require a real investment of your time. I am not all that familiar with case law and related suits. Make your decisions wisely.

tree....OP has stated this situation is for someone else who it' not even mentioned if they are filing bk or no...the OP says they will be filing soon..... so creditors do have the right to go forward with any and all collection procedures. i'm certain you are referring to :

Failing to send a written debt validation notice
Within five days of the collector's initial communication, it must send you a notice include the amount of the debt, name of the creditor, and notice of your right to dispute the debt within 30 days. [15 USC 1692g] § 809(a)

they will lie....and say they did and promise you, they will have the documents to prove their lies...and no one will do anything about it...or find away around it by saying they did not contact citibank direcly. they are scum.

however, it takes a few minutes to answer the court with your defense....but chances are, sad but true they will get out of it!!


The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, FDCPA, dictates how debt collectors can act when collecting a debt from you. These are things a debt collector can't do. If you need to reference the law, i have listed some of the citations which have been provided below.

1. Ask you to pay more than you owe
The collector cannot misrepresent the amount you owe. [15 USC 1692e] § 807(2)(a)

2. Ask you to pay interest, fees, or expenses that are not allowed by law
The collector can't add on any extra fees that your original credit or loan agreement doesn't allow. [15 USC 1692f] § 808(1)

3. Call repeatedly or continuously
The FDCPA considers repeat calls as harassment. [15 USC 1692d] § 806(5)

4. Use obscene, profane, or abusive language
Using this kind of language is considered harassment. [15 USC 1692d] § 806(2)

5. Call before 8:00 am or after 9:00 pm
Calls during these times are considered harassment. [15 USC 1692c] § 805(a)(1)

6. Call at times the collector knew or should know are inconvenient
Calls at these times are considered harassment. [15 USC 1692c] § 805(a)(1)

7. Use or threaten to use violence if you don't pay the debt
Collectors can't threaten violence against you. [15 USC 1692d] § 806(1)

8. Threaten action they cannot or will not take
Collectors can't threaten to sue or file charges against you, garnish wages, take property, cause job loss, or ruin your credit when the collector cannot or does not intend to take the action. [15 USC 1692e] § 807(5)

9. Illegally inform a third party about your alleged debt
Unless you have expressly given permision, collectors are not allowed to inform anyone about your debt except:

* your attorney
* the creditor
* the creditor's attorney
* a credit reporting agencyyour spouse
* your parent (if you are a minor)

[15 USC 1692c] § 805(b)

10. Repeatedly call a third party to get your location information
The collector can only contact a third party once unless it has reason to believe the information previously provided is false. [15 USC 1692b] § 804(1)

11. Contact you at work knowing your employer doesn't approve
A collector is not allowed to contact you at work if you’ve let them know your employer doesn’t approve of these calls. [15 USC 1692c] § 805(a)(3)


12. Fail to send a written debt validation notice
Within five days of the collector's initial communication, it must send you a notice include the amount of the debt, name of the creditor, and notice of your right to dispute the debt within 30 days. [15 USC 1692g] § 809(a)

13. Ignore your written request to verify the debt and continue to collect
A collector can't continue to collect on a debt after you've made a written request to verify the debt as long as the request was made within 30 days of the collector's written notice. [15 USC 1692g] § 809(b)

14. Continue to collect on the debt before providing verification
After receiving your written dispute, the collector must stop collecting on the debt until you have receieved verification. [15 USC 1692g] § 809(b)

15. Continue collection attempts after receiving a cease communication notice

If you make a written request for the collector to cease communication, it can only contact you one more time, via mail to let you know one of the following: that further efforts to collect the debt are terminated, that certain actions may be taken by the collector, or that the collector is definitely going to take certain actions. [15 USC 1692c] § 805(c

[Freddy03]

I filed a counterclaim against one of my cc lawsuits who sued me 5 days after receiving my DV letter. If you do your research you can fight it but for $1000 it might not be worth the time and energy if you are going to file BK soon.