wekiva

Let me see if I understand... You received a dunning letter. You responded to that letter with a validation letter. They responded with a HIPAA release letter and stated they would give you at least 30 days to respond before they reported. However, one day after mailing that letter to you, they reported the collection. You then hired an attorney on contingency. He mailed a demand letter to the CA. The CA's attorney contacted your attorney and they negotiated a settlement to avoid going to court. Their offer is to remove the negative entry, relinquish the debt, and give you $2,500. In the 13 years that I've been a member of this forum, I don't recall ever reading anything like this. I'm curious. What did your attorney say in his demand letter? Was the only violation that they did not honor the 30-day window? Did your attorney really get a 68% contingency fee for this? I'm in the wrong business...

I don't know if they have my correct address. I don't know why they wouldn't. I've lived at my present address for about a year and it is listed on my CRs. I have not received anything in the mail from NCO about this or any telephone calls at home. Wouldn't they normally attempt to contact me at home by mail and/or phone before they proceed with garnishment? Are they required to provide a 30-day notice on SL collections like they are on other collections? Thank you for your time and replies.

I spoke with employer again and Mr. Smith did say it was for a wage attachment and he also asked what my salary is.

My employer just called and told me that he had received a phone call from a "Mr. Smith" at NCO who said he wanted to verify my SSN. My employer told Mr. Smith that he would not do it because it is confidential information. Mr. Smith told my employer that he is required to cooperate because it is for the Federal government and they will be violating the Federal law if they do not cooperate. Mr. Smith did not provide any other information to my employer. My employer contacted our corporate labor attorney and had him on the phone when he called to tell me about the phone call with Mr. Smith. (Talk about humiliation. ) I have received no letters or phone calls from NCO and the only thing it could be, related to the Federal government, is an old SL. My tax refunds are offset and have been for several years to repay the SL, but that is the only collection activity I've had related to the SL. (Until now, apparently.) I know that CAs are not supposed to contact an employer for other collection matters, but I'm not versed on SL collection. I am reading the other posts to learn more about SL collection. I just wanted to ask if this is SOP for CA collection on a SL. I also wanted to add that I work in a small office of about 10 employees and everyone in the office knows about it now. Thanks. Wekiva

Are the headings and sections "Public Record Information" and "Collection Agency Information" included on an EQ report if the report does not have any of those types of information reported? I'm just curious and wondering what a "clean" EQ report looks like ... since I'll probably never see one. We've been working on ours for a year now and there are just some things that won't go away.

That is appalling.

Thanks flacorps. I might try as you suggested. Since I don't know what it's concerning, I suppose it could be dental if it's not mine. I've never had a dental bill that I didn't pay, and I've never ever had a dental bill for this amount ($800). Thanks for your help. wekiva :8)

Thanks. I know that's what I'll need to do. I was just hoping someone would know what "AGD Financial Trust 2002-A" is... wekiva :8)

I pulled my EXP report today and found a TL from Arrow Financial Service and I have absolutely no idea what it is for. The OC, the dates, and the amounts are all totally foreign to me. The OC is listed as "AGD Financial Trust 2002-A" The TL also says it is an individual installment account. It says that it has been reporting for two years and has been open for one year, but it just showed up! I have no clue. Any ideas?? Thanks! wekiva :8)

Glad I could help.

We switched from Progressive to esurance this year. esurance was lower and they pulled TU only. Premium for full coverage on '02 Taurus and '03 Explorer, two drivers, perfect driving records, sucky credit is $537/6 months.

Yep. If a non-custodial parent is in arrears $5,000 or more, then s/he is placed in the Passport Denial Program and his/her passport is revoked, not renewed, or the application is denied. I don't know if this is the case in all states, but in most states a non-custodial parent who is in arrears (the amount varies from state to state), will also lose his/her driver's license and occupational/professional license/certification. Luckily, this didn't happen to DH. Great enforcement tools if they are applied correctly, but in DH's case it wasn't and it took him (and his attorney) nearly 2 years to straighten it out.

