Having been contacted by Chase on a collections issue, on an account I knew nothing about, I came to this site and read through next steps. I sent a DV letter to which there was no response, and then 30 days later I sent a second DV letter to which there was no response.
30 days later I, in good faith, sent a 3rd DV letter to which they finally responded. They stated that they had no such documentation on this account, but I should still pay it anyway.
To this response I sent a letter asking them to remove this account from my record as there were no documents to support this account being associated with me.
This is what I received in response:
Dear NAME,
We are in receipt of your correspondence dated Dec 30, 2008. We reject this document and your demand.
Our legal department has advised us that the arguments contained in your correspondence are without merit. You entered into a valid and enforceable contract with us, received the benefits of that contract, and agreed to repay your indebtedness.
Nothing you cite in your letter provides any basis for relief that you are requesting. There are no valid defenses raised against us in your correspondence. Accordingly, you are not entitled to any release or forgiveness of debt or lien on the account noted.
Please be advised that there are others like yourself who have sent similar letters. We take these attempts to avoid paying very seriously.
It is important that you make at least the minimum payment due on your account so that your balance remains current.
We consider our position to be reasonable, accurate, and final. We regret to inform you that we cannot assist you further in this matter.
NAME
Chase Financial Service Advisor
What do I do now?
Hi TKE
Have you send the debt validation letter through certified mail. If you have done so, keep the receipt that you have received as proof that you have asked for debt validation. You should also keep the letter you received from them. Since they have not been able to provide you with proper validation of the debt within 30 days of receipt of your debt validation letter, you are no longer responsible for the debt and so you need not make even a small payment towards the debt. Instead, send a dispute letter to the credit bureaus, and the bureaus will get Chase listing out of your credit report.
Yes, till the time they validate the debt, you are in no way responsible for repaying off the debt. Even if they sue you to the court for the debt, they will not be able to bring judgment against you provided you file a response to the summon on getting the summon. Don't pay them anything right now and wait for them to respond. FDCP Act requires debt validation as an instrument against the CAs who collect debts illegally.
Thank you, I will send the letter to the credit bureaus. Interestingly I have a earlier letter from Chase that states that they do not have the documentation, that is why I was so surprised with this response.
Carol, yes I send the debt validation letter through certified mail. I have the green RRR card. Thank you again for the responce.
If Chase do not have the documentation they cannot claim that they have bought the debt because according to the FDCP Act, the creditor or the collection agency must provide you with necessary documents like a copy of the agreement and the proof that the debt is sold by the OC or the OC has given the right to collect the debt to the CA. Unless they validate the debt, they cannot prove that they own the debt and so they lose the right to collect the debt. So just don't pay them as they cannot do anything to collect the debt. The letter shows that they are threatening you to recover the debt, which they cant do.