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Collections Law/Do I have a point here ?

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Expert: Creditwrench - 7/7/2010


Question
Hello,
Here is my case. Any help is appreciated.
1.I lived in this apartment in VA till Nov 26th 2009.
2.Utility/gas account remained on my name for long after I moved out. (some mis-communication).
3. In March 2010, received a bill stating that I have an over-due of 146.98 for the month of January & February 2010.(Apparently unit was vacant till March 1st & I had auto-pay set up that payed for December).
4. I brought up this issue with utility company, I faxed the documentation/proof that I vacated the apartment on 11/26/2009.They said they will investigate.
5.In the meantime gas co sent it to Collection Agency(CA). I sent Debt Validation demand to both gas co & CA.
6.I worked with gas co & my old apartment management. On June 14, gas co  sent me final bill and refund for 150.00. I owed them nothing.
7.CA did not send debt validation and reported to Experian on July 5th.

I feel CA violated FCRA/law. How do I handle this? I want to sue the CA. Can I go to small claims court in VA ? CA is from OH.

Thanks !!!

Answer

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Well, in the first place small claims courts are not the place to go The first thing you need to do is send a demand for validation to the debt collector and go from there. The next thing you need to do is dispute the listing with the credit bureaus and then get ready to sue them in federal court where you can get some real relief instead of puttering around in small claims where you will most likely get nothing at all.

Creditwrench

Expertise

Debt Collections law, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), federal law, how to properly answer court summons for collection cases, how to prepare federal cases against debt collectors, how to deal with debt collection phone calls.

Experience

I've been an active consumer advocate for more than 40 years and have helped hundreds of people win cases against debt collectors as well as helping them defeat demands for summary judgment lodged against them by banks, debt collectors and defeat mortgage foreclosures and keep their homes.

Education/Credentials
Paralegal courses for the most part.
I have been teaching people how to deal with judgments, mortgage foreclosures and other such problems both on and off the internet for many, many years. I am a Richard Cornforth information provider ever since 2000 and worked with many other organizations and causes since 1980. I was Oklahoma State Chairman for the nationwide drive to defeat the Constitutional Convention which was proposed by various factions within our federal government such as the Council of State Governments and the National Organization of State Governors who were working hard to organize a Constitutional Convention to be held in 1995 for the purpose of rewriting our American Constitution to be more acceptable to the United Nations. I worked with Senator Charles Duke of Colorado and Senator Don Rogers of California and many others across the nation to keep them from getting the number of delegate states required to lawfully hold a Con-Con and we were successful. I have worked with many other legislative issues in Oklahoma and have always been very successful.

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