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I have a similar issue. My account was charged off, since May of 2006. And my account was bought and sold several collection agency. However, within that time my balance never changed. The last collection has fowarded to their attnorey, and the balance increased. They saying is the interest charged from the time account was charged off but i have copies from other collection agencies that my balance never changed. And i send them a vaidation letter. And they failed to respond. Where,should i go from here.
I would send another DV letter certified mail of course and If you dont get an answer in 30 days send a copy of each letter and the signed mail reciepts to the 3 CRAs and dispute the listing on the basis that they violated your rights under the FCRA.
Hi Meralt
I agree with you CMBV. As you has already sent a debt validation letter, he should wait for 30 days for their reply. Sending a debt validation letter was essential for you as your account was bought and sold several times. Now if after 30 days of receipt of the letter the CA does not respond then it is a violation of Fair debt collection practices Act and you can report the matter to FTC. You can get the complaint form from the link https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup. Try to make all correspondence with the CA under certified mail so that you have the proof of correspondence.
Under Section 809 (b) of FDCPA, the collection agency cannot pursue collection of debt from you until they validate your debt. If you have sent the letter via certified mail, stay cool till they respond. If they try to disturb you for payment before validating your debt, you can complain against them to the FTC as anthony said. But if they validate your account, try to come to an agreement with them for a repayment plan that suits you. But you should keep in mind that even if you pay off your debt, the charge-off status will remain in you credit report for 7 years. The only difference from now will be that it will be mentioned as "paid charge off".