30 days Notice

I have power of attorney for my mother. I received a message on my answering machine from United Bureau. In the message they claimed that they had called and sent written notice that She had she 30 days to dispute this claim. The message said that we must contact them now to settle this issue. I had spoken with them a few weeks ago and they had never made any mention of this. My mother does not have the assets to pay the balance off in full and there playment plan would not work. They also claim that citibank still owns the debt they are just representing them. I am positive my mother has never received anything in the mail regarding thirty days and not mention was ever made on the phone. Where do I go from here?

I would have them re-send any notices. Generally, if proper notices are not sent, all this does is delay the process a little bit and gives the borrower a little bit of extra time.

Either way, you need to find a way to deal pay off the debt. Without knowing all the details, some possible options are: negotiate with the servicer to create a payment schedule that is affordable for your mother, borrow money from a family member, consult a credit counseling company, or depending on the situation, declare bankruptcy.

Good luck.

I concur with the first response *barring bankruptcy.* First and foremost, I'd suggest you demand written itemization of the charges in question. After thoroughly investigating this is in fact your mother's debt, you may then want to contact the original creditor, in this case Citibank, and see if they're willing to settle for less than the amount quoted. Ask for the "bottom line," minus interest/late charges, etc. (That's strictly your decision.)The derogatory credit information has most likely already been entered onto your mother's credit report, so that damage is already done but if you chose to refuse any further contact with the collection agency, you're well within your rights to do so. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, particularly § 805 on the following link should be pretty self-explanatory : The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. I'd advise any future contact between you and anyone involved here be done in writing; retain copies of your correspondence for your records.

Typically, an unpaid debt deteriorates to a chargeoff (depending on the dollar amount) and then, depending on the creditor's determination to collect the money, it may go into a judgement which could conceivably be placed against real property, etc. that your mother owns (if in fact she does.) Bottom line, she has derogatory credit that may interfere with any other credit application she should ever make and if a judgement, (public record), may have to be paid in full at some point in the future. It'll remain on her credit report anywhere from 7-10 years, depending on your jurisdiction, regardless of the date paid. Just FYI.

Good luck.

some of the ppl on this forum are too smart for their own good.
1) don't think about negotiating paying the debt at this point.
2) stop talking to them over the phone. only in writing using certified mail.
3) dispute the tradeline based on the date of the conversation, by requesting them to Validate the debt.
4) That forces them to prove if they in fact bought the bad debt or are simply assigned the debt by Citi Bank
5) in your debt validation letter ask these q's
6) General Guidelines for your letter
1. Complete account history, the requirement of which has been established via Spears v Brennan 745 N.E.2d 862; 2001 Ind. App. LEXIS 509 and;

2. Agreement that bears the signature of the alleged debtor wherein he agreed to pay the original creditor;

3. Letter of sale or assignment from the original creditor to your company. (Agreement with your client that grants you the authority to collect on this alleged debt. Coppola v. Arrow Financial Services, 302CV577, 2002 WL 32173704(D.Conn., Oct. 29, 2002) - Information relating to the purchase of a bad debt is not proprietary or burdensome. Debtor must phrase their request clearly to obtain: The source of a debt and the amount a bad debt buyer paid for plaintiff's debt, how amount sought was calculated, where in issue a list of reports to credit bureaus, and documents conferring authority on defendant to collect debt.

4. Provide date opened, date of first major delinquency and date of last activity;

5. Prove the statute of limitations has not expired on this account;

6. Intimate knowledge of the creation of the debt by you, the collection agency.

(Once again, I would suggest reminding the creditor of their responsbility: From the FTC's website as posted above (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.)

...(b) COMMUNICATION WITH THIRD PARTIES. Except as provided in section 804, without the prior consent of the consumer given directly to the debt collector, or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, or as reasonably necessary to effectuate a postjudgment judicial remedy, a debt collector may not communicate, in connection with the collection of any debt, with any person other than a consumer, his attorney, a consumer reporting agency if otherwise permitted by law, the creditor, the attorney of the creditor, or the attorney of the debt collector.
[/(c)[b] CEASING COMMUNICATION. If a consumer notifies a debt collector in writing that the consumer refuses to pay a debt or that the consumer wishes the debt collector to cease further communication with the consumer, the debt collector shall not communicate further with the consumer with respect to such debt, except—(1) to advise the consumer that the debt collector’s further efforts are being terminated; (2) to notify the consumer that the debt collector or creditor may invoke specified remedies which are ordinarily invoked by such debt collector or creditor; or
where applicable, to notify the consumer that the debt collector or creditor intends to invoke a specified remedy. If such notice from the consumer is made by mail, notifica-tion shall be complete upon receipt. (d) For the purpose of this section, the term[b] “consumer” includes the consumer’s spouse, parent (if the consumer is a minor), guardian, executor, or administrator[b].

That's just "for starters." (And only a small portion of the information available on that site.) My first suggestion was/still is to "get them off of your back." If you choose to investigate the nature of the debt, you CAN follow up on your own. If you choose to renegotiate, that's your decision to make. IF you choose to contest the charges, that's also your personal decision/choice and personally, I wouldn't suggest you wade in with a combative stance without legal counsel. Pay someone licensed to practice law to look up the precedents, if your particular situation deteriorates to that level. (Chances are they won't.) My following comments were simply a suggestion beyond your original question; that regardless of the actual outcome, you follow up with the credit report aspect. Again, good luck.