Jobie
Lawrenceville,#2Author of original report
Thu, March 10, 2011
I sent a Certified Letter on Feb 25 demanding that this scam collection agency provide me with proof of the validity of this claim. I received a response dated March 4, 2011 with "proof" and the letter states exactly this:
"The attached information has been provided by the original creditor as validation of the above account. Thank you for your attention in this matter
If you have any questions, please contact our office toll free at (888)804-2409 Monday through Friday 7am-9pm CT. For proper credit on your account please write the number ##########-## on your payment.
This is an attempt to collect a debt. Any information obtained will be used for that purpose. This is a letter from a debt collector.
Sincerely,
AFNI, Inc"
The attached "proof" only proves my case! The date on the "final bill" is 8/20/2001! So I now have proof that my debt is 9 years old, yet in my letter I CLEARLY stated that they stop collection because of the date of the debt. Obviously they think that some people are just going to pay without knowledge of the laws, so this means I have to peruse this even further. From what I have read, they can try to collect on the out dated debt, but cannot take legal action, or report it on my credit. So I can send them a cease and desist letter with no repercussions and write them out of my life. It's a good thing I know better, but I hate it for those who don't. NEVER send a collection agency money until you've done research about the debt AND the agency!
I found this sample of a cease and desist letter online, I will modify it slightly, but this is a GREAT way to legally get this fake collection agency me leave you alone. And I WILL take legal action against them if they contact me further.
[Your Name]
[Your Mailing Address]
[Your City/State/Zip]
Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested # [Insert the Certified Mail Receipt Number here]
[Insert Date of Mailing]
[Insert name of collection agent, if available]
[Insert name of collection agency]
[Insert address of collection agency]
[Insert City/State/Zip of collection agency]
REF: Account # [Insert either the original account number or the collection agency's account reference number here]
Dear [Insert name of debt collector calling--if available--here]:
1. You are hereby notified under provisions of Public Laws 104-208, also known as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, that your services are no longer desired.
2. You and your organization must CEASE & DESIST all attempts to collect the above debt. Failure to comply with this law will result in my immediately filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and the [Insert your home state here] Attorney General's office. I will pursue all criminal and civil claims against you and your company.
3. Let this letter also serve as your warning that I may utilize telephone recording devices in order to document any telephone conversations that we may have in the future.
4. Furthermore, if any negative information is placed on my credit bureau reports by your agency after receipt of this notice, this will cause me to file suit against you and your organization, both personally and corporately, to seek any and all legal remedies available to me by law.
5. Since it is my policy neither to recognize nor deal with collection agencies, I will settle this account with the original creditor.
Give this matter the attention it deserves!
[Sign your name here]
[Insert your name here]