Winning Money While Solving Credit Problems

Collection Activities MOD 1 –

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act – the key to winning damages for common violations.
http://business.ftc.gov/documents/fair-debt-collection-practices-act

THE FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT – FDCPA

And your remedies for common violations by debt collectors.
This is the Federal law designed to protect consumers from unfair and deceptive collection
practices. These violations are far more common than most people can't even conceive of. This
act gives consumers the right to sue an entity or individual who violates this law. It is fairly
simple and easy to understand.
FDCPA law allows for statutory damages of up to $1000 per incident. Many courts have ruled
that this is on a per-case, not per violation basis. However, we recommend you point out as
many violations as you can and lists that for damages to a certain limit. If you keep the damages
below $5,000, you will find that in most cases, they will want to settle out of court more often.
Take the low hanging fruit and get them to settle out of court if possible.
There is a one year statute of limitations to file your case, whether you were aware of the
violation or not. So don't waste any time getting started. This may not bring the largest damages,
but can often force a settlement of a disputed matter and thus clear up your credit and more likely
make the debt problem go away.

COLLECTIONS
These are some of the most interesting and fun situations, once you understand the game, and
what you're doing. You can easily set these fraudulent agencies up to pay YOU damages. But
remember the first rule, do NOT run and hide, instead document and record everything. The first
objective is to avoid being sued yourself, and instead turn the tables.
If you are contacted by mail you will need to respond by mail within 30 days, or they can easily
trap you into “validating the debt”, simply because you did not respond. This created a new
contract between you and them. When you send your response to do so by certified mail/ return
receipt (you can use the online confirmation if you prefer). See how to do this at www.usps.com

PRECAUTIONS TO TAKE WHEN DEALING WITH A DEBT COLLECTOR

When they start calling, start looking at this as an opportunity to win money. Do not run and
hide, do no go silent, and do not fail to respond with 30 days or the time specified. There's
nothing to fear here. In fact this can be quite fun.
Generally speaking they are bluffing when they threaten lawsuits, garnishing wages, liens, and
damages to credit, and so on. When they do these things they are commonly violating the law,
nearly every time they call you. Which means you have rights to sue and win damages. The
issue is not whether you think you owe the money (this is another lesson, on what is money and
what do they really do actually invent it from your signature). Their violations are the issue. Not
to mention the fact that commonly these agencies are buying debt that has already been “charged
off”. Charge off meaning, the entity who was originally “created” digital money has written off
the account anyway, collected the tax benefit (by sending you a 1099C to be liable for), and
likely even collected insurance that you were paying to protect them against loss anyway.
Therefore, there may be no remaining debt owed once it is charged off, even if you did not pay.
Then these collection agencies purchase this bad for pennies on the dollar, equally more profit
for the bank, to make money off this charged off account. If you catch them, or they cannot
prove otherwise, you can prove their fraud.
When they do contact you by telephone, keep a written record, including dates and times. Even
obtain a copy of your telephone record if you can, to see how many times they called. Take
some time to prepare before starting to call them back. You may even want to have a witness
present and record the conversation. If you do record you must disclose this in most situations,
and be sure this is not a violation of your law in your state. If they have ever left you a message
or voicemail, they have consented to be a record already. Save those messages and in fact try to
take an offline recording of them with a portable recorder. You may even have it transcribed it
for use in court later ( see www.theadminsource.com ).

Debt Collector Envelope Mistakes - Can Make You Money

They commonly violate 1682 (f8) of the FDCPA – “Any language or symbol on the envelope
indicating the communication concerns debt collection” = $1000 per envelope!

EXAMPLE

HOW TO SEND A DEBT VALIDATION LETTER TO CREATE A PROPER LEGAL

RECORD, WHIS IS ENFORCEABLE IN COURT.
The goal always use to avoid court but always prepare to let the other side see how well prepared
you are. That is the key. This is how you force a settlement agreement. If they don't see that
you're serious, they will take you seriously.
Once you receive the debt collection letter from an agency or attorney, you must respond within
30 days or you will in fact "validate" the debt, by your mere silence. You will inadvertently
create a new contract with them by not responding. Remember you never had a contract with this
company from the beginning, did you? However, if it is past 30 days, send your letters anyway.
You can still develop a new contract. If you speak to them by telephone, politely do not give any
information or negotiate anything, simply notify them that their call is a violation of FDCPA and
you wish to receive their mailing address for written correspondence only. If they ever call you
again, that is yet another violation which you can collect $1000 per incident. Of course send via
mail via certified mail, return receipt requested. Obtain the confirmation card or the online
version printed out is adequate. Keep record of everything.
Links and letters

Improving Credit 101 – while also making money for common violations
To get started:
1. Order your credit report.
Use TrueCredit.com (get affiliate link) A great source for detailed credit reports. We
suggest you pay the small foe for a full report.