I'm just wondering if anything like this has happened to anyone that
participates in this newsgroup.
Today when I got home from work, I had a call that I returned and it was a
bill collection agency
called MCC Business Services in Florida. They let me know they were calling
to collect on
a debt.
Supposedly I owed a landlord from 3 years ago $800 and some dollars from
rent on a broken
lease and damage to the apartment. My landlord released me from the lease
and never contacted
me at my work or my new home to let me know there was a problem. I gave him
all the forwarding
information before I moved out.
Now it's 3 years later and here's a bill collector calling me! Should I
call the landlord to find out
why he never tried to contact me before this? Unfortunately I don't have it
in writing that he
let me move out before the lease was up --- he said it was "ok" and he
understood the
circumstance and I remember I never got my deposit back so I figured maybe
he kept it for
rent to make up for the time that the apartment was empty while he tried to
lease it again.
When will I ever learn not to trust anyone and get everything in writing?
Isn't there some kind of
statute of limitations on this kind of thing? Seems like a nightmare to
me - when will another
landlord pop out of the woodwork with past due charges? I don't ever recall
having a landlord
do a walk-through after I moved out - they usually just told me to leave the
keys at the office
after the apartment was empty.
I always thought if there was a problem they would contact me personally and
soon after I moved
out ... needless to say, I'm flabbergasted - I don't know whether or not to
take this thing
seriously.
If anyone has a clue what the deal is here, I'd sure appreciate some input
or insight - thanks!
dC
Richard
07-21-2003, 08:18 PM
"dC" <drcomet@netzero.net> wrote in message
news:bfi84u$elk4p$1@ID-46710.news.uni-berlin.de... Hello All: I'm just wondering if anything like this has happened to anyone that participates in this newsgroup. Today when I got home from work, I had a call that I returned and it was a bill collection agency called MCC Business Services in Florida. They let me know they were
calling to collect on a debt. Supposedly I owed a landlord from 3 years ago $800 and some dollars from rent on a broken lease and damage to the apartment. My landlord released me from the lease and never contacted me at my work or my new home to let me know there was a problem. I gave
him all the forwarding information before I moved out. Now it's 3 years later and here's a bill collector calling me! Should I call the landlord to find out why he never tried to contact me before this? Unfortunately I don't have
it in writing that he let me move out before the lease was up --- he said it was "ok" and he understood the circumstance and I remember I never got my deposit back so I figured maybe he kept it for rent to make up for the time that the apartment was empty while he tried
to lease it again. When will I ever learn not to trust anyone and get everything in writing? Isn't there some kind of statute of limitations on this kind of thing? Seems like a nightmare to me - when will another landlord pop out of the woodwork with past due charges? I don't ever
recall having a landlord do a walk-through after I moved out - they usually just told me to leave
the keys at the office after the apartment was empty. I always thought if there was a problem they would contact me personally
and soon after I moved out ... needless to say, I'm flabbergasted - I don't know whether or not
to take this thing seriously. If anyone has a clue what the deal is here, I'd sure appreciate some input or insight - thanks! dC
Call the person and ask them what the deal is. Some underhanded collection
agencies look for unpaid debts like yours then try scare tactic methods in
getting the person to pay directly to the agency. The landlord may or may
not see a dime of it.
The way I see it, collection agencies have no authority. They can only
attempt to make you pay up.
Under current federal laws, if you are contacted by one, you have the right
to tell them not to contact you again and they must not or face prosecution.
My contract is with the person I buy something from. If I fail to make good,
they can hire an agency all they want. I have no commitment with the agency.
The only thing the agency can do is inform me what I owe.
I'm not about to write a check to an agency. I'll write the check to the
person I owe the money to.
Richard
07-21-2003, 10:35 PM
"Bart Simpson" <Bart@Comcast.nyet> wrote in message
news:kaqdnU3S1pdTIoGiU-KYgg@comcast.com... "dC" <drcomet@netzero.net> wrote in message news:bfi84u$elk4p$1@ID-46710.news.uni-berlin.de... Hello All: I'm just wondering if anything like this has happened to anyone that participates in this newsgroup. Before you act on the advice of anonymous strangers on USENET you might
want to check them out.
Excellent advice that should he heeded of "bart simpson" who is in fact
hiding his real identity.
lart.com is owned and maintained by the chicken **** coward "just taylor"
aka "steve burnett" of sunnyvale ca.
netstoopid.com is owned by "todd moss" who doesn't give a **** about
anybody's rights but his own.
Najena
07-21-2003, 10:42 PM
Write the agency, and ask them whether they are collecting on behalf of the
l/l, or if they own the rights to the debt.
