Re: The Right to Validate Your Debt; 

Re:Debt collector keeps sellin

Posted by: "M Graham" monica_graham@rocketmail.com  
monica_graham@rocketmail.com
Tue Mar 1, 2011 7:11 am (PST)

Interesting. I posted this last week to CIC, truthresearch reposts it, and Mike
wants a donation for it.
And I got it from snoolydog who disappeared from the group last year.
Yeah we really need Mike to keep regurgitating that info. If he didn't what
else would I do then - send emails to myself?

________________________________
From: Michael-Philip: Rothermel <irsfight@yahoo.com>
To: challenge mortgage <mortgage-challenge@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tue, March 1, 2011 6:46:50 AM
Subject: [mortgage-challenge] The Right to Validate Your Debt; Re:Debt
collector keeps selling debt

If You find this helpful, which if You read through it You will, please send a
donation to prop up My habit of sending out this info to You, as a gift to
PayPal @ irsfight@yahoo.com or mail to the address at the bottom of this email.
Or order some health products from My site at the bottom of this email,
Thanks for Your support, Mike

From:

"Truth_Research@yahoogroups.com" <Truth_Research@yahoogroups.com>
The Right to Validate Your Debt
Posted by: "truthpressresearch" truthpressresearch@yahoo.com
truthpressresearch
Date: Mon Feb 28, 2011 9:24 am ((PST))

Re:Debt collector keeps selling debt

FDCPA Case Research

<http://www.state/> http://www.state <http://www.state/> .
<http://in.us/judiciary/> in.us/judiciary/ <http://in.us/judiciary/>
opinions/ archive/03260101 .ewn.html Important FTC Links to Bookmark:
FCRA: <http://www.ftc/> http://www.ftc <http://www.ftc/> .
gov/os/statutes/ 031224fcra. pdf
Non pdf format : <http://www.law/> http://www.law <http://www.law/> .
<http://cornell.edu/> cornell.edu/ <http://cornell.edu/> uscode/15/
usc_s..._ 41_20_III. html

FDCPA: <http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf>
http://www.ftc <http://www.ftc/> .gov/bcp/edu/
<http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf>
pubs/consumer/
<http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf>
credit/cre27.
<http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf> pdf
<http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf>
Non pdf format:
<http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/15/usc_s...10_41_20_V.html>
http://www.law <http://www.law/> .
<http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/15/usc_s...10_41_20_V.html>
cornell.edu/ <http://cornell.edu/> uscode/15/
<http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/15/usc_s...10_41_20_V.html>
usc_s...10_
<http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/15/usc_s...10_41_20_V.html>
41_20_V.html
<http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/15/usc_s...10_41_20_V.html>

To better understand each of these, I highly recommend for additional

reading the following FTC Staff opinion letters:

FCRA Staff Opinion Letters: <http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcra/>

http://www.ftc <http://www.ftc/> .gov/os/statutes/
<http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcra/> fcra/
<http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcra/>

FDCPA Staff Opinion Letters:

<http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/letters.shtm> http://www.ftc
<http://www.ftc/> .gov/os/statutes/
<http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/letters.shtm> fdcpa/letters.
<http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/letters.shtm> shtm
<http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/letters.shtm>

FDCPA Staff Commentary:

<http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/commentary.shtm> http://www.ftc
<http://www.ftc/> .gov/os/statutes/
<http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/commentary.shtm> fdcpa/commentary
<http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/commentary.shtm> .shtm
<http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/commentary.shtm>

FTC Jump Page for the FDCPA:

<http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpajump.shtm> http://www.ftc
<http://www.ftc/> .gov/os/statutes/
<http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpajump.shtm> fdcpajump.
<http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpajump.shtm> shtm
<http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpajump.shtm> (updated periodically)

FTC Jump Page for the FCRA:

<http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcrajump.shtm> http://www.ftc
<http://www.ftc/> .gov/os/statutes/
<http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcrajump.shtm> fcrajump.
<http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcrajump.shtm> shtm
<http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcrajump.shtm> (updated periodically)

Where to submit consumer complaints to the FTC:

<https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/> https://www <https://www/> .
ftccomplaintassistant.gov/ <http://stant.gov/>

What happens when you complain to the FTC?

<http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=407862>
http://creditboards <http://creditboards/> .com/forums/
<http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=407862> index.php?
<http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=407862> showtopic=
<http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=407862> 407862
<http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=407862>

How long does it usually take to hear a response from an FTC Complaint?
<http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=424327>
http://creditboards <http://creditboards/> .com/forums/
<http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=424327> index.php?
<http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=424327> showtopic=
<http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=424327> 424327
<http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=424327>

The Right to Validate Your Debt

Under the FDCPA <http://creditinfocenter.com/legal/FDCPA.shtml> , you

are allowed to validate this debt, and the creditor (in this case, the
collection agency) must show you proof that you owe the debt to the
collection agency (not to the original creditor.)

