I live in Texas, and I have a bunch of debt that was sold to CAs, and I'm trying to figure out what I should do based on what I have learned and what I have already done.
These debt collectors appear to have gotten the debt that I used to owe to the original creditors. One in particular I sent a DV letter to after receiving several offers from them in a 6 month period. They responded by sending me a photocopy of an online statement from the original creditor(Like if I logged into the original creditor's website to check my balances and stuff).
The DV request I sent was not sent within the first 30 days of the first notice from the CA as required by the FDCPA, but much later(I do not recall ever getting a first notice). I did so after the 4th offer(after 6 months of receiving them).
They attempted to collect the debt within the 30 days after receiving the DV letter I sent, but didn't send me another offer for an entire month after I got their response to my DV with the supposed validation of debt. The offer prior to the DV response is about 5 days apart.
They are offering to settle for 30% of the debt. I'm a little anxious to make a decision because the interest seems to be increasing by the minute, and making the balance get higher and higher. The debt is now at $12K, when it was originally around $10K to 11K. So, they will settle for $3600, and the offer expires on the 26th of this month.
The SOL in my state is 4 years, and by September of 2013 will the SOL expire.
What should I do with this particular case? Should I attempt to settle with them on debt that I know I failed to pay off the original creditor? Should I wait til the SOL expires? Or should I try to use the law to avoid paying the debt?
I ask because I'm learning that Texas laws can protect the consumer a great deal, but I have already sent out a lot of DV letters prior to knowing what TFC states.
The TFC 392 is a good place to start your research.
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I have, but it doesn't really go into much detail under certain circumstances such as the FDCPA outlines.
It doesn't say anything about first notices, so should I just assume that the CA should respond any time I send a DV letter within 30 days, regardless if how many times I send it? What about the type of validation? Even the FDCPA doesn't outline that too well, and the credibility of the validation is on a "case-by-case" basis.
The section only outlines the consequences for the CA if they fail to respond to a dispute of a debt.
I would say my situation is a little more unique.