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In In re Leverett, 378 B.R. 793, 800 (Bkrcy., E.D.Tex. 2007), the court held that a bankruptcy proof of claim submitted by an assignee must include a "signed copy of the assignment and sufficient information to identify the original credit card account." There must be a chain oftitle from a creditor listed on the debtor's schedules to the claimant.
Debt buyers regularly submit affidavits which purport to be made on personal knowledge but in fact are based on reading a computer screen
1. Luke v. Unifund CCR Partners, No. 2-06-444-CV, 2007 Tex.App. LEXIS' 7096 (2nd Dist. Ft. Worth Aug. 31, 2007).
Fake statements
1. Hartman v. Great Seneca Fin. Corp., Nos. 08-3773/3804, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 14110 (6th Cir., June 30, 2009).
B. Generic or inapplicable contracts
1. MBNA America Bank, NA. v. Nelson, 13777/06,2007 NY Slip Op 51200U; 2007 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 4317 (N.Y.Civ. Ct. May 24, 2007). The court required proof of the actual terms of the agreement with the particular debtor (*7-9)
. . . In papers filed with the court, the agency charged that as much as 80 percent ofthe money CAMCO collects comes from consumers who never owed the original debt in the first place. Many consumers pay the money to get CAMCO to stop threatening and harassing them, their families, their friends, and their coworkers.
According to the FTC, CAMCO buys old debt lists that frequently contain no documentation about the original debt and in many cases no Social Security Number for the original debtor. CAMCO makes efforts to find people with the same name in the same geographic area and tries to collect the debt from them -whether or not they are the actual debtor. In papers filed with the court, the FTC alleges that CAMCO agents told consumers -even consumers who never owed the money that they were legally obligated to pay. They told consumers that if they did not pay, CAMCO could have them arrested and j ailed, seize their property, garnish their wages, and ruin their credit. All ofthose threats were false, according to the FTC. . .. (http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/12/camco.htm)
a. We had one case where a debt buyer contacted a person with a common Hispanic name, who provided the debt buyer with the last 4 digits of his SSN to show that he was not the correct person. The debt buyer sued him anyway, attaching an affidavit asserting that the person sued owed $x. Gutierrez v. LVNV Funding, LLC, EP-08CV-225-DB, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54479, *2-3 (W.D.Tex. March 16,2009):
STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS ARE HABITUALLY IGNORED BY DEBT BUYERS, COLLECTION ATTORNEYS
1. Castro v. Collecto, Inc., EP-08-CA-215-FM, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20324 (W.D.Tex. March 4, 2009) (Federal Communications Act provision for cell phone debts).
Sunday, February 7, 2010
The Beginning Process
The first thing I did after I knew we were being sued, was to read the Colorado Collection Agency rules. I googled the Colorado Attorney General's Office, and ran a search on the name of the collection agency. What I first discovered was that the agency that was listed on my credit reports, is not licensed. That was the first sign that something was not right. I printed the rules made by the Collection Agency Board, and discovered that every collection agency doing business has to be licensed. I also discovered that corporations are allowed to use one alias outside of their corporation entity. This was another trigger for me since I knew they were violating one rule, why would they not violate others? So, I googled the Colorado Secretary of State since I knew that a business is required to regiseter their business with the Secretary of State in each state they conduct business in. When I found the website, I did a corporation name seacrh. What I discovered was that Collecto Inc. was in fact registered in Colorado, and had 4 other trade names. Of course I now know that you can use only one alias other than your corporation name.
Once I discovered the trade names, and dug a little deeper, I realized that there was a new trade name registered within months after my suit had been filed. I immediated asked the Attorney General's Office to tell me the licensed trade name associated with Collecto Inc. The response I got was that the newest trade name was the only licensed trade name with their office. This of course set off red flags since the company that filed suit against me is not the current licensed trade name.
With the initial investigation results, I contacted the Federal Trade Commision, and the Secretary of State, as well as the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney General's Office and lodged my initial complaints. Originally on the surface, I was dealing with a few violations that could affect the validity of this company from doinf business, and most of all proving that they had no standing in my case.
Of course nothing is as simple as it sounds, and collection agencies are trained to know what a judge will allow, and what he will not allow, so they still have an advantage. The laws make it clear that you do not have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that your rights were violated, however if the agency can provide a statement that they did not intentionally cause the damage, then they will not be required to pay you anything other than attorney's fees. In the same sense if the judge feels like you are maliciously seeking revenge, he can in turn award them attorney fees. So you need to be well prepared in advanced to address those issues. If you remain calm (which is my worst demon) you may be able to change the way the judge views your case.
My best advice is to do your research. Make sure you use the applicable laws, and bring your knowledge to the table with a twist. Make the judge interested in your case. Be prepared, take good notes, and listen to what the other party is saying. A lot of information and contradictions will me made.....stay focused on what you have to present. It is always good to come prepared with questions and points you want to make. It is very helpful for me to draw graphs of the relationships between what I want to express and what the other side is expressing.
