Validation request letter ignored

[mnvikingfan]

On August 23 I received a letter from Financial Corporation of America (FCA) that had the usual line of "Unless you notify this office within 30 days that you dispute the validity of the debt....."

I sent them a letter disputing the debt and requesting that all further communication be in writing. I sent the letter Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation. They received the letter on September 18.

The phone calls from them stopped.

On October 9 I received a letter that is identical to the first letter except that the amount owed has changed by a couple of hundred dollars. This week the phone calls have started coming again.

They never responded to the dispute letter.

What should I do now? Should I send another dispute letter? Should I send them a letter stating that they are in violation of the FDCPA and state statutes?

[Pandora]

follow up with another letter citing your first one - include all receipts that you have proving they received it showing you replied within the 30 days, then send it signature confirmation.

You need to ensure they dont file suit and get a judgment claiming they "never received anything".

[GoingDown]

This is merely a compliance matter with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

It has absolutely nothing to do with the filing of a lawsuit. They don't need to validate or verify the debt in writing before they file a lawsuit. They can file a lawsuit whenever they want to file a lawsuit-- right after the first missed payment, if they wish.

They need to stop calling you until they verify the debt (which can be as simple as sending you a letter with a one sentence paragraph stating that they are hereby verifying the debt) to be in compliance with FDCPA.

Since they ignored your letter, they obviously don't seem to care much about the FDCPA. You can send them another letter including the mailing receipt information, which a demand for payment from them in the amount of $1000 for their violation of the FDCPA. That might get their attention. Start recording their telephone calls and state the date and time in a loud voice and tell them you are recording their phone call, so you will have evidence of the violations.

Another thing you can do is contact your state's attorney general's office and file a complaint against them. When they get a letter from your attorney general's office about the matter, they will probably stop calling you.

[BubbaJoeBob]

This is merely a compliance matter with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

It has absolutely nothing to do with the filing of a lawsuit. They don't need to validate or verify the debt in writing before they file a lawsuit. They can file a lawsuit whenever they want to file a lawsuit-- right after the first missed payment, if they wish.

They need to stop calling you until they verify the debt (which can be as simple as sending you a letter with a one sentence paragraph stating that they are hereby verifying the debt) to be in compliance with FDCPA.

Since they ignored your letter, they obviously don't seem to care much about the FDCPA. You can send them another letter including the mailing receipt information, which a demand for payment from them in the amount of $1000 for their violation of the FDCPA. That might get their attention. Start recording their telephone calls and state the date and time in a loud voice and tell them you are recording their phone call, so you will have evidence of the violations.

Another thing you can do is contact your state's attorney general's office and file a complaint against them. When they get a letter from your attorney general's office about the matter, they will probably stop calling you.

Verification is different from Validation.....

[GoingDown]

Nah, they (collection agencies, junk debt buyers, etc.) use the terms interchangably. They will either say they have verified the debt or they have validated the debt when they respond, and they mean the same thing.

Believe me, I've been through all of this A LOT.

When you get their initial 30 notice, you send them a letter which says something like "I dispute the validity of this debt, and I request verification of it from you in writing" and then they send back a letter saying they are verifying the debt and that now their collection activities (phone calls) will continue because they have complied with the FDCPA.

It is generally a waste of your time to dispute the validity of the debt unless you truly don't owe it-- such as a case of mistaken identity. It doesn't stop the calls for very long in most cases.

Sending them a cease and desist communications letter is much more effective at getting them to stop calling you.

[BubbaJoeBob]

Nah, they (collection agencies, junk debt buyers, etc.) use the terms interchangably. They will either say they have verified the debt or they have validated the debt when they respond, and they mean the same thing.

Believe me, I've been through all of this A LOT.

When you get their initial 30 notice, you send them a letter which says something like "I dispute the validity of this debt, and I request verification of it from you in writing" and then they send back a letter saying they are verifying the debt and that now their collection activities (phone calls) will continue because they have complied with the FDCPA.

It is generally a waste of your time to dispute the validity of the debt unless you truly don't owe it-- such as a case of mistaken identity. It doesn't stop the calls for very long in most cases.

Sending them a cease and desist communications letter is much more effective at getting them to stop calling you.

Wrong........

Debt Validation is an extremely powerful and simple tool....

[treehugger1]

To the original poster. As another pointed out, send a second letter with copies of your return receipt and a request for $1000.

While they appear to be in violation of the FDCPA, one violation may not get you a sympathetic ear from any attorney or local federal district court.

Just because they have not validated/verified does not imply they cannot sue. If they did, you might have a counterclaim to include in an answer to suit. Then again, I don't believe that all state courts (where you would be sued) allow for counterclaims based on FDCPA. Such actions as violating the FDCPA must be brought to federal court. While there are plenty of FCC decisions and past federal suits that you can cite, don't expect every particular federal district court to be sympathetic. I'm no attorney, but a bit of common sense and research seems to go a long ways. Again. I'm just stating opinions.

In terms of validation/verification under the FDCPA, I agree with GD that such a process on the CA/JDB's part can be quite simple. And, I also have a A LOT of personal experience. I don't think that validation is all that powerful, unless you are willing to learn to bring suits and defend yourself from suits. There are some sites on the web that seem to think it is pretty straight forward to bring suits based on FDCPA. I agree, but to win those suits you will need to become highly educated, depending upon your local, state, and federal district court rules of civil procedure. These can vary a great deal from state to state, including federal district courts.

After 4 years of dealing with requests for validation/verification, I don't even bother any longer. As with GD, I am now a firm believer in the simple cease and desist letter. Others have different opinions.

I wish you the best.

[BubbaJoeBob]

Sigh...... It is astounding the amount of misinformation propagated in this topic.

[keepinitreal]

Sigh...... It is astounding the amount of misinformation propagated in this topic.

Please enlighten everyone.