I have 5 negative things on my Experian credit report all of which I am responsible for save for an account being reported recently by ACC and states" Collection account. $2,779 past due as of Aug", there is no phone number on the Experian report to contact them and I have been trying to find them since they placed this huge amount on my report with no success until today on the rip off report no less.
I promptly called the company and gave them my ss# since the "acct #" on my report shows (Account Number: D381...) Jason said I owed Chase a CC bill in the amount of $2779, I advised him that I had called chase cards and was advised that they have no record of ever extending credit to me. He ignored me and said that I had 30 days to dispute the debt and since I did not I'm liable. I have never been sent a collection letter from ACC or Chase, have never had credit with Chase so how could I dispute I asked him, he asked me for my credit card # to clear the debt in full and got rude when I demanded an account # or proof mailed to me of the debt.
He hung up on me and I called back 9 times and was given the same answer: are you ready to pay this debt?) I asked for a Supervisor or Manager and he said he was the Manager. I have disputed this debt via the Experian website to no avail. One of the nine times I called I asked to verify the mailing address he said he did not know it because he was new!!!
I'm going to now write a letter demanding proof of debt or removal of this reporting ASAP.
I found the following below and I'm going to follow this suggestion because I am Furious!!!
The Right to Validate Your Debt
Under the FDCPA, 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. Gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/letters/wollman.htm
Nor can they ask you to pay for digging up records of your debt:
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 it under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (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. 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?
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