We definitely do not owe this debt - it is a Bally Fitness scam being perpetrated by Asset Acceptance, extorting money from fraudulent, made up/concocted "debts". We have contacted a lawyer to send a cease and desist letter on our behalf. QUESTION: How EFFECTIVE is a cease/desist letter from a lawyer? After all, it is not a court summons or police coming to your door - why should the collection agency care about a lawyer's letter? What does it mean compared to our responding directly WITHOUT a lawyer? Please explain. Thanks (in the meanwhile avoid Bally Fitness as a gym - they do not respect personal privacy and tell lies/cheat to get you into contracts - even after contracts have ended they keep on hounding you to pay them debts. Bally Fitness should be closed down by FTC) We are also contacting BBB and FTC in this regard.
2007-07-16 07:35:24 · 9 answers · asked by abc 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Debt is not valid because it is being sent in a name that is not mine. The contract we had ended 18 months ago (fully paid and signed under a different name). My question is not about checking the validity of our debt - I have read the fine print about that and know that I did not sign a contract under a different name. My specific question is - How important is a letter from lawyer COMPARED TO our communicating ourselves with the agency? I appreciate your time in answering this specific question.
2007-07-16 07:58:01 · update #1
I truly appreciate all your well-meaning and mostly helpful answers. I have already sent a letter through our lawyer (with all supporting documents proving the contract ended 18 months ago, the person they sent letter to does not live here etc.). My only question was whether the collection agency gives more weight to a lawyer's letter versus a non-lawyer's letter, and why exactly would it do so. I hope I am clearer about my question this time. Best regards.
2007-07-16 08:27:19 · update #2
Thanks once again. i am reading stuff on http://badbusinessbureau.com/ and http://budhibbs.com/ about these companies and I am amazed why Asset Acceptance is allowed to function with so many complaints against them (I mention these so others who read this may benefit). HEXELIEBE and COLLECTQUOTE have given the most useful answers so far, but before I choose one, one last stupid question - Asset Acceptance wants a response within 30 days from us else they will "assume" it is valid. QUESTION: (you can tell how clueless I am about these matters) Do we have to respond if our lawyer responds - I mean, they say I should respond, but our lawyer is responding - is it the same thing (please don't respond as mamapie2u did, not answering the question and blaming the victim instead). THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
2007-07-17 05:23:07 · update #3
In direct answer to COLLECTQUOTE's questions, let's say the Bally contract was signed by John Smith (made up name to protect my online identity), it was fully paid a long time ago (18 months). The letter we are getting at our address is saying John Dough (YES they are sending to a different name at our address) owes them blah blah blah. I'dn't be worried except that the first name and address are same and it could be used to mess with credit records. Looks like data fudging/data mining being used to extort money.
2007-07-17 05:32:16 · update #4
You do not need an attorney to do the cease & desist letter. You can actually issue one yourself but it would be more effective from an attorney. The collection agency is 'supposed to' abide by the letter. My suggestion is to report the agency to the Attorney General in their state. Make sure it's their State and not yours (unless its the same...). The last thing an agency wants is an inquiry from the AG.
The real key to this issue is the wording of the contract and the signature. I'm a bit confused as to who signed it and what it says.......
2007-07-17 04:59:35 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
- you can do better by yourself.
You DO NEED TO ANSWER THEIR CLAIM PRIOR TO THEIR TIME LIMITATIONS IN THE LETTER - OR YOU WILL BE FOUND OWING.
You need only send Affidavit of your truth - BUT; YOU WANT TO ALSO AGREE TO PAY THEM - IF THEY CAN PROVE THEIR CLAIM ... you must negotiate and answer everything in it's due time frame ... and THEN YOU BILL THEM FOR YOUR SERVICES RENDERED BY YOUR RIGHTS BEING INFRINGED UPON AND THE HARASSMENTS THEY GAVE TO YOU IN THIS FRAUD.
Bottom line for now - you must answer them and forget the lawyer or attorney that will charge you and you won't have any way to collect what you pay the lawyer for his/her service ... should have just paid the fraudulently filed lien or CLAIM ... against you. It probably will be cheaper - though it is just the principle of the matter that you seek to pay others to not pay for the fraud with little hope of collecting - just paying peter to pay paul ...
As our messiah said - agree with your adversary before he takes you to the court and you are thrown into prison and not to be released until you pay every cent owing ...
That is why you must agree with your adversary ... THEN MAKE THEM PROVE THEIR CLAIM ... if you do not answer - then you agree, it is as simple as that - so by your seeking a lawyer in the time frame allowed was great ... since you may not know what other options were available - you MUST ANSWER ... and keep the floor open for negotiations.
Many do not know that if you are NEGOTIATING ... NO COURT HAS JURISDICTION TO HEAR THE MATTER ... but, if you stop negotiating ... the adversary can show the court WITHOUT YOU EVEN BEING NOTIFIED ... and a default judgment can and will most likely be issued against you and you will have a sheriff come to your home and auction it off with your car and your underwear to pay the debt ...