When you are doing your research, google can be a really good friend, as well as college websites for college research. There are tons of cases that have been won that you can get some really great information from. I am going to attach in my next posting, some really great case for you to read!
Once I discovered the trade names, and dug a little deeper, I realized that there was a new trade name registered within months after my suit had been filed. I immediated asked the Attorney General's Office to tell me the licensed trade name associated with Collecto Inc. The response I got was that the newest trade name was the only licensed trade name with their office. This of course set off red flags since the company that filed suit against me is not the current licensed trade name.
With the initial investigation results, I contacted the Federal Trade Commision, and the Secretary of State, as well as the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney General's Office and lodged my initial complaints. Originally on the surface, I was dealing with a few violations that could affect the validity of this company from doinf business, and most of all proving that they had no standing in my case.
Of course nothing is as simple as it sounds, and collection agencies are trained to know what a judge will allow, and what he will not allow, so they still have an advantage. The laws make it clear that you do not have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that your rights were violated, however if the agency can provide a statement that they did not intentionally cause the damage, then they will not be required to pay you anything other than attorney's fees. In the same sense if the judge feels like you are maliciously seeking revenge, he can in turn award them attorney fees. So you need to be well prepared in advanced to address those issues. If you remain calm (which is my worst demon) you may be able to change the way the judge views your case.
My best advice is to do your research. Make sure you use the applicable laws, and bring your knowledge to the table with a twist. Make the judge interested in your case. Be prepared, take good notes, and listen to what the other party is saying. A lot of information and contradictions will me made.....stay focused on what you have to present. It is always good to come prepared with questions and points you want to make. It is very helpful for me to draw graphs of the relationships between what I want to express and what the other side is expressing.
When you are doing your research, google can be a really good friend, as well as college websites for college research. There are tons of cases that have been won that you can get some really great information from. I am going to attach in my next posting, some really great case for you to read!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Collecto Inc, Collection Company of America, CCA, EOS CCA
Collecto Inc, dba Collection Company of America, dba CCA, dba EOS CCA!
What a horrible experience to attempt to purchase your first home, and when the denial comes because a collection agency has placed multiple medical collection accounts on your credit report!
This happend to me, and I am fighting back. I am not fighting back because I dont want to pay my bills, I am fighting back because this collection agency has a bad reputation for doing shady business. I am not going to stand by and watch this multi million dollar corporation take my money because it is just business.
Before I knew it, this collection agency received a default judgement on my husband after they came to his place of business two times to attempt to collect this debt. Now, the first problem with that was that they never responded to the written request we sent to them demanding validation and assignment of the debt. The second violation was the constant phone calls that they made every day to annoy us. The next mistake they made was after the first visit to my husband's place of business, they clearly knew that it was not allowed, and could cost him his job. Another mistake they made, was mailing a notice in the mail to my husbands work address when they clearly knew our home address, and it just so happend that we were on vacation when the letter arrived. The letter was never given to my husband, and because of that we were not aware of the court date that was scheduled the next week. The judge granted the default judgement, and immediately granted the garnishment of his wages. I was never properly served, so the suit was only for my husband.
Obviously the garnished wages was a surprise, and we immediately requested a hearing to overturn the judgement and reverse the garnishment. We spent many hours investigating the laws, and the rules of the court. Now I am no lawyer, but I stood up late at night for weeks researching, and reading case law. I even have access to a great legal plan at work, and immediately requested the services of an attorney. My plan did not cover the default judgement being over turned, so I represented my husband and myself at the hearing. The judge granted the reversal and we were headed back to court to defend ourselves against the collection agency, and since many of our rights were violated, we also filed a counter claim.
Now the purpose of me telling my side of the story it to educate others on the rules, and the laws that I have uncovered. All of the information I will provide is PUBLIC RECORDS, and anyone has access to them.
One thing that has driven me so hard is the fact that there are laws and there are rules that Debt Collection Agencies must follow. There are more stricter rules on the agencies who continue to violate peoples rights under the FDCPA. You should read these rules, and the FTC website is always resourceful. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf
I will provide much of the evidence that I have uncovered specifically about this collection agency because it is the one I have investigated.
First I want everyone to know that it is your right to dispute the information reported on your credit report. You should make contact with them, and you should demand proof that you owe this debt. If it is an agency that has purchased your debt, you have the right to see written documentation that your debt specifically has been assigned to that agency. You have the right to request proof that they purchased your debt, and how much they purchased your debt for. I am attaching a excellent initial letter that you should send to the collection agency, or individual who claims to own your debt, and I would recommend certified letters, as well as one mailed copy in case they refuse the certified letter. You can always use the certified letter returned in court to show you did mail the letter: http://www.4shared.com/file/216450015/6f69b59a/credit_verification_letter.html
You can always send me a message, and I can try to help any way that I can.