Request verification of the debt (account #, the original creditor's name
and address, the date the debt was incurred, and any reporting agencies
where the debt was reported). Request a copy of the document granting them
the authority to collect it (agreement with the l/l client, or proof that
they purchased or were assigned the debt by the original creditor).
Request the agreement between the debtor (you) and the original creditor
(the l/l) that created the debt.
Notify them you are officially disputing the debt, and to cease all
collection attempts. Inform them to comply within the required 30 day time
frame or send a written withdrawl or waiver of any claim against you.
Also, find out if the statute of limitations has run in the state where
this debt was incurred.
Take all collection efforts seriously; even if you owe nothing, they can
come back to haunt your credit report if you don't do anything about them.
Act immediately to reduce the amount of potential clean-up work.
Najena
07-21-2003, 10:49 PM
"Richard" <anom@anom> wrote in news:bfiagu019u6@enews2.newsguy.com:
Call the person and ask them what the deal is. Some underhanded collection agencies look for unpaid debts like yours then try scare tactic methods in getting the person to pay directly to the agency. The landlord may or may not see a dime of it.
The l/l gets his dime when he sells or assigns the debt.
The way I see it, collection agencies have no authority. They can only attempt to make you pay up.
If they own rights to the debt, they have the same authority as any other
creditor.
My contract is with the person I buy something from. If I fail to make good, they can hire an agency all they want. I have no commitment with the agency. The only thing the agency can do is inform me what I owe. I'm not about to write a check to an agency. I'll write the check to the person I owe the money to.
Your contract may have been with the person from whom you made the
purchase, but your performance is due to the assignee/debtholder. That
will be the entity to whom you owe the money. If you pay the original
creditor after you receive notice (express or constructive) of the
assignment, you'll have the added problem of retrieving your money from the
original creditor.
Your advice is potentially hazardous because it disregards the possibility
that the agency owns the rights to the debt, as opposed to merely being
hired by the l/l.
little stevie
07-22-2003, 07:16 AM
On Mon, 21 Jul 2003 22:18:12 -0500, Richard wrote:
Call the person and ask them what the deal is. Some underhanded collection agencies look for unpaid debts like yours then try scare tactic methods in getting the person to pay directly to the agency. The landlord may or may not see a dime of it.
DO NOT CALL! DO NOT CALL! DO NOT CALL!
Calling does not preserve your rights under 15 USC 1692g (Fair Debt
Collection Practices Act). WRITE to the DC and demand verification of the
debt.
The way I see it, collection agencies have no authority. They can only attempt to make you pay up.
They may have an assignment that gives them all the rights of the
underlying creditor. However, if the assignment was made after default,
they are still a debt collector and subject to the FDCPA.
Under current federal laws, if you are contacted by one, you have the right to tell them not to contact you again and they must not or faceprosecution.
"Prosecution" by the Federal Trade Commission is very rare. Civil
litigation under 15 USC 1692k is much more common.
My contract is with the person I buy something from. If I fail to make good, they can hire an agency all they want. I have no commitment with the agency.
The underlying creditor can assign the account. Happens all the time.
Next time you finance a car purchase, check out the actual party your
finance contract is with. That's right, it's the dealer, who then
assigns the finance contract to someone else. In that case, however, the
assignment is made before default, so the auto finance co. is NOT a debt
collector.
The only thing the agency can do is inform me what I owe. I'm not about to write a check to an agency. I'll write the check to the person I owe the money to.
And that person MAY be the debt collector.
Najena
07-25-2003, 09:56 AM
"dC" <drcomet@netzero.net> wrote in
news:bfkgsq$evut2$1@ID-46710.news.uni-berlin.de:
Wow! Thank you everybody for your input ... I am now going to call the collection agency to get their address so I can write asking them for verification of what the landlord says I owe and for what. Yes, I will also tell them I'm disputing the debt. It looks like the original landlord sold the apartment complex to a corporation by the name of "Lakeside on Spring Valley".
And most likely, the uncollected debts were sold to Lakeside as 'assets' so
the l/l wouldn't have to bother collecting them himself.
You may also want to ask for proof that the l/l actually trasnferred your
debt to Lakeside, since your original debt was with the l/l. You want the
whole chain of custody of this 'debt.'
You know Najena how you said do not call - I had planned on calling but the collection agency refused to give me any contact information so Whew that was a close one ...
If it is refusing to give contact information, it sounds shady to me.
Usually collectors are tripping over their feet to give contact information
so they can grab the commission if you pay.
That's what I was wondering too - the statute of limitations on this kind of thing - is findlaw a good site to research landlord/tenant stuff? What about nolo press?
