Debt Collection Company Continues to Call After Being Sent Written Notice

[Syn]

My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: VA

Hopefully I'm posting this question in the right place.

The issue I'm dealing with is related to a medical debt.

The medical facility did not file the correct insurance information, and so our insurance rejected the claim. I called and found out what was going on, then called the medical billing number and advised them that the claim was rejected because they had marked something on their side incorrectly, and that they just needed to refile the claim with the correct information which I also gave them.. and the bill would be paid.

Once that was done, there was still a large remaining balance and we were making monthly payments on the debt. At the every end of February my husband received a call at work from a debt collector about this bill.

We have never received any kind of paperwork from the debt collection company. Nothing. No bill. No letter.. nothing but phone calls from a rather rude, obnoxious woman who demands I give her my bank information to pay the bill.

Now I have no issue paying the bill, (In fact I have sent another 2 payments to the medical facility since these people started to call us and they accepted the payments).

Because this debt company called my husband at work, I sent them a letter on March 1, 2012 and stated:

This letter is being sent to you in response to a phone call received at my work on February 29, 2012. Be advised that this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is disputed as the debt in question to our accounts with [Medical Facility]. We have made monthly payments to [Medical Facility], and continue to receive current billing statements from [Medical Facility] for these accounts.

Our first contact with your company in regards to this issue was on February 29, 2012 in the form of a phone message left at my place of work, stating to call ‘Dawn Rivers’ at XXX-XXX-XXXX. No account numbers were given, nor did your representative give account number information when my wife called to discuss the reason for the call.

[Scumbag Collection Company] is not the original creditor, and we have no prior agreement with your company; as such I have no obligation to deal with your company at this time.

This is NOT a request for “verification” or proof of my mailing address, but a request for VALIDATION made pursuant to the above named Title and Section. I respectfully request that your offices provide me with competent evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you.

I request that you provide me with the following:

* What the money you say I owe is for;
* Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe;
* Identify the original creditor;
* Provide me with proof that you are authorized to accept payments on behalf of the original creditor;
* Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable;
* Show me that you are licensed to collect in the state of Virginia;
* Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent

At this time I will also inform you that if your offices have reported invalidated information to any of the 3 major Credit Bureau’s (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion) this action might constitute fraud under both Federal and State Laws. Due to this fact, if any negative mark is found on any of my credit reports by your company or the company that you represent I will not hesitate in bringing legal action against you for the following:

* Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
* Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
* Defamation of Character

If your offices are able to provide the proper documentation as requested in the following Declaration, I will require at least 30 days to investigate this information and during such time all collection activity must cease and desist.

Also during this validation period, if any action is taken which could be considered detrimental to any of my credit reports, I will consult with my legal counsel for suit. This includes any listing any information to a credit reporting repository that could be inaccurate or invalidated or verifying an account as accurate when in fact there is no provided proof that it is. If your offices fail to respond to this validation request within 30 days from the date of your receipt, all references to this account must be deleted and completely removed from my credit file and a copy of such deletion request shall be sent to me immediately.

I also demand, in writing, that no telephone contact be made by your offices to my home or to my place of employment. If your offices attempt telephone communication with me, including but not limited to computer generated calls and calls or correspondence sent to or with any third parties, it will be considered harassment and I will have no choice but to file suit. All future communications with me MUST be made in writing and sent to the address noted in this letter by USPS.

This company has never responded with the requested information, and I am not going to give a stranger my personal bank account information over the phone based on this woman's unsubstantiated claims that I should so; especially since I still get bills from the medical facility and they are accepting the payments.

Right now I am unemployed, though I am actively job hunting and applying for every job position I am able.. So I've sent $50 to $75 payments with each paycheck my husband receives.

This company keeps calling our home number, usually twice a day. They have never responded to my letter, though I DID send it certified return receipt and I have the card from the post office with the signature of the woman who keeps calling me on it.

At this point, I'm annoyed.

I've paid off all but a fraction of the debt owed, and I'm beyond sick of the nasty phone calls from this company. As far as I am concerned, they have no proven that they are in fact authorized to take the last payments on the debt and there is no way I'm going to give someone my bank information over the phone.

What I want to know is, can I sue this company for continuing to call me after being advised in writing to stop calling? They did not respond at all to the letter I sent, even though I know they received it, I've got the return receipt with a signature on it to prove it. If so, how do I go about it? Again, with just one pay check coming in right now and a mortgage and 2 kids to take care of.. I'm hoping I could just go to the county courthouse and file a civil suit without the assistance of a lawyer.

At this point, we only owe $175 left from the rather staggering bill we started out with (MRI's and X-rays are rather amazingly expensive...) and I'm going to pay it off with the next two paychecks my husband receives but.. After getting two more calls from these people today I'm just fed up.

I can prove the calls as well, we use a digital phone service and I have already talked to our phone company's customer service department who will provide me an official printout of all incoming calls to our number upon request. All I need to do is drop by the customer service office and ask..

