Legal Letters

COMMUNICATING WITH DEBT COLLECTORS

The most important thing to do when you are contacted by a junk debt buyer is to create a legal paper trail. A legal paper trail is a written record of communications that can be admitted into evidence in a court of law. As you communicate with these junk debt companies you are either trying to scare them into leaving you alone, or paving the road to a successful law suit. From the dunning letter request, to the complaint and summons, you are giving the junk debt company fair warning that if they continue to harass you, there will be legal consequences.
Always communicate with any debt collector in writing, and always send the letters (RRR), return receipt requested. I always say send it laughing, (RRR). If you don’t want to pay the $6.00 for (RRR), at the very least send it certified. Spend the 90 cents so that the Post Office stamps and certifies that you sent something to this address on a particular date. This creates a provable paper trail with an official government stamp. Keep several copies of every letter that you send or receive. Make sure everything is dated. This both scares the junk debt company, and impresses the court. Not to mention that the court can only accept facts that can be proven as evidence. Unless it is recorded, one cannot prove what was said during a phone conversation. However, when it is written the proof is in the text. Cover your ass.
I have several examples of letters that I have used for myself and others. You can feel free to copy, past, and edit them to suit your needs.

THE DUNNING LETTER

The dunning letter is simple and not so sweet, but don‘t underestimate its importance. This is the most important letter you will send to any junk debt collector. This is the letter that will set the tone for the rest of your communications with the company. It will tell the junk debt company that you know your rights, and most importantly you know the law. This letter is designed to lay the foundation of your law suit, if you ever have to take it to court.

To cut and paste this letter start below this line
___________________________________________________________

Your Name
Your Street Address
Your City State Zip

Junk Debt Buyers Company
Their Street Address
Their City State Zip

Date:

Re: Acct #

TWIMC
I am continually being contacted by your junk debt company over the above mentioned account. Let this letter serve as notice, that from this point forward your company is to only contact me in writing. This letter is also to inform you that I am in fact disputing this alleged debt, and requesting that your company send legal proof of this alleged debt.

I’m sure you are aware of the provisions in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and I am requesting validation of this debt. I am requesting proof that there is some contractual obligation which is binding upon me to pay this debt. To be more specific about what legally constitutes debt validation, I am giving a list of the required documentation: As per the Federal Trade Commission and numerous court rulings, debt validation consists of:

Complete charge and payment history of the alleged account, the requirement of which has been well established by numerous federal and state laws, and court rulings.
An original debt instrument, or certified copy, that bears the signature of the alleged debtor wherein he executed the said debt instrument.
Letter of sale or assignment from the original creditor, or subsequent third party grantee, to your company. i.e. a legal agreement with the grantor which grants you the authority to collect on this alleged debt.)
Intimate knowledge of the creation of the debt by you, the debt collection company.

I’m sure you know, under the provisions of the FCRA and FDCPA, you are not allowed to pursue collection activity until the debt is legally validated, nor are not allowed to report this alleged debt to any reporting agency.

I’m sure your legal department will agree that non-compliance with this request will put your company in serious legal jeopardy. Believe me when I say that I will not hesitate to file suit if you continue to harass me without legal proof of this alleged debt. Under the FCRA and the FDCPA, each violation is subject to a $1000 fine plus legal expenses.

Seriously

_____________________
Your Legal Name

___________________________________

You may think this is the end of the issue. After all the letter was so scary that they can not possibly have a response. The reality is that if the junk debt buyer were to stop here every time they received a letter like this they would lose millions of dollars. They rely on the average persons stupidity and laziness. Typically they will send a package of papers that look like legal documents. Don’t fall for it. These documents are meant to confuse you into thinking that they have the goods on you. 99% of the time these documents are generated by the junk debt company themselves. If you do not find any of the legally required documents you can be assured that they don’t have them. Remember the LAW. If the package does not contain a copy of a legally binding debt instrument, then it’s proof that they don’t have any evidence against you, and it is a violation of the law for them to continue to try to collect any money from you. When I received such a package from a junk debt buyer I sent them the following letter. They immediately stopped contact with me and sold the debt to another junk debt company. This is the letter that elevated their collection practice to a crime.

