Shawnee vs. JDB #3

[Shawnee]

I've posted about this alleged debt in other threads, but only relating to other's stories. Since JDB #3 has folded, I'll explain the story.

 

In April 1997 my vehicle was totalled by a guy who made an illegal U turn. This individual had no insurance, so it was up to my uninsured coverage to cover it. I also had a separate gap policy. The uninsured coverage covered what the vehicle was worth at the time, leaving a deficit of $2200. The gap carrier paid that amount. About three months after this was all settled, I received a bill from the finance company claiming I owed them a little under $200. I sent copies of all the paperwork, including a copy of the title showing they released the lien. I never heard back from them so I assumed the matter was settled. At this time I lived in CA, and subsequently moved to GA, then VA.

 

Fast forward to June of 2004. I received a letter from Cavalry claiming I owed them over $15k, which was the payoff at the time of the collision. Before I did anything, I searched for Cavalry on the net and found this board and quite a few others. It didn't take long for me to figure out how to handle them, so I got a recording device and called them up. On one phone call I racked up 11 violations. They wanted me to pay them on an auto loan where they couldn't even tell me what the VIN was, so I knew they didn't have the contract, and probably none of the other paperwork either. Since at this point the alleged debt was well beyond SOL for both CA and VA, I basically told them they were out of luck. They called back a couple of times after that, again racking up violations. Finally I sent them an ITS letter, along with a CD and transcripts of their calls. They never reported to the CRAs, but did pull several softs. I never heard back from them, so I figured they had moved on to easier targets.

 

Midland apparently acquired the "debt" and pulled a collections soft on TU in November 2004. They never sent a dunning letter or contacted me in any way. I suspect that Cavalry had attached some kind of notes on the alleged debt regarding my ITS and knowing my rights.

 

Was I done with this? Ha, no way. Early in September I got a phone message asking to call a Mrs. so-and-so at a toll free number. This number turned out to be JDB #3. I am not going to name the JDB in this post, but it shouldn't be hard to figure out who they are. Shortly after this phone call, I received the infamous happy days are here you can settle this SOL debt for 50%. I immediately DV'ed them. Got the green card back but no response.

 

Between the time I sent the DV letter and got the green card back, they called six times, all of which I recorded. Total time was 190 minutes which resulted in so many violations I honestly haven't counted them. Here's the actual transcript of a classic violation:

 

Mr. Shawnee, if you don't settle this matter promptly with us your credit will be damaged for seven years.

 

Me: How will it be damaged for seven years?

 

JDB: We will report this debt to the credit bureaus, who can keep this account on file for seven years.

 

Me: But you acknowledged that this alleged debt occured in 1997. The time this could have been reported expired last year.

 

JDB: No Mr. Shawnee, that is not correct. This account was uh... assigned to us in June, resetting the seven year clock.

 

That was typical of the type of violations they committed on the phone. VA is a one party state so I did not inform them I was recording. After the sixth call, they stopped calling. I didn't want to take any chances, so I sent them an ITS letter along with audio CDs and transcripts of their calls. Just like Cavalry, they must have got spooked with the CDs and transcripts, I got this letter from them today:

 

On the advice of counsel, JDB #3 will no longer pursue this account. The account has been deleted.

 

That was it, short and sweet. I'm not sure what they mean by deleted since they have never reported to the CRAs. I'm hoping it means they won't pass it on to some other JDB, which was one of my demands in the ITS letter. If this "debt" pops up with some other JDB I'm not going to even waste my time, I will immediately file against JDB #3 and whoever they transfer it too.

 

I hope this is it, I don't want to go through all this time consuming nonsense again. I really think there needs to be a revision of the FDCPA outlawing the transfer of out of statute debts.

[cled]

I've posted about this alleged debt in other threads, but only relating to other's stories. Since JDB #3 has folded, I'll explain the story.

 

In April 1997 my vehicle was totalled by a guy who made an illegal U turn. This individual had no insurance, so it was up to my uninsured coverage to cover it. I also had a separate gap policy. The uninsured coverage covered what the vehicle was worth at the time, leaving a deficit of $2200. The gap carrier paid that amount. About three months after this was all settled, I received a bill from the finance company claiming I owed them a little under $200. I sent copies of all the paperwork, including a copy of the title showing they released the lien. I never heard back from them so I assumed the matter was settled. At this time I lived in CA, and subsequently moved to GA, then VA.