Any suggestions / advice / information would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[jk]

ok, to start with, if the hospital still owns the account, they hired the CA to attempt to collect on the debt. If that is the case, then yes, you do have to deal with them unless the hospital is willing to recall the account and deal directly with you. If the hospital sold the account, then the only entity you get to deal with is the CA.


Next, the only thing the CA has to provide you is a verification of the debt. That means they contact the hospital. If the hospital sends a statement verifying your name and yes you owe, then that is it. They have no requirement to provide any of the following:

* What the money you say I owe is for;
* Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe;

* Provide me with proof that you are authorized to accept payments on behalf of the original creditor;
* Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable;
* Show me that you are licensed to collect in the state of Virginia;
* Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent

If you notice, the only item I removed from your list is the one that states the CA must provide you with the name of the original creditor. They have no requirement to provide any of the remaining unless/until they sue you and you request the information then.

The validation is simply what they are required to send you either on the first contact or with a follow up letter within 5 days. That is to include the name of the creditor and the amount of the debt. The verification is simply confirming, with the original creditor, that the debt claimed is correct and the debtor is the correct debtor.

especially since I still get bills from the medical facility and they are accepting the payments.

it would appear the hospital has simply hired these folks to collect on the debt. It is usually as simple as calling the original creditor and asking them to find out for sure.

What I want to know is, can I sue this company for continuing to call me after being advised in writing to stop calling?

I didn't catch it if you did post it but the only way to demand they stop calling you is to send them, in writing, a cease and desist demand. Then, the only time they can contact you is when they are going to sue you. If they contact you otherwise, they have violated the FDCPA.

They did not respond at all to the letter I sent, even though I know they received it, I've got the return receipt with a signature on it to prove it. If so, how do I go about it? Again, with just one pay check coming in right now and a mortgage and 2 kids to take care of.. I'm hoping I could just go to the county courthouse and file a civil suit without the assistance of a lawyer.

once you send a demand to verify the debt, IF it was sent to them within 30 days of first contact, they must cease all contact until they provide the verification. If you dispute any portion of the debt, they are also to stop contact until the debt is verified.

I have heard of people suing, even in small claims court, for a FDCPA violation. I wouldn't be surprised if the CA attempted to move the case to a higher court.

then to these:

* Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
* Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
* Defamation of Character

You admit the debt is valid so if it is reported to the credit reporting agencies, as long as it is correct, there is no violation of the FCRA.



they can report unvalidated information. There is no defamation in doing so and no violation of the FDCPA or the FCRA.

[Syn]

The validation is simply what they are required to send you either on the first contact or with a follow up letter within 5 days. That is to include the name of the creditor and the amount of the debt. The verification is simply confirming, with the original creditor, that the debt claimed is correct and the debtor is the correct debtor.

This company claims I must pay them.. yet they have not provided any kind of proof that they are authorized to collect the debt, whether it's on behalf of the hospital or because they bought the debt. All I get are phone calls demanding I give them my bank information and let them take the money.

I didn't catch it if you did post it but the only way to demand they stop calling you is to send them, in writing, a cease and desist demand. Then, the only time they can contact you is when they are going to sue you. If they contact you otherwise, they have violated the FDCPA.

I did send them a letter via certified mail stating they are not to call us either at work or at home but to only contact us in writing using U.S. mail. I have the return receipt showing that they did get the letter, it's signed by the woman who keeps calling me.

once you send a demand to verify the debt, IF it was sent to them within 30 days of first contact, they must cease all contact until they provide the verification. If you dispute any portion of the debt, they are also to stop contact until the debt is verified.

The demand to verify the debt was included in the letter as previously mentioned. All I want is proof that sending these people money will pay off the debt which they have not provided. The first contact we had from this company was on 2/29/2012 when this woman called my husband at work. The letter requesting confirmation that they were either authorized to collect, or that they now own the debt was sent on 3/1/2012 and the receipt was signed by this same person at this company on 3/5/2012.

No response in writing has been received, they've sent us NOTHING in writing. Just phone calls. Lots of phone calls. Every time I tell her I am still paying on it to the hospital, she tells me that's wrong and I should be paying her. Yet the hospital takes the payments.. the checks are most definitely cashed. She refuses to send me anything to prove her claim that this company is who I should be paying. All I get are phone calls.

And as I said.. I'm going to pay it off in the next 4 weeks as my husband is paid every 2 weeks anyway.

My issue again is not about the debt..

It's about phone calls from an astonishingly rude woman demanding I pay her money with no proof that doing so will in fact pay off the bill.

I'm not going to send money to someone just on a verbal statement made over the phone!


So, if I go file a civil claim against this company I'm not sure if it would do any good. I KNOW they received the letter saying not to call me, but to send me written proof which they have failed to do.