To cut and paste this letter start below this line
___________________________________________________________

To: Junk Debt Recovery Ass. Date: ___/___/___
120 Corporate Blvd
Norfolk Va. 23502

From: Your Full Name
Your Street Address
Your City State Zip

Re: Your letter dated ___/___/___
Letter Received ___/___/___

To Whom It May Concern:

I received your letter dated 04/21/08 on 05/05/08. While there seems to be a lot of information contained in these pages, none of it legally validates the debt you claim that I owe you. In my letter dated __/__/__, I requested specific documents that you are required to present according to the FDCPA, and various state laws. In your correspondence you failed to produce the requested documents. This leads me to believe that you are not in possession of these records. Therefore you are in violation of several state and federal laws if you continue to pursue this matter.
  Because you can not validated your claim, I will no longer address this issue. I will not answer any more questions about this supposed debt. If you continue to harass me about this debt, without any evidence to prove the debt, you are in violation of the FDCPA. Let me remind you, each violation of the FDCPA is subject to a $1000 fine, plus legal expenses. Believe me when I say, I will not hesitate to file suit should you decline to cease and desist in these illegal activities.

Seriously

_____________________
Your Legal Name

____________________________________

Shortly thereafter I received several calls from another junk debt buyer about the same debt. This is why I said the junk debt companies practices were elevated to a criminal level. Because the previous junk debt company sold the debt to another junk debt company knowing that there were no documents to prove the debt they committed fraud. When I spoke to the collector that called I got the name and address of the company and sent them this letter.

To cut and paste this letter start below this line
___________________________________________________________

To: Genesis Junk Debt. Nov 20, 2008
P. O. Box 44865
Beaverton Or. 97076

From: Your Full Name
Your Street Address
City State Zip

Re: Creditor: Long Gone Bank
Account #: XXXXXX7631
Regarding: Alleged Debt
Total Balance: $1381.18

To Whom it may concern
This is in response to your letter dated ___/___/___, and numerous phone calls that I received from your company. I am writing to notify you that the validity of this debt is in fact being disputed. This is obviously a bogus debt that you purchased from another junk debt company like yourself. I will not answer any questions about this alleged debt until you send all the documentation outlining the facts concerning this debt. These facts must comply with the (FDCPA) and numerous other state and federal laws. More specifically, the standards outlined below.
As per the Federal Trade Commission and numerous court rulings, debt validation consists of:
Complete charge and payment history, the requirement of which has been established via numerous federal and state laws
An original debt instrument, or certified copy, that bears the signature of the alleged debtor wherein he executed the said debt instrument.
Letter of sale or assignment from the original creditor, or subsequent third party grantee, to your company. (Agreement with the grantor which grants you the authority to collect on this alleged debt.)
Intimate knowledge of the creation of the debt by you, the debt collection company.
Additionally, this letter is a formal request that you never attempt any phone contact with me regarding this matter. This request is on record with your employees signature. If you do wish to contact me regarding this matter please do so only in writing, and only after you have validated this debt. To cover yourself legally I suggest that you send the letter certified mail, signature required.
It appears that your company purchased a bogus debt. My suggestion to you would be to go back to the company that sold you the bad debt, and collect it from them, or at least you should ask them to return the money that you paid for the debt. It was illegal for that company to sell this illegitimate debt, but I guess if you are foolish enough to buy it, that’s your loss. Regardless, it is not my problem.
I am requesting the party’s name from which the alleged debt was purchased. By law you must provide the requested information in a timly manner. I request this parties name because I believe they committed fraud in selling this debt to you, and I intend to take legal action against them. I suggest that you also take legal action against them for putting your company in legal jeopardy I am also requesting the name of your resident agent for the state of Maryland, in the likely event that I have to serve any legal documents to your company. You may receive a subpoena to testify against the company that sold this debt to you.
     Please do not try to contact me about this account anymore unless you can validate your claim. If you do try to contact me regarding this account, without proving the validity of this alleged debt, or report this to any credit reporting agency, I will take legal action against your company for various violations of the FDCPA and other applicable laws. Your company may be liable for $1,000.00 plus legal expenses for each separate violation. Believe me when I say that I will not hesitate to take legal action.
I have kept hardcopy records of all of our correspondence, in the event that you try to pass this bogus debt off to someone else. If you sell this debt to another junk debt company it would constitute fraud on your part because you are aware that the debt is not legitimate. Let this letter be fair warning, that I will take legal action, if you sell, or transfer this debt, to any other entity.