Guilty or innocent, this just isn't right. I can speak from dh's experience as one who was deemed guilty until he could prove his own innocence. DH had been paying ~$900/month, every month, cs for one kid for three years when the cs division "upgraded" its computer system. Suddenly, their records said that he hadn't paid cs in two years and he was "in arrears" by more than $20,000!!! He made several trips to the cs office (they refused to discuss it on the phone) to try and get it straightened out. He had to show proof - money order or certified check receipts - of every single payment he made during that 2-year period. If he didn't have a receipt for any payment and he would've been out of luck. Lucky for him, he found every receipt except for two. And of those two payments, he was able to talk his ex into signing a sworn statement that he had paid her for those two months. He gave the cs department copies of every receipt and proved that he wasn't behind. But, the cs department's computer system was so screwed up, that it still showed that he was over $5,000 behind -- even though he could prove that he made every single payment that was due! They reported it on his CRs, they took his tax refunds, cancelled his passport... That's when he hired an attorney to help him. It cost DH $1,900 in attorney fees to get it straightened out. If he had lived in Illinois, his mug would've been posted on the web for all to see. The govt ... above the law. It's just not right.

The title says: Rate in absence of agreement -- Application to consumer leases. I may be totally wrong here, but doesn't this apply strictly to consumer leases? Here is the definition of consumer lease at RCW 63.10.020: (4) The term "consumer lease" means a contract of lease or bailment for the use of personal property by a natural person for a period of time exceeding four months, and for a total contractual obligation not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars, primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, whether or not the lessee has the option to purchase or otherwise become the owner of the property at the expiration of the lease, except that such term shall not include any lease which meets the definition of a retail installment contract under RCW 63.14.010 or the definition of a lease-purchase agreement under chapter 63.19 RCW. The twenty-five thousand dollar total contractual obligation in this subsection shall not apply to consumer leases of motor vehicles. The inclusion in a lease of a provision whereby the lessee's or lessor's liability, at the end of the lease period or upon an earlier termination, is based on the value of the leased property at that time, shall not be deemed to make the transaction other than a consumer lease. The term "consumer lease" does not include a lease for agricultural, business, or commercial purposes, or to a government or governmental agency or instrumentality, or to an organization. I sure wouldn't think that a medical bill would fall under this definition. Here's the entire section on Interest at RCW 62A.3-112: Interest. (a) Unless otherwise provided in the instrument or in RCW 19.52.010, (i) an instrument is not payable with interest, and (ii) interest on an interest-bearing instrument is payable from the date of the instrument. ( Interest may be stated in an instrument as a fixed or variable amount of money or it may be expressed as a fixed or variable rate or rates. The amount or rate of interest may be stated or described in the instrument in any manner and may require reference to information not contained in the instrument. If an instrument provides for interest, but the amount of interest payable cannot be ascertained from the description, then except as otherwise provided in RCW 19.52.010, interest is payable at the judgment rate in effect at the place of payment of the instrument and at the time interest first accrues. The way I read it, if it's not in the contract and it's not covered by RCW 19.52.010, which appears to apply only to consumer leases, then they cannot charge interest. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. wekiva :8)

I've been busy and let this one slide; however, I'm now ready to tackle it head-on. Sent HIPAA letter to OC in April for an invalid account. After receiving green card back, I filed the CRA disputes. I'm a little confused, but I think you drafted the follow-up letter after I did this. As a result, I did not mention HIPAA in my dispute to the CRAs. The CA verified with all 3 CRAs. The OC has never responded to my HIPAA letter. Since I already disputed with the CRAs and the CA verified, do I need to send a procedural request/dispute letter to the CRAs with this HIPAA language? ... Please furnish me with verification that (CA name) is reporting this account from (OC name) for ($ amount) in my name. I require full identification of the reporting party, the date of any verification, and the method used by you for obtaining this information. Please be advised that this request is being made in accordance with the requirements of the FCRA and reporting rules of the HIPAA. I want to mail a last-chance HIPAA letter to the OC today, but need to know about this. Thanks! wekiva :8)