[jk]

Syn;611725]This company claims I must pay them.. yet they have not provided any kind of proof that they are authorized to collect the debt, whether it's on behalf of the hospital or because they bought the debt. All I get are phone calls demanding I give them my bank information and let them take the money.

so, call the hospital and ask if they have hired that CA to collect on the debt.

I did send them a letter via certified mail stating they are not to call us either at work or at home but to only contact us in writing using U.S. mail. I have the return receipt showing that they did get the letter, it's signed by the woman who keeps calling me.

there is no partial cease and desist. It's all or nothing. Since you did allow some contact, I suspect that would allow all contact. I would have to research case law to determine that.

The demand to verify the debt was included in the letter as previously mentioned. All I want is proof that sending these people money will pay off the debt which they have not provided. The first contact we had from this company was on 2/29/2012 when this woman called my husband at work. The letter requesting confirmation that they were either authorized to collect, or that they now own the debt was sent on 3/1/2012 and the receipt was signed by this same person at this company on 3/5/2012.

but simply put: they are not required to provide that to you.

No response in writing has been received, they've sent us NOTHING in writing. Just phone calls. Lots of phone calls. Every time I tell her I am still paying on it to the hospital, she tells me that's wrong and I should be paying her. Yet the hospital takes the payments.. the checks are most definitely cashed. She refuses to send me anything to prove her claim that this company is who I should be paying. All I get are phone calls.

so call the hospital

And as I said.. I'm going to pay it off in the next 4 weeks as my husband is paid every 2 weeks anyway.

congrats.

It's about phone calls from an astonishingly rude woman demanding I pay her money with no proof that doing so will in fact pay off the bill.

then send them a written cease and desist demand

I'm not going to send money to someone just on a verbal statement made over the phone!

I understand that but the onus is upon you to check this out. They do not have to prove much of anything under the law.

So, if I go file a civil claim against this company I'm not sure if it would do any good. I KNOW they received the letter saying not to call me, but to send me written proof which they have failed to do.

if you are considering suing because the call when you said to contact only in writing, as before, case law would have to be researched to determine how the courts view that: either a full cease and desist or since you did allow communication, all communication is allowed.

[Syn]

but simply put: they are not required to provide that to you.

Why would you say they are not required to provide proof that they are authorized or have a right to collect on the debt? According to the FDCPA they are:

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.

According to the law as it is written, they ARE required to provide verification and mail it to me as I requested. They have not done so.

Looks like I need to call a lawyer, and find out from someone who actually knows the law instead of coming to a forum to look for a little advice on this issue. I am not a lawyer, but I can read and section 809 of the FDCPA seems fairly straight forward to me. I have disputed that this company has the right to collect funds on this debt based on the fact that I'm still getting billing statements from the hospital and the hospital is accepting payment. This company has not responded with the requested verification, and as such I am not about to give so much as a penny to them.

As it stands, I may go cash in a few savings bonds and just pay the bill to the hospital and get it out of the way and over with.. then if that rude woman calls me again I can tell her to take her claims and jam them where the sun never shines..

[jk]

Why would you say they are not required to provide proof that they are authorized or have a right to collect on the debt? According to the FDCPA they are:

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.

You do not seem to understand what that says. Here is the pertinent part about verification:

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.

It appears you were at least told who the original creditor is and the amount. That is what the law requires. The law does require it be in writing but that is a poor argument on your side and if you sue, you could lose just because of that. Then, if you dispute the bill (not the CA's right to collect it but the actual debt) or you demand verification, then the CA is to stop all contact until the verification is provided.

According to the law as it is written, they ARE required to provide verification and mail it to me as I requested. They have not done so.

actually, they are not required to send such verification. If they wish to continue to attempt to collect on the debt they are but if they do not wish to continue to attempt to collect the debt, they don't have to send you anything.

Looks like I need to call a lawyer, and find out from someone who actually knows the law instead of coming to a forum to look for a little advice on this issue. I am not a lawyer, but I can read and section 809 of the FDCPA seems fairly straight forward to me.

you can read it but are interpreting it incorrectly.

I have disputed that this company has the right to collect funds on this debt based on the fact that I'm still getting billing statements from the hospital and the hospital is accepting payment. This company has not responded with the requested verification, and as such I am not about to give so much as a penny to them.

That is not disputing the debt. That is disputing their right to collect on the debt.

The big problem here is it appears the hospital simply hired a collection agency to collect on their debts. All you have to do is call the hospital and ask them if they hired this CA to collect for them. If they haven't, tell the CA to go away. If they have, then you can pay either the hospital, if they will accept it or the CA.

As it stands, I may go cash in a few savings bonds and just pay the bill to the hospital and get it out of the way and over with.. then if that rude woman calls me again I can tell her to take her claims and jam them where the sun never shines.

You can tell her that right now. The worst that will happen is you are sued. The best; they will leave you alone.

but you go ahead and spend money on a lawyer. I don't know what you think it will get you but it's your money.