Seriously

______________________
Your Legal Name

_________________________________________

Junk debt buyers know the law, and they know that they violate it every day. They also know that most people do not know the law, this is why they can violate it with impunity. Your only protection is to know the laws that protect you, and exercise them with vigor. When you stand up for your rights, and teach others to stand up for theirs, you take a chunk of the profit out of the pockets of these junk debt companies. In my book, and software programs I have a plethora of information. There are many letters and forms to choose from. I have made these tools, which I call clubs, available for a reasonable price. I hope you buy them, and use them to free yourself, and others from the clutches of the unscrupulous junk debt companies.

Thank you, and happy thumping.

WHAT IS A MOTION

A motion is a way to speak to the court when you want a particular result. Legally it is An application to the court for an order and shall set forth the relief or order sought. The following is an excerpt from Maryland Rule 3-311, which is the rule regarding motions to the court. I will not go into all of the references mentioned in the rule because most people don’t want to hear all the details. However, I will illustrate the rulr with an actual motion that I filed with the court in Baltimore. The names were changed to protect privacy

3-311.c) Statement of grounds; exhibits.- A written motion and a response to a motion shall state with particularity the grounds. A party shall attach as an exhibit to a written motion or response any document that the party wishes the court to consider in ruling on the motion or response unless the document is adopted by reference as permitted by Rule 3-303 (d) or set forth as permitted by Rule 3-421 (g).

_______________________________________________________

THE DISTRICT COURT FOR BALTIMORE CITY, MARYLAND
501 E. Fayette Street, Baltimore Md. Case # xxxx-1999

Creditrust Corp * Pro Se Defendant
8028 Richie Highway Ste. 300 v I.M Getting screwed Lane.
Pasadena Md. 21122 * Baltimore Md. 21217
Plaintiff * Defendant

MOTION TO EXCLUDE EVIDENCE

Now comes the Defendant before the court pursuant to Maryland Rule 3-535b (Revisory Power). Requesting a hearing in the matter of the above mentioned case. The defendant requests a hearing in this matter based on a blatant fraud committed on the court by the plaintiff. The defendant makes this request and states as follows.
1. The plaintiff committed a fraud upon the court in that they entered false and misleading evidence in order receive a default judgment against the defendant.
2. This false evidence is in the form of an affidavit by one William Witt, who alleged that the plaintiff advanced monies and credit to the defendant. This statement is patently false, and is not supported by any evidence.
3. Mr. Witt further states that these allegations are set forth in accompanying documents and statements, which are nonexistent.

Therefore the defendant now petitions the court to:
a. Require the plaintiff to produce the documents that were attested to in this affidavit. Or:
b. In the event that the plaintiff cannot produce these alleged documents, I ask that the court strike this affidavit from the case file, and: c. Vacate this judgment for lack of sufficient evidence to sustain a judgment under rule 3-306 (judgment on affidavit).

REQUEST FOR HEARING
Pursuant to Rule 3-311.e I request a hearing in this matter.

                         Respectfully Submitted
                         _________________________
                         Pro Se Defendant
                         I. M. Getting Screwed Lane
                         Baltimore Md. 21217
                         (443) 911-2001

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on this day,_________________, a copy of this Motion was mailed to Michele R Gagnon, 8028 Richie Hwy. Ste 300, Pasadena Md. 21122.
                         _________________________
                         Pro Se Defendant

THE DISTRICT COURT FOR BALTIMORE CITY, MARYLAND
501 E. Fayette Street, Baltimore Md. Case # 7392-1999

                     *
Creditrust Corp * Pro Se Defendant
8028 Richie Highway Ste. 300 v I.M Getting screwed Lane.
Pasadena Md. 21122 * Baltimore Md. 21217
Plaintiff * Defendant

ORDER

1.___________ The defendants motion for new hearing is hereby granted. Or:
2. Based on the lack of evidence the William Witt affidavit is hereby stricken from the record.
3. Based on the insufficiency of the evidence to sustain a judgment as required by Maryland rule 3-306a.1-2 this judgment is hereby vacated.

                         _________________________
                         JUDGE