The specific section of the FDCPA:

FDCPA Section 809. Validation of debts [15 USC 1692g]

(b) If the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the
thirty-day period described in subsection (a) that the debt, or any
portion thereof, is disputed, or that the consumer requests the name and
address of the original creditor, the debt collector shall cease
collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof, until the debt
collector obtains verification of the debt or any copy of a judgment, or
the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy of such
verification or judgment, or name and address of the original creditor,
is mailed to the consumer by the debt collector.

Plus, they must show proof positive that you owe them this debt. It's
not enough to send you a computer-generated printout of the debt. There
is an opinion letter from the FTC to back this up:
<http://www.ftc/> http://www.ftc <http://www.ftc/> . gov/os/statutes/
fdcpa/letters/ wollman.htm

Nor can they ask you to pay for digging up records of your debt:

<http://www.ftc/> http://www.ftc <http://www.ftc/> . gov/os/statutes/

fdcpa/letters/ krisor2.htm

So, if a creditor can't verify a debt:

* They are not allowed to collect the debt,

* They are not allowed to contact you about the debt, and
* They are also not allowed to report itunder the Fair Credit
Reporting Act <http://www.creditinfocenter.com/legal/FCRA.shtml> (FCRA).
Doing so is a violation of the FCRA, and the FCRA states that you can
sue for $1,000 in damages for any violation of the Act.

The opinion letter from the FTC which clearly spells out that a
collection agency CANNOT report a debt to the credit bureaus which has
not been validated:

<http://www.ftc/> http://www.ftc <http://www.ftc/> . gov/os/statutes/

fdcpa/letters/ cass.htm
It also states that you can sue in federal or state court. So if you
have them on a violation, then you have damages of $1,000 for the
incident plus damages. Small claims court, anyone?
When a collection agency responds to your request for validation with a
summons to appear (meaning they are trying to get a judgment against
you)

1/17/2002: These sneaky collection agencies are starting to catch on to

the debt validation concept. (No doubt there is some kind of collection
agency newsletter going around telling these folks about the whole
process.) I've heard from my readers that some collection agencies are
starting to respond to validation requests with summons to appear in
court. There is precedent which says that a collection agency cannot
even file suit against you if they haven't validated the debt within the
initial 30 day period. If this happens to you, you may cite the case:

Spears vs. Brennan

<http://www.state.in.us/judiciary/opinions/archive/03260101.ewn.html>

The appeals court determined:

"Brennan (plaintiff collection agency attorney) violated 15 U.S.C. §

1692g(b) when he obtained a default judgment against Spears (defendant)
after Spears had notified Brennan in writing that the debt was being
disputed and before Brennan had mailed verification of the debt to
Spears."

This means that you have an absolute defense in court to deny them
judgment if they still have not validated the debt. Once you get your
FDCPA dispute letter in, the collector cannot even get a judgment until
they satisfy the FDCPA law. The appeals court overturned the default
summary judgment in part because the collection agency lawyer did not
meet the rules of the FDCPA.

This could be grounds for getting a default judgment vacated. It's also
another violation of the FDCPA and you can collect $1,000 from them.
The Debt Validation Strategy

It might be helpful to look at our illustration of the process

<http://creditinfocenter.com/rebuild/debt_validation_workflow.shtml>
before you get started. You might also want to read this, sort of our
own "validation" of the process given here
<http://creditinfocenter.com/legal/UsingTheFDCPAWorks.shtml> .

1. Dispute the collection with the credit bureaus.

2. Look up the Statute of Limitations

<http://creditinfocenter.com/rebuild/statuteLimitations.shtml> (SOL) on
the debt. If the debt is past the statute of limitations, send them a
letter informing that they are trying to collect "zombie debt
<http://www.creditinfocenter.com/wordpress/2008/05/20/more-people-compla\
ining-about-collection-agencies/> ". This is debt which is too old to
have any legal liabilty for a consumer. Here is asample letter
<http://www.creditinfocenter.com/forms/sampleletter20.shtml> for this.

3. If the collection agency does not remove the listing after you
point out the SOL, sometimes your only remedy is to sue them.
4. If the debt is not past the statute of limitations, send a letter
requesting validation
<http://www.creditinfocenter.com/forms/sampleletter9.shtml> to the
collection agency (our buddy Bob in the preceding example). If you don't
know the address of the collection agency, here is a tip
<http://www.creditinfocenter.com/repair/How2FindACreditor.shtml> to
help you find it.

