Seven Days or Else

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The creditor's attorney said I had seven days to pay or he was suing me!

Q: My wife was program manager for a residential home. The home applied for a credit card and listed her as an authorized user. The home close two years ago and we moved to Florida. We received a letter from an attorney in Atlanta saying we had seven days to pay or they would sue. We sent a validation letter certified mail return receipt at the beginning of February. How do we handle this? - Consumer in Florida

A: Sending a validation letter is never the wrong step – as long as you send a validation letter that gets results and not one of the bad ones you find online.

There are a number of concerns here. Since this relates to a business debt it may not be covered by the FDCPA. So that is the first thing that needs to be established. Since it sounds like they are attempting to enforce a personal guarantee, which does fall under the FDCPA, I'll continue with that assumption.

The letter you were sent has a number of violations. First the attorney didn't include the required notification or your rights. Second, the seven-day demand overshadows the 30 day right to dispute. Third, if the attorney failed to file suit, he will violated the act for making threats.

In handling this matter, the first step is sending a validation notice. This requires a collection agency to respond before being able to continue collections. While that may not be grounds for a dismissal of the lawsuit, it is definitely grounds for an FDCPA counter-claim. A validation letter should be simple and to the point. Include a copy of the letter they sent you and make sure your address and their account number are on the letter. Don't make a bunch of threats or try to quote the laws. If you misquote the law, you can negate your letter. An excellent sample letter can be found at helpwithcollections.com/samples.php. The letter is free and I recommend it.

Now you cannot make a collection agency respond to a validation request. They don't have to. But as long as you make your request within 30 days of receiving their letter, they have to cease collection activity until they do respond. After 30 days, good luck. Some of the larger agencies will respond, but most won't.

If your collection attorney files suit, you need to seek the advice of consumer rights attorney immediately. It will not go away by ignoring it.

Debt collection is a heavily regulated industry and many attorneys simply do not understand the laws involved. Chances are an attorney collecting a debt does not have an understanding of the FDCPA and its application to him. Just because you are being collected against by an attorney there is no reason you have to check your rights at the door.