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My daughter had a loan for a car in 1998?*
The car was sold two years later and the loan payed,about two years after that we kept getting phone calls and letters asking for this money , it stopped awhile and then a different company started doing the same thing we said the same things its been paid can you prove its not . the letters stopped for a year or so and now they have started again . it is nearly 10 years ago can anyone advise please.
Answers:
1) it sounds as though somebody has bought a supposed debt and when they find it,s been paid they are selling it on. could be aa pc glitch though, ignore it.
2) i would speak to cab (Citizens Advice Bureau).do you still have any paper work to say that you have paid it.I think that after 5 years they cant touch you for the money any way.
3) Do you know who the orriginal lender was? If you do, contact that lender and ask them to send you the pay off statement. This is proof that you paid it. When collectors call you or send you a letter, you can send them a copy of the pay off letter and a "cease and desist" letter that basically tells them to stop calling you and that if they continue, you will report them to the Federal Trade Commission for harrasment. Secondly, most loans have a 7 year status of limitation. Your daughter is being contacted by collection agencies who are trying to collect which they should not be able to after 7 years even if you didn't pay off the debt. Also, have your daughter check her credit report to make sure that the loan does not show up on there as "not paid in full" or something of that negative sort. If it does reflect something like that, contact the credit reporting agency and write to them a dispute letter that states that you have already paid this. The agency has a limited time to investigate the dispute and if they can't prove that you owe this money, they should dismiss the charges and remove it from the credit report. One great free resource for debt related issues is www.creditinfocenter.com, they have free sample letters. Here is a link to a sample dispute letter. http://www.creditinfocenter.com/forms/sampleletter2.shtml Everyone is legally entitled to one free copy of their credit report per year. I believe you can obtain it for free by visiting the three credit reporting agencies' websites: www.equifax.com www.experian.com www.transunion.com You do want all three because one may have something on it that the others don't. Be sure you don't pay for your report. They will try and charge you for your credit "score" which is different from your "report". Lastly, you can find out more on what is called "debtor's rights". Also, you can protect