5. Wait 30 days to hear back from the collection agency. Most likely
they will not respond or they will respond saying that they received
your letter. Only a letter which includes one of the following:
* Proof that the collection company owns the debt/or has been
assigned the debt,
* Copies of statements from the original creditor
* Copy of the original signed loan agreement or credit card
application
is satisfactory.

* If they haven't sent you satisfactory proof, and are still

reporting this on your report, send a copy of your receipt for your
registered mail, a copy of the first letter you sent and a statement
that they have not complied with the FDCPA
<http://www.creditinfocenter.com/legal/FDCPA.shtml> and are now in
violation of the Act. Tell them they need to immediately remove the
collection listing from your credit report or you are going to file a
lawsuit
<http://www.creditinfocenter.com/eBooks/PoorMansClassActionLawsuit.shtml\
> because they are in violation of the FDCPA, section 809 (b).

* Wait 15-20 days to hear back after this second letter to the
collection agency. They will either remove it or not respond.
* If they do provide a contract with a signature from the original
creditor showing that you owe the debt, there is one more thing you can
try: see if they are legally licensed to collect the debt in your state.
Here is a good site <http://www.residentagentinfo.com/> to begin your
search.
Not all states require licensing, however. Here's a little cheat sheet
<http://creditinfocenter.com/rebuild/StateLawRefs.doc> (Word Doc) to see
what the collection licensing laws in your state are. It's got other
handy dandy state law information as well.

If you believe that they are not licensed, and licensing is required in
your state, write them another letter and tell them they are in
violation of your state's collection laws and are subject to prosecution
and fines. Cite your state's fines and procedures in the letter. This is
a last ditch effort, but has worked in some cases.

* Typically, your work will stop here,as most collection agencies

will bow down to your demands and send you a letter agreeing to remove
the listing. Now all you have to do is send a copy of the letter to the
CRAs.

If the collection agency did not agree to remove the listing, then you
need to continue to the next steps.

* File a lawsuit in small claims court

<http://creditinfocenter.com/eBooks/PoorMansClassActionLawsuit.shtml>
against the collection agency on the basis of violating the FDCPA
<http://www.creditinfocenter.com/legal/FDCPA.shtml> .

* Have the papers served to the collection agency. (You can find a
paper server on the internet for about $25). Here
<http://www.guaranteedsubpoena.com/rules.htm> is a good link. And here
is another: <http://www.1-/> <http://www.1-/> http://www.1-
<http://www.1-/> 800-serve- <http://em.com/servicema> em.com/servicema
<http://em.com/servicema> p.html

* In the meantime, in a parallel effort with your lawsuit against the

collection agency
<http://creditinfocenter.com/eBooks/PoorMansClassActionLawsuit.shtml> :

* If the collection comes back as "verified" from the credit bureaus,

you now have proof of further collection activity from the collection
agency. (The assumption is that the credit bureau contacted the
collection agency to verify the debt.) Since the collection agency did
not validate the debt, further collection activity is a violation of the
FDCPA.

* Contact the credit bureaus, and tell them that the creditors did
not verify the debts under the FDCPA
<http://creditinfocenter.com/legal/FDCPA.shtml> , and send copies of
your proof. Request themethod of verification
<http://creditinfocenter.com/repair/MethodOfVerification.shtml> , which
is your right under the FCRA. It is crucial to contact the credit
bureaus before filing a lawsuit. Make sure you state that the collection
agency did not respond to your request for debt validation.

* You can try sending them this letter

<http://creditinfocenter.com/forms/sampleletter15.shtml> to see if they
will budge. They may tell you that the request needs to come from the
creditor. This is baloney. If they can't give you reasonable information
on how they verified the information and the collection agency has
provided you none, you can conclude there was no reasonable
investigation performed. Theyare teetering on the edge of "willful
non-compliance" <http://www.creditinfocenter.com/legal/FCRA.shtml#616>
under the FCRA. Tell them so.

* File a suit
<http://creditinfocenter.com/eBooks/PoorMansClassActionLawsuit.shtml>
in either small claims, state or federal court. The basis of the lawsuit
should be that the credit bureaus could not provide a satisfactory
method of verification
<http://creditinfocenter.com/repair/MethodOfVerification.shtml> , or did
not conduct a reasonable investigation.

* Have the papers served. (You can find a paper server on the
internet for about $25). Here is a great link where you can search for
the local office of the credit bureau near you. <http://www.llrx/>
http://www.llrx <http://www.llrx/> . com/columns/ roundup14. htm

For great health products see http://mikerothe.youngevityonline.com/ and/or call

Me.
Michael Rothermel, Box 102, Arlington, Arizona [85322] 623-386-7449
Today's mighty oak is just yesteryear's nut
that held its ground...