Actually - just look at my answers pertainin to a Notarial Protest ... it will explain the process and I have no problem helping you in it - look at my profile and see what lawyers and attorney's dislike about me ... knowledge about how to avoid the corrupt system except to file EX PARTE DEFAULT JUDGMENTS ... they are cut out of the picture and the process is more powerful than any attorney or lawyer can bring forth ... and,
A notary public is actually MORE POWERFUL than a judge, the notary public who is requested and knows how to file a Notarial Protest is the same as a judge holding a trial ... and the Certificate of Default issued at the end is more powerful than anything a judge can overturn - if done properly - leaving the judge only to sign the Default Judgment.
You see the process by the collectors - What I am telling you is the same process ONLY LAWFUL ... the collections process is not lawful - but; they don't care and it frees up the courts from such matters ...
It is the same unlawful process that the IRS uses as well - only the Notarial Protest is a lawful process ... the only reason why one loses to the collections process of the credit card companies or the IRS .. is because they CONSENT ... they usually consent by NOT ANSWERING ... that is the power they use against the sheep.
Peace;
Aintmyfault
.
2007-07-16 08:00:08 · answer #2 · answered by aintmyfault 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No, you don't need a lawyer at all. Go to myfico.com. It's a website that features Susie Orman a well known financial expert. They have form letters on the site that you can use to write the credit reporting agencies. If they can't prove the debt is yours within 30 days, the debt must come off, by law.
2007-07-16 07:44:14 · answer #3 · answered by luv2help 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
if you can PROVE you don't owe the debt, you can make Asset Acceptance pay your atty fees plus a SMALL amount of damages. Collection agencies of this type have thousands of these cases going on at the same time and so no human actually reviews the files for them. Because of the large scale on which they operate, a certain proportion of their "debts" are always going to be invalid. But the federal law requires a collection agency to pay the atty fees of a consumer who proves they were pursued for a bogus debt. first you need to be able to prove to the lawyer that this is a bogus debt. go to naca.net to find a lawyer who takes this type of case.
2007-07-16 08:02:22 · answer #4 · answered by njyogibear 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You do not need a lawyer. Some of the shadier debt collection agencies will pursue debts that don't really exist. If this is the case, contact the state attorney general. I would be really suprised if the FTC could or would do anything about it.
2007-07-16 07:58:10 · answer #5 · answered by Michael C 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Did you sign a contract? If you did, then the contract is binding unless you can prove, by submitting documentation, that you are not liable for the "made up/concocted debts." Just saying you are not liable for these debts doesn't mean squat ... you have to PROVE you are not liable. You might ask your lawyer to look over your contract for loopholes. NEVER sign a contract without consulting a lawyer and/or reading it first.
2007-07-16 07:48:17 · answer #6 · answered by Mamapie2u 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
and why is this debt not valid?
Also, the Better Business Bureau has no legal authority. it's a waste of time. And the FTC, unless you can show a valid issue, is too early in the process to bother with.
EDITED BASED ON ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The REASON I asked is because, before I help you (yes I AM an attorney) I needed to know whether or not you were simply trying to dodge a valid debt or had a legitimate claim against the collection.
I don't waste my time with people who just want to get out of paying their debts.
That being said, you do not need an attorney as you have the weight of the Fair Debt Collection Protection act working for you.
Therefore, I would suggest your FIRST step is to send the following CERTIFIED (RRR) to the collection agency with a copy (left unopened) to yourself.
[YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS]
[ADDRESS OF COLLECTION AGENT]
Date: [DATE OF THIS LETTER]
Re: Acct # [ACCOUNT NUMBER ON LETTER OF COLLECTION]
To Whom It May Concern:
This letter is being sent to you in response to a notice sent to me on [DATE OF COLLECTION LETTER]. As I do not recognize the debt in question, I am exercising my rights under the FDCPA to demand validation of the debt.
If this has already been reported to my credit report, I expect you to update the reporting to show that the debt is disputed, as required by law.
I look forward to working with you to resolve this issue and will be eagerly watching the mailbox for the validation I requested. I trust that you will have the documents mailed to me within 30 days of receiving this letter and will, of course, cease all collections actions until validation is provided.
Warmest Regards,
[YOUR NAME]
This is the same letter your attorney would charge you $200 for and has the same effect. IF they contact you within the 30 days or before validating the debt, then you have grounds to file an FTC complaint under FDCPA for puntative damages.
Once they attempt to validate the debt, then you will know what exactly it is they are basing this claim on and can proceed to an attorney.
2007-07-16 07:43:21 · answer #7 · answered by hexeliebe 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
you should request the documentation from the collection agency that shows why they are collecting. i would suggest someone from the agengy or bally to prove that you owe the money. did you sign a contract? if you did, review the terms and cancelation policy.
2007-07-16 07:43:58 · answer #8 · answered by justjenn54321 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I'd call a lawyer. Most lawyers will talk the first time for free.
2016-05-19 03:06:57 · answer #9 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