It's not and well within your right to demand Debt Validation.
If you're not planning on opening any line of credit soon, I'd pay the $7 and put a security freeze on your credit report with credit reporting agencies.
Unwelcome phone calls
- Thread starter RoJoHen
- Start date
If you're not planning on opening any line of credit soon, I'd pay the $7 and put a security freeze on your credit report with credit reporting agencies.
It's up to the collection agency to prove that you owe the debt. If they can't do so within a certain length of time (usually 30 days) they're obligated to remove any record on your credit report. If they're not willing to provide proof, send details of your contact with them to your state attorney's office.
Instruct them to only contact you in writing in the future and to not contact any family, friends or work.
Jan
Instruct them to only contact you in writing in the future and to not contact any family, friends or work.
Jan
Infraction for flaming. Comments to PM
Let me educate you on your debt sir. When it comes to apartment leases the complex's ONLY obligation is to send you the bill to your last known address which was the apartment you lived at. The post office would have forwarded it to your new address that you left them.
Now as for the CA, if they have your correct address and ALL your info is also accurate as you say then I am sure they sent you something already. AGAIN let me reiterate they are NOT obligated to send you another bill and don't have to prove that you got the first one which was sent.
Unfortunately people like you say they never received anything but in fact you did. The issue is that like most debtors you probably threw it out thinking it was junk mail. If it is that important to you that you find out what you're being charged for then all you have to do is request it in writing by faxing them or sending an email.
Their website is not that hard to find if you TRULY care to resolve the matter instead of wasting time by acting like you didn't know anything.
Go to http://hunterwarfield.com/v20/_controller.cfm?event=contact
I know about apartment leases because I owed two of them (NOT with HW) at different times in the last 5 years but I always made sure that the apt complex manager knew where to reach me even if it meant sending the information to a CA.
Don't mess up your credit by stalling and I STRONGLY suggest you take care of this soon because once it hits your credit and rental history it's all down hill from there. The next step after that could be litigation. The contract you signed will then be enforced in a court of law and you will be held responsible for all the attorney fees and court costs.
Now as for the CA, if they have your correct address and ALL your info is also accurate as you say then I am sure they sent you something already. AGAIN let me reiterate they are NOT obligated to send you another bill and don't have to prove that you got the first one which was sent.
Unfortunately people like you say they never received anything but in fact you did. The issue is that like most debtors you probably threw it out thinking it was junk mail. If it is that important to you that you find out what you're being charged for then all you have to do is request it in writing by faxing them or sending an email.
Their website is not that hard to find if you TRULY care to resolve the matter instead of wasting time by acting like you didn't know anything.
Go to http://hunterwarfield.com/v20/_controller.cfm?event=contact
I know about apartment leases because I owed two of them (NOT with HW) at different times in the last 5 years but I always made sure that the apt complex manager knew where to reach me even if it meant sending the information to a CA.
Don't mess up your credit by stalling and I STRONGLY suggest you take care of this soon because once it hits your credit and rental history it's all down hill from there. The next step after that could be litigation. The contract you signed will then be enforced in a court of law and you will be held responsible for all the attorney fees and court costs.
That assumes the debt is legit-- and given HW's rep, there's a good chance that it's not. And sorry the law says they have to provide proof of that debt, it's up to them to make sure it's getting to the right person. If they refuse to validate, then then they can't collect.
When it's a SIGNED contract lady you don't have a legal leg to stand on. Within the first initial 30 days a debtor has that much time to dispute the debt but unless they have WRITTEN documentation proving otherwise the debt will be reported to the 3 major credit bureaus after 90 days or if their client chooses to report it sooner.
Even if you dispute the debt with the CB's, they will after a certain amount of time (usually after the 4rth try) send you a letter stating the debt is valid and unless you have WRITTEN proof to provide to them or the CA your dispute under the Fair Credit Reporting Act is considered to be frivolous.
Even if you dispute the debt with the CB's, they will after a certain amount of time (usually after the 4rth try) send you a letter stating the debt is valid and unless you have WRITTEN proof to provide to them or the CA your dispute under the Fair Credit Reporting Act is considered to be frivolous.
Lady?
And again, the assumption that he owes the debt. Till they prove he owes it or give him the original creditor, there's nothing else to be done. Oh they can report him, then he can file with the FTC and a civil suit if it comes back that they filed it against the wrong person and never took ALL steps to verify the debt.