 

Fast forward to June of 2004. I received a letter from Cavalry claiming I owed them over $15k, which was the payoff at the time of the collision. Before I did anything, I searched for Cavalry on the net and found this board and quite a few others. It didn't take long for me to figure out how to handle them, so I got a recording device and called them up. On one phone call I racked up 11 violations. They wanted me to pay them on an auto loan where they couldn't even tell me what the VIN was, so I knew they didn't have the contract, and probably none of the other paperwork either. Since at this point the alleged debt was well beyond SOL for both CA and VA, I basically told them they were out of luck. They called back a couple of times after that, again racking up violations. Finally I sent them an ITS letter, along with a CD and transcripts of their calls. They never reported to the CRAs, but did pull several softs. I never heard back from them, so I figured they had moved on to easier targets.

 

Midland apparently acquired the "debt" and pulled a collections soft on TU in November 2004. They never sent a dunning letter or contacted me in any way. I suspect that Cavalry had attached some kind of notes on the alleged debt regarding my ITS and knowing my rights.

 

Was I done with this? Ha, no way. Early in September I got a phone message asking to call a Mrs. so-and-so at a toll free number. This number turned out to be JDB #3. I am not going to name the JDB in this post, but it shouldn't be hard to figure out who they are. Shortly after this phone call, I received the infamous happy days are here you can settle this SOL debt for 50%. I immediately DV'ed them. Got the green card back but no response.

 

Between the time I sent the DV letter and got the green card back, they called six times, all of which I recorded. Total time was 190 minutes which resulted in so many violations I honestly haven't counted them. Here's the actual transcript of a classic violation:

 

Mr. Shawnee, if you don't settle this matter promptly with us your credit will be damaged for seven years.

 

Me: How will it be damaged for seven years?

 

JDB: We will report this debt to the credit bureaus, who can keep this account on file for seven years.

 

Me: But you acknowledged that this alleged debt occured in 1997. The time this could have been reported expired last year.

 

JDB: No Mr. Shawnee, that is not correct. This account was uh... assigned to us in June, resetting the seven year clock.

 

That was typical of the type of violations they committed on the phone. VA is a one party state so I did not inform them I was recording. After the sixth call, they stopped calling. I didn't want to take any chances, so I sent them an ITS letter along with audio CDs and transcripts of their calls. Just like Cavalry, they must have got spooked with the CDs and transcripts, I got this letter from them today:

 

On the advice of counsel, JDB #3 will no longer pursue this account. The account has been deleted.

 

That was it, short and sweet. I'm not sure what they mean by deleted since they have never reported to the CRAs. I'm hoping it means they won't pass it on to some other JDB, which was one of my demands in the ITS letter. If this "debt" pops up with some other JDB I'm not going to even waste my time, I will immediately file against JDB #3 and whoever they transfer it too.

 

I hope this is it, I don't want to go through all this time consuming nonsense again. I really think there needs to be a revision of the FDCPA outlawing the transfer of out of statute debts.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

i admire you, shawnee...

 

you resolved the matter yourself (with no lawyer)

you got all prepared... i like the fact that you had "recorded voices" to use against them...

 

i like this story... rate: 10 out of 10...

 

CONGRATS!!!

 

more power-

cled

[IAmMyKidzMom]

WAY TO GO!!!!

[BrianS]

Sweet. Would have loved to have heard some of those phone conversations. haha.

[IDare]

Love it. NOT telling them that you're recording is the way to go, if your state law allows for it. Nice work Shawnee!

[victornewman]

WOW!!

You are awesome!!

And I totally agree. There needs to be revisions.

[zoe]

way to go shawneeeeeeee.

[Shawnee]

Love it. NOT telling them that you're recording is the way to go, if your state law allows for it.  Nice work Shawnee! 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Thanks. This has worked twice now. For those in two party states, I think it can still be used. Record the call, then transcribe it. The recorded call may not be admissable, but a transcript certainly is. I really believe documenting CA's violations and providing the proof to them is the most effective way to get them off your back.

