CA Harassing

I would like your opinion in a matter I am having with Columbia Collections, they are a local collection company with offices in Milwaukie, OR. Last year they put 2 collections on my credit report from Medical bills they say I or rather my wife had not paid from some years ago. Please excuse my lack of dates here, I am at work and do not have the dates and such with me. Anyway I disputed the entries with the CRA's, they came back verified with the CA, and listed the entries as in dispute with furnisher. I was then called and left a message on voice mail by Columbia, I sent them CMRRR a request for validation and with it a limited C&D. They wrote back stating they had verified with the CRA's and didn't need to furnish me with anything. I just left it alone until lately they have been calling again leaving messages and once my wife answered the phone and their rep stated you need to pay this, she said you haven't validated it and we also have a C&D please send it in the mail, he said they didn't care about that and kept harassing her till they finally hung up on her.
Now I see on my credit report they have made an unauthorized inquiry which I don't think they have PP to do so and it has lowered my credit score by them doing so. Do I have a case for violations of the FDCPA, as well as the FCRA or anything else to stop these guys.
Thank you in advance,

In my opinion, yes they are in clear violation of the FDCPA, particularly if you've served them written notice to cease direct contact. (See §805.(c) of the FDCPA.) That agency is required to provide an itemized bill either on behalf of or directly from the creditor. You might be better off to contact the particular hospital or medical facility involved to resolve this .. they may not be aware of the actions of the CA, but it's a pretty safe bet they're perfectly aware of the ramifications of the FDCPA. I'd suggest a serious attempt to communicate in writing as well, with a detailed accounting of the CA's tactics and if no record can be found of any monies owed, I believe you're well within your rights to pursue the violations you've posted, particularly if the original creditor doesn't recall the account from collection. An attorney can best advise, after reviewing the particulars and can also serve as that contact person required by the FDCPA.

Just an FYI: a single inquiry on your credit report won't significantly affect FICOs. That's being driven by the probable repeated updating of derogatory information which is perfectly legal until you get concrete resolution of the dispute, among other factors. That will come much more quickly from the original creditor (that medical facility or hospital) than a collection agency...and as always, follow up any telephone conversations in writing. (Again, my opinion here.)

Good luck.

Thanks very much TheJury'sStillOut, I am new to here, but have done allot of reading in this and many other forums about credit reports and collection agencies. I am currently trying to cleanup my report and don't have any time for agencies that feel they are above the law. Before educating myself about my rights I did just what the Collection Agencies said and paid them blindly without knowing weather or not they had any proof that I owed the money. I have been working on my report for the last 8 months and have been able to raise my credit score as well as establish positive trade lines that are now aging very nicely. I am so glad forums like this are here so people can see and learn for themselves that we don't have to be alone in these types of situations. I am going to contact a few lawyers and see what their take is on this. Also as you stated about my score being lowered by the inquiry they put on my report, I wasn't so much mad about the points lowering as that I think they may be thinking of trying to see what my report now has on it as a way of determining if they want to try and file a judgment against me. They surely could have just updated the account on my report without doing a hard pull as they have now done. I feel its another violation without having Permissible Purpose to do it. Again thank you and everyone else here, I am glad to be a part of this forum and will keep this updated as I go.

You're welcome. Keep reading that FDCPA. It was written for just such a situation. Again, good luck.

Make sure you keep a phone log of dates/times/what was said when these jerks call you trying to collect, and don't ever say anything to them unless they can answer your questions first:
1) Who is this calling please?
2) What is your company name/telephone number/address?
3) Don't identify yourself if possible
4) Write down the time and date and nature of the call (what was discussed)
You are using this as evidence later to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and also to sue them for violations, which on telephone harassment after a cease and desist letter can total more than $1000 per occurence in damages payable to you.

You may want to check out this article: Credit Report Mistakes Lawyers