I will post often, reveiling some of the information I obtain against the collection companies I research. I hope to help others not have to go through the nightmare I have been through. It is my goal to stop the harassment, the falsifing of records, and the mis-use of the judicial system. My goal is not to harass or intimidate the collections agencies, but to let them know that my rights were violated, and I intend to make sure it does not continue to happen. I want to share my knowledge, and results of my investigation because it had a huge impact on my life, and how I see the justice system. In a series of posts I will reveal the steps I took, the tools I used, and how you can use the same tools, and see the results as I did. I spent many hours online doing research, and even when my complaints seemed to be going no where, I pushed further into the political world. I told my story, and how my rights are being violated to ever area of the Government I could come up with an email address for. I wrote to my Governor, to my Mayor, and to all the agencies that had a hand in providing a license, and a corporation filing for this agency. I am sure they know how passionate I am about getting my justice. This particular agency never made an attempt to negotiate the debt other than to say we wont add attorneys fees, and we will cut about $100 of the $5900 bill. Of course the offer was rediculous, and our position is that we dont owe them a dime. They purchased the debt for pennies on the dollar, and had no intimate knowledge of what the debt is for. Not to mention any further probing would land them in serious trouble since our rights surrounding medical rights would also come in to play.
What a horrible experience to attempt to purchase your first home, and when the denial comes because a collection agency has placed multiple medical collection accounts on your credit report!
This happend to me, and I am fighting back. I am not fighting back because I dont want to pay my bills, I am fighting back because this collection agency has a bad reputation for doing shady business. I am not going to stand by and watch this multi million dollar corporation take my money because it is just business.
Before I knew it, this collection agency received a default judgement on my husband after they came to his place of business two times to attempt to collect this debt. Now, the first problem with that was that they never responded to the written request we sent to them demanding validation and assignment of the debt. The second violation was the constant phone calls that they made every day to annoy us. The next mistake they made was after the first visit to my husband's place of business, they clearly knew that it was not allowed, and could cost him his job. Another mistake they made, was mailing a notice in the mail to my husbands work address when they clearly knew our home address, and it just so happend that we were on vacation when the letter arrived. The letter was never given to my husband, and because of that we were not aware of the court date that was scheduled the next week. The judge granted the default judgement, and immediately granted the garnishment of his wages. I was never properly served, so the suit was only for my husband.
Obviously the garnished wages was a surprise, and we immediately requested a hearing to overturn the judgement and reverse the garnishment. We spent many hours investigating the laws, and the rules of the court. Now I am no lawyer, but I stood up late at night for weeks researching, and reading case law. I even have access to a great legal plan at work, and immediately requested the services of an attorney. My plan did not cover the default judgement being over turned, so I represented my husband and myself at the hearing. The judge granted the reversal and we were headed back to court to defend ourselves against the collection agency, and since many of our rights were violated, we also filed a counter claim.
Now the purpose of me telling my side of the story it to educate others on the rules, and the laws that I have uncovered. All of the information I will provide is PUBLIC RECORDS, and anyone has access to them.
One thing that has driven me so hard is the fact that there are laws and there are rules that Debt Collection Agencies must follow. There are more stricter rules on the agencies who continue to violate peoples rights under the FDCPA. You should read these rules, and the FTC website is always resourceful. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf
I will provide much of the evidence that I have uncovered specifically about this collection agency because it is the one I have investigated.
First I want everyone to know that it is your right to dispute the information reported on your credit report. You should make contact with them, and you should demand proof that you owe this debt. If it is an agency that has purchased your debt, you have the right to see written documentation that your debt specifically has been assigned to that agency. You have the right to request proof that they purchased your debt, and how much they purchased your debt for. I am attaching a excellent initial letter that you should send to the collection agency, or individual who claims to own your debt, and I would recommend certified letters, as well as one mailed copy in case they refuse the certified letter. You can always use the certified letter returned in court to show you did mail the letter: http://www.4shared.com/file/216450015/6f69b59a/credit_verification_letter.html
You can always send me a message, and I can try to help any way that I can.
I will post often, reveiling some of the information I obtain against the collection companies I research. I hope to help others not have to go through the nightmare I have been through. It is my goal to stop the harassment, the falsifing of records, and the mis-use of the judicial system. My goal is not to harass or intimidate the collections agencies, but to let them know that my rights were violated, and I intend to make sure it does not continue to happen. I want to share my knowledge, and results of my investigation because it had a huge impact on my life, and how I see the justice system. In a series of posts I will reveal the steps I took, the tools I used, and how you can use the same tools, and see the results as I did. I spent many hours online doing research, and even when my complaints seemed to be going no where, I pushed further into the political world. I told my story, and how my rights are being violated to ever area of the Government I could come up with an email address for. I wrote to my Governor, to my Mayor, and to all the agencies that had a hand in providing a license, and a corporation filing for this agency. I am sure they know how passionate I am about getting my justice. This particular agency never made an attempt to negotiate the debt other than to say we wont add attorneys fees, and we will cut about $100 of the $5900 bill. Of course the offer was rediculous, and our position is that we dont owe them a dime. They purchased the debt for pennies on the dollar, and had no intimate knowledge of what the debt is for. Not to mention any further probing would land them in serious trouble since our rights surrounding medical rights would also come in to play.
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