cease & desist - debt validation

Submitted by publius on Mon, 01/19/2009 - 19:10
Forums

there is a cease & desist on an old credit card account. don't know how it got there, i guess my ex-wife did it when we were still married. If I send a debt validation letter will I be opening a can of worms, start them calling, etc? If not do I have to do anything about the cease&desist or just send the DV. Or, do I send a letter asking for the removal of the cease&desist along with a DV request?

My first question is that are you sure that you owe the debt. If you owe the debt to the collection agency or the original creditor, they will definitely sue you if they have the proof that you owe the debt. Whenever you send a cease and desist letter, the creditor or the collection agency will stop harassing you over phone but may move your credit file to legal status. There is no need to send debt validation letter now because you may get a summon if you really owe the debt.

Tue, 01/20/2009 - 10:33 Permalink

You need to send a debt validation letter before you send a cease and desist letter. If the creditor or the CA do not validate the debt within 30 days from the date they receive your debt validation letter but still disturb you for the debt, you can send a cease and desist letter. C and D letter should be send only if you are sure that you do not owe the debt. Cease and desist letter is a legal letter which will make them file a suit against you if you really owe them money. Now since they have not responded to the cease and desist letter send by your ex-wife, you need not bother till the time they call you up again.

Tue, 01/20/2009 - 10:47 Permalink

So it would be a bad idea to send a letter asking for the cease & desist to be removed followed by a DV letter. I should simply leave it alone and hope they leave me alone until the SOL has expired? i assume my credit will be crap until this is taken care of in one way or another?

Wed, 01/21/2009 - 01:08 Permalink

Yes, just leave it as they are. If you had owed the debt, you would have received a summon from the court. However, if they send you a collection notice again, you can send them a debt validation letter by certified mail. However, if they do not respond before your statute of limitation expiry, you can send a dispute letter to each of the three credit bureaus. The credit bureaus will verify the debt with the creditor and remove it from your credit report.

Wed, 01/21/2009 - 10:03 Permalink

The original contract was in Mississippi where the SOL is 3 years. I'm in TX now. If I understand correctly, the MS SOL is the one used legally? Oh, and was it a bad thing that I called them recently and asked the amount of the debt, would this have caused renewed interest? I think 3 years has passed or damn close to it.

Wed, 01/21/2009 - 20:50 Permalink

The Statute of Limitation depends on the state you have signed the loan agreement and not the state where you stay right now. Just calling them up will not rewind your SOL. However, if your SOL has expired you make a small payment towards the debt, the SOL clock will again restart and the creditor will have the option to sue you to the court and bring judgment to recover the debt. So if you are sure that your last payment towards the debt has crossed 3 years and six months, make no payment towards the debt. Even if they sue you, they will not be able to bring judgment against you.

Thu, 01/22/2009 - 07:05 Permalink
K Paris (not verified)

I have a almost 12 year old debt that I have recently been getting calls about. I sent a cease and desist letter because the SOL is up and the debt was forgiven by the original creditor (unfortunately I did not get that in writing). Anyway about a week after I sent the cease and desist letter I received a call. They did not leave a message but the number showed up on my caller ID now almost two months later I get a letter from the credit company that I sent the cease and desist letter to. I filed a complaint with the FTC but I am wondering what else I should or can do.

Tue, 10/20/2009 - 00:52 Permalink
bobbyb (not verified)

k Paris- if you sent the C&D letter certified mail return receipt to you showing a signature someone signed for it and it was delivered, you can do what im currently doing and sue them for violation!!!!Also, a lot of people are mistaken in saying that if you should be careful sending a dispute letter/request for validation the same time you send a cease and desist letter because by sending C/D letter, the collection agency will not send you proof of the debt or respond to your dispute. thats not true, by law they still have to validate the debt within 30 days . after cease &desist, they cannot contact you trying to collect that debt but they are obligated to still respond to your dispute and send you proof the debt is yours.

Thu, 03/31/2011 - 14:27 Permalink
suziemack (not verified)

i have just recently recieved from a collection agency trying to collect on old credit card debt from 2002. should i sent a letter if valalidation.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 09:07 Permalink

You should not send a cease and desist until you are absolutely sure that you do not actually owe the debt. If your wife opened this account in your joint names, chances are that you are on the hook for the debt. I do not see what you would be able to contest about that save for seeing what your (apparently estranged wife) can repay.

Sat, 03/29/2014 - 08:44 Permalink
kathleen meno (not verified)

I have a debt that is over 10 years, the sol in Ct is 6 years. Last week they sent me a form of bill telling me how much to pay . What do I do next, I have not responded to them fearig I will start the clock again.

Mon, 05/19/2014 - 15:57 Permalink

I dealt with a few zombie debt collections. Fortunately I was able to slap them with a cease and desist as well as a validation inquiry. Just be sure to send via certified mail! Its never bad to have that piece of proof in case they try to play hard-ball.

Tue, 05/20/2014 - 22:22 Permalink