In 2004 I was involved in a hit and run. The driver was not caught, therefore my insurance was forced to foot the cost of a 3 month old car. Luckily I had purchased gap insurance and have since confirmed with the carrier, Mercury, that they paid the full and total payoff, including interest and overages.
As of mid 2007 (3.5 years later), I went to finance a new car and found that there was a collection on my otherwise great credit for an undisclosed amount, dropping my credit from what should have been over 700, to 570. The account number and total, as well as the reason for the collection were not disclosed on my credit report. Having worked in the finance industry, I am aware that errors happen more often than not. I proceeded to get a credit suppliment from a reporting agency to verify the company reporting the collection. I was shocked to find that this was a collection from an account from alnost four years ago. My first thought was why are they contacting me now? They have no legal recourse to collect the debt as collections are no longer legally allowed after 4 years of attempt. My second thought was whay did they wait so long to get this on my report and why was I not contacted.
I decided to contact them myself as I assumed this info was incorrect.
What transpired was a rude customer service rep who berated me and yelled over the phone. She told me that my account was not worth her time ($400) and to pay it or they would sue. I explained that it was not about the money, but the principle. Why would I pay them money out of thin air when there is no ligitimate reason for the debt? I requested that she send me the paperwork reflecting what I owed and she refused stating that I needed to get this from my insurance company. I spoke to my insurance company who advised that this was not true. Through some basic research, I found that WFS was required by law to supply evidence of the debt to me upon request.
I have since been in contact with WFS and have received several responses, non of which matched the previous, and a lot of phone transferring and blaming of others, and runaround answers leading me back to the same place. I faxed a Credit Reporting Agency Dispute letter and received confirmation of receipt. Per the FCRA. 15 U.S.C. Section 1692g (a), mandates in no uncertain terms, that a debtor has 30 days to dispute the validity of a debt. If the creditor cannot provide sufficient evidence that the debtor was given adequate notice, the debtor must be given another 30 day debt validation period, and the creditor must provide evidence the debtor is liable for the accounts in question.
I sent this well over a month ago. I have not received any info regarding the collection, why it is showing up, where they came up with the amount, or why it took them this long to contact me.
My question, do I have legal recourse to not only have this removed from my credit, but also for the fact that I was forced to purchase a vehicle at an exhuberant interest rate based on this error which led to my credit being screwed? (I could not wait for this to clear up as the car I was driving had blown the engine. The cost to repair outweighed the value and therefore I needed a new car to get to work and school 35 miles away). What if I have the evidence to prove that I made dozens of attempts to clear this up with no response? What about the time and cost of phone calls and the stress that this has put me through? My car patment almost doubled because of this. I also have confirmations that faxes went through to not only WFS but the collection agency hired to handle the debt.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thank You!
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