unnecessary harassment
Complaint
MRM
Country: United States
In September 2010 I started receiving harassing phone calls from Portfolio Recovery Associates.I had never heard of this company before then.They claimed that I owe $14000 from a Citibank account that my ex-wife and I had from 1986-1998.In 1998 she divorced me and all of those debts were charged off when the bankruptcy was completed in 2000.They have called from many different phone numbers and through out various times of the day.(They usually call when I am asleep.They wake me up and I have answered the phone when I was not totally coherent.)Each time that I have talked to them I have told them that if there is a legitimate debt that I owe,I will take care of it.I have asked them to send me any paperwork with my signature on it, date,account number,location and amount of purchases that I made.They always give me excuses why they can not or will not send it.Some of the excuses they have given me in the past:1)We sent it to you in October 2010.2)Is this your address?and they verified my address and said that they cannot send it again for three months because of a federal law.3)They reverified my address and said "There must be a problem with your post office"(I think that its very strange that they have a problem with the post office,but no one else does.)In February 2011 they sent me piece of paper stating that I have until 15th of March to dispute it or choose one of the options to pay this debt.They called me again on Friday 13 May 2011 and again asked me how do I plan to pay this?This time they stated that they started to contact me in 2006.They did NOT contact me in 2006 by e-mail,telephone, postal service mail or by any other means.I know that this statement is a lie because my wife and I bought a new home in 2007.If this were true, we would not have been able to buy our home then.I contacted my bank today and they suggested that I go to website FTC.GOV and read about the Fair Debt Collection Act,file a compliant there,obtain my credit reports, file a dispute with the credit reporting companies if they reported anything on my credit report.I will follow these suggestions and I will also contact the BBB.I am also considering the idea of changing my phone number.These people have called me about thirty times since Sept.2010.When they call and I don't answer the phone,it registers on my phone as a missed call,but they will not leave a message.
Comments
It is not clear whether both you and your ex-wife went through bankruptcy, discharging this debt. It is possible that if she discharged the debt in bankruptcy, but you did not, you might owe the balance, however, it is also likely that the statute of limitations in your state has run, allowing you to raise that defense should they attempt to sue you. Alternatively, if you did file bankruptcy and this debt was discharged, then you do not owe it, based on the order of the bankruptcy court.
Regardless, as you have found, they are playing games, probably because they know something regarding the status of the debt. They may know it's discharged, or past SOL, and it is certainly past the 7.5 year FCRA credit reporting period, so they probably don't want to provide you any information that would let you know that there is nothing they can do to make you pay them other than bluff and threaten.
They have not proven you owe this debt, despite your requests for proof. It may be discharged, your ex-wife mighthave paid on it, it may be past SOL, whatever. They are probably trying to use harassment and implied threats to get you to make a payment on the debt so that they can claim the SOL is reset, allowing them to sue.
It sounds like they haven't even sent you the letter they were requred by FDCPA to send you, notifying you of your right to dispute and request validation, and they are making up excuses to avoid notifying you of those rights.
"1) We sent it to you in October 2010." Maybe they did, or maybe they didn't, but you didn't receive it, so it's irrelevant. They are trying to deceptively imply that because you didn't respond to this alleged letter, you can't dispute.
"2)Is this your address?and they verified my address and said that they cannot send it again for three months because of a federal law."
Another deceptive statement to deny you access to validation. There is no such federal law.
"3)They reverified my address and said "There must be a problem with your post office"(I think that its very strange that they have a problem with the post office,but no one else does"
Usually means the debt collector is attempting to use their failure to mail notification to your current address as an argument that you can't dispute an alleged debt. It is a violation of FDCPA to use deception to attempt to collect a debt.
"In February 2011 they sent me piece of paper stating that I have until 15th of March to dispute it or choose one of the options to pay this debt."
If it literally said that, contact a consumer attorney immediately. That is worth money, to you. Failure to dispute a debt does not make it owed, and implying that it does is a violation of FDCPA.
"This time they stated that they started to contact me in 2006.They did NOT contact me in 2006 by e-mail,telephone, postal service mail or by any other means."
You already have many other examples where they have lied. You cannot trust ANYTHING they say.
"I know that this statement is a lie because my wife and I bought a new home in 2007.If this were true, we would not have been able to buy our home then."
FCRA only allows reporting for 7.5 years from the first date of delinquency. If this debt first went delinquent in 1998, then around 2006 it would have fallen off your credit reports. It would be illegal for them to post it to your credit reports past the 7.5 year reporting period, although some debt collectors will deceptively claim they can, and some will illegally do so. You can sue them for the threat to illegally report, or the illegal
"re-aging" of the reported information.
Do not talk to them on the phone. You already know they will lie to you. They haven't even proven you owe this debt, or that you owe anything to them. They have only made up excuses for why they can't or won't send proof. It might be discharged in bankruptcy, and they are attempting to collect it in violation of the bankruptcy order, pretending they don't know about it. It might be past SOL. It is past the 7.5 year reporting period. Do not pay them, or agree to make any payments to them.
Send them a letter, certified return receipt requested, notifying them that you dispute the debt, and that you demand they send you proof you owe it. Include that it is inconvenient for you to receive their calls at any time.
If they continue to harass you, contact a consumer attorney. You might try www.naca.net
Don't let anyone tell you that you need to send Portfolio registered letter. They don't deserve it. You don't have to send a registered letter to get scum to stop harassing you! Just tell them in no uncertain terms you don't want them to call.
If they continue (and they will) take police or civil action if you have the inclination; otherwise, HARASS THEM. Call them three times and scream at them for every nuisance call. Abuse them heartily. That seems to stop them. They can't complain about your harassing _them_, because if they don't want contact they shouldn't be calling.
Stephen R. Diamond
http://juridicalcoherence.blogspot.com
call 1-877-382-4357. Do not let this scum control your life.
I have a current Capitol 1 account now as well. Have had for the last four years. 9 years ago I bought my house. I had to pay for a text book ($24.00) my 15 years old lost in 1st grade to close on it. But that was all that showed up on my credit report. Nothing has every come up on my credit report from Capitol 1.
I am more than willing to pay a debt I owe. However, I am through being nice and polite for a debt that I do not owe and the statute of limitations has run out on even if I did. It's very tempting and almost worth paying the $200 to stop the harassment but I guess that's what they count on. I won't do it.