[Ball 4]

WTG Shawneeeeeee What you said is helping me even better. Thanks.

[Islandgal]

Congrats .. You are an inspiration!

[urbanflower]

Way to go Shawnee!!

[Cloak&Dagger]

Atta way Shawnee!

 

[sunriz]

I Love It!!!! JDB#3's "counsel" advised deletion cause they just

ran into a "brick wall"!!! You made my day! Great Job!!

 

sunriz

[Beachfamily]

Believe me, we all know this is no easy fight, and for you do accomplish this all on your own is simply amazing to me. We all know the fight it takes to stop one of these scum and I admire your effort, hard work, determination and the heart to follow through with what you know was right to do and you did it.

 

It's a major accomplishment on your part and is felt by us all as we too, because of your superb excellence have all gained from it.

 

Congrats on a well earned accomplishment. Were all proud off you!

 

Beachfamily

[Nicole2320]

congrats!!

[ihatecras]

Inspiring story Shawnee congrats

[lgt525]

GREAT story Shawnee, Congrats! JDB's are bottom feeding scum and playing hardball is the only way to deal with them in my opinion.

 

It's just such a shame though, that they wasted so much of your valuable time with a debt that they should not have been trying to collect on to begin with.

 

Anyway, congrats on an awesome victory.

 

 

lgt

[Shawnee]

Thanks for all the kind comments. Before I take too much credit, I should point out again this was not only out of SOL, but also the time it could legally be reported to the CRAs. These are the easiest to defend against. Unfortunately, most JDBs specialize in debts that are close to being out of SOL, but a few years within the time period for reporting. Those who have managed to get rid of JDBs on these debts command much more applause, these are much harder to deal with.

 

What I hope comes through in my story is the importance of documenting their violations. I'm finding that CA/JDBs fold easily when presented proof of their FDCPA/FCRA violations.

[shado]

I'm glad to hear that you made them sweat and fold.

 

Also, on the lighter side:

 

You should do a hard pull their credit reports, like they do right before they try to sue someone.

 

[StupidCredit]

Great story and you handled yourself well.

 

One thing that bothered me though, you never followed through with an actual lawsuit. As you can see, they just pass the buck to the next JDB willing to take a stab at it. I suspect you'll be looking at a JDB#4 (I'm going to guess JDB#3 was LVNV or Midland;)) sometime within the next 6-8 months. You need to actually sue one of them to stop this fake debt from being passed around every few months or so.

[tmimages]

Congrats Shawnee!

How about posting some of those phone bytes here:

 

http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=118277

 

[cannoda]

Fast forward to June of 2004. I received a letter from Cavalry claiming I owed them over $15k, which was the payoff at the time of the collision. Before I did anything

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Question: Where did CALVARY get this debt from? I would have sued them for the violations just to get discovery to find out how they came to acquire this debt.

 

I smell an attempt at fraud here. And I don't think Calvary was the intended victim.

[Shawnee]

Great story and you handled yourself well.

 

One thing that bothered me though, you never followed through with an actual lawsuit.  As you can see, they just pass the buck to the next JDB willing to take a stab at it.  I suspect you'll be looking at a JDB#4 (I'm going to guess JDB#3 was LVNV or Midland;)) sometime within the next 6-8 months.  You need to actually sue one of them to stop this fake debt from being passed around every few months or so.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Believe me, if they had re-aged this debt and placed it on my reports I would have. But all I had was FDCPA violations, and quite honestly it wasn't worth my time, especially after having to file for an injunction against Chase to stop their phone solicitations.

 

 

Fast forward to June of 2004. I received a letter from Cavalry claiming I owed them over $15k, which was the payoff at the time of the collision. Before I did anything

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Question: Where did CALVARY get this debt from? I would have sued them for the violations just to get discovery to find out how they came to acquire this debt.

 

I smell an attempt at fraud here. And I don't think Calvary was the intended victim.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I would assume the OC never agreed the roughly $200 was in error, and sold it to a JDB. Again, without actual damages and/or FCRA violations, it simply isn't worth my time to file. I'm getting into a very busy time of year. If it gets passed again I will put a stop to it.