Debt Collection Question

That sounds pretty bogus to me. If the debt stretches back to 2002 or before, he's not liable for it. There's a 7 year moritorium on debt. However, scum companies like CRA buy these debts for pennies on the dollar and scare people into paying up on them. As soon as you make payment, you reopen the account, and then you can tagged for the whole amount.

I'd tell your friend, if they call back, to say he closed the account over 7 years ago, and the debt is off his record. He should get a current copy of his credit report to make sure that this account is not listed as active.

 

google credit repair and one of the first things they tell you is the collection agency must provide proof that the debt is yours via mail. and then, the only correspondence should only be mail CERTIFIED mail and everything they say should be in writing. but hell, if it's not even on his credit report now, he shouldn't even waste any energy dealing these scumbags. if they do call back, tell him to pretend to give them a CC number and then at the end scream, "**** off!".

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32509393/ns/business-consumer_news/

Some reading for you.

 

If they call back, have him tell them that he has their number on caller ID and he's recording the conversation.

I'd love to hear the reaction.

 

Usually they call from a 'restricted' number, which should tell you something about the pond scum you're dealing with.

Seriously, Lil...tell your friend NOT TO PAY these dirtbags. He will be throwing his money away. And NEVER NEVER NEVER give these idiots access to your checking account!

They can threaten you all they want - that's their job. They try to scare people into paying things that they don't have to pay. If the debt is over 7 years old, it's totally meaningless.

Ignore them.

 

This is how u know it is B.S.

Rocket River

 

Right on. Certified mail forces recipient to sign the letter as proof of delivery. It's good to certify correspondence with bill collectors. That way if they're not shady, you have a paper trail admissible in court.

I posted this in a different debt thread.
http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?p=3561949&highlight=verification#post3561949

http://www.creditinfocenter.com/rebuild/debt_validation.shtml

 

This sounds to me like a scam.

If CRA is trying to collect a legitimate credit card debt, they are going about it all wrong. They have broken the law in about 7 different ways.

Your friend should get his own credit report to see if the debt is listed. If not, then nothing to worry about. If it is, he should contact the credit card compnay at the number listed in the credit report and deal with them directly.

If it is not a legitimate debt, he should challenge it to the credit reporting agencies.

If this persists, then report back in this thread.

By theway, the IRS threat is total BS.

 

Your friend should record the conversation the next time they call. I forget if he gets anything out of them getting fined. It's in one of those FTC links other members gave.

He could be nice and inform them that he's turning on his tape recorder. I bet their tune will change real fast.


In fact, this is worse than a nigerian scam. Hope your friend strings them along so he has tapes to send to the FTC. Like getting their bank routing number, their mailing address, and who the person on the other line is and their manager....all with the possibility of him paying those fraudsters.

 

Lil Pun, I'm a lawyer specializing in suing debt collectors and representing consumers that get sued on consumer debt. I'm sending you my contact information by email so your friend can contact me if he wants to. He was right not to give them any money. If the debt is that old, they cannot sue him for it or even threaten to sue him. They are just bullying him and depending on what they have said, your friend may be able to sue them and recover a thousand dollars of statutory damages plus attorneys fees under the FDCPA.

 

Option two would be for the creditor to just get a judgement against him in his local county court, then he could find a note from the sheriff on his door. I don't know what happens after that.

 

i'm still waitin for the thread when debt collection agencies in china start callin up clutchfan members asking them to ante up on behalf of uncle scam

 

The four year statute of limitations on debt is a defense to a lawsuit, it does not prevent the lawsuit from being brought. Since limitations is an 'affirmative defense,' the consumer has the burden of proving that the debt is four years old. The only opportunity the consumer has to prove that is during the lawsuit. If a collector has a judgment, that would mean that the lawsuit is over, the consumer lost, and that limitations are no longer relevant.

Often, consumers ignore lawsuits and collectors get default judgments. Many of these lawsuits shouldn't have been brought because they were past limitations or because the plaintiffs are bottom feeder debt buyers that have no way of proving that they own the debt. Once they have a judgment, none of that matters anymore. All that matters at that point is whether the consumer had notice of the lawsuit.

Presuming that a consumer is sued on a time barred debt and then gets the lawsuit dismissed by proving that it is time barred, he has a claim under the FDCPA against the collector for bringing a time barred claim and the money the consumer paid his lawyer to defend the lawsuit that should have never been brought are his actual damages that he can recover on top of his statutory damages and attorneys fees for the second suit.

 

You do not mess with ClutchFans or their friends. We are legion and we will **** you up.

 

New York: Debt collectors illegally threatened arrest, assault



http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/08/21/debt.collection/index.html

 

Good post, you beat me to it. The actions in this article disgust me..but as Dave Ramsey says..."How can you tell if a debt collector is lying? Their lips are moving"