Wrong Grizzly Adams! The burden of proof is ALWAYS on the debtor because their client has YOUR signature all over the signed legally binding lease.
If you can't prove within the first 30 days that the debt is not yours then it is and they can LEGALLY report it to the credit bureaus and proceed with further actions after that.
STOP being so misinformed. I KNOW what I am talking about because I went through it. I even contacted the atttorney general in both States and nothing could be done about the collection agency or the debt because they were within their rights to collect it.
A
Amaris
Guest
Including things you never signed?
Seriously, do you have any idea how many people get slammed for debts that they don't owe? There's big money in fraudulent claims and scaring people to think they'll go to prison if they don't pay immediately. Debt collection agencies don't care. They'll pursue it even if it has no valid basis on the off chance they can wring money out of people. It's what they do, it's how they make money.
Unless they're wrong.
FTC says different. I've been through it too, and I know what the TN AG's office and the FTC both told me: It's up to the CA to prove everything-- if they don't the original signature contracts in their office, they have a worthless debt. If a CA takes you to court they have to come up with the origianl contract. Or the court will hold it over till they either drop their case or cough up the contracts.
Only a original creditor gets a by on some of the FDCA on the presumption that they have the original documentation and are taking action to keep it out of collections.
Yes unless they're wrong but if you just left an apartment and knew you owed something why should you be surprised to get a call from a CA?
If you NEVER signed anything then it is YOUR responsibility to request the documents in writing and STOP using the excuse that the CA has to do everything.
You seem damn set on the fact that it's on apartment debt, when even the thread's OP doesn't know that. We don't even know yet if he owes anything. At first blush, you're acting like a bill collector in this thread, you're acting like a collector with a interest in this debt.
On a related debt collector note: Google Voice = Amazing. I got it to grand-central people get ahold of me, but it's been great for the a-holes at the CA. Voice recording (check local laws, thank you TN for being single party), voicemail, voicemail to SMS/E-mail, transcription (dodgy) and you can set time limits on when to patch certain calls through. (Ex: Family is 24/7 for me, but the CA gets 9 to 5 Mon to Fri).
On a related debt collector note: Google Voice = Amazing. I got it to grand-central people get ahold of me, but it's been great for the a-holes at the CA. Voice recording (check local laws, thank you TN for being single party), voicemail, voicemail to SMS/E-mail, transcription (dodgy) and you can set time limits on when to patch certain calls through. (Ex: Family is 24/7 for me, but the CA gets 9 to 5 Mon to Fri).
A
Amaris
Guest
Yet at this point no one has said whether it is actually an apartment debt or not, because Rojo didn't have time to get all the information from the debt collector, and the debt collector chose to be a jerk and not tell him everything he needed to know.
I had one from some one like that, my C/C's were paid off so I was curious as to whom was calling me from Nevada ( I live in BC Canada).
the person had a heavy Asian accent, so I said "Hey fuck wad I'm on a do not call list fuck, dont call again or I'll shove that phone up you ass."
They haven't called back.
I also hokked up a Screen Machine .
the person had a heavy Asian accent, so I said "Hey fuck wad I'm on a do not call list fuck, dont call again or I'll shove that phone up you ass."
They haven't called back.
I also hokked up a Screen Machine .
Regardless of who is on the hook to prove what in this case, if it's a legitimate attempt to collect a legitimate debt, the party trying to collect the debt should be, at the very least, able to prove the legitimacy of their request. Being resistant to doing that is suspicious.
When I've gotten calls like this in the past, it's a bit of a Catch-22 trying to get information. I won't give out my SS# on the phone, especially if I didn't initiate the call, and they refuse to give me any information unless I do. So what are you supposed to do then?
Thank you!
Say What!, you seem to be under the assumption that I am playing the blame game and trying to pawn all this responsibility off on other people. I'm not just ignoring this until it goes away.
You say it's my responsibility to prove the debt isn't legitimate. Okay, fine, but how the hell am I supposed to do that when the debt collector won't even tell me what the debt is for? Even if it IS a legitimate debt that I owe, I'm still not paying it without more information. Why would the debt collector be so resistant to giving me more information if it was a legitimate claim?
Since I now know that this company represents apartment complexes, I am going to contact my old apartment tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully they will have more information for me.
I just had to pull this up to relay some information to a friend, but I think it applies here as well.
From the FTC's Debt Collection FAQ for Consumers:
From the FTC's Debt Collection FAQ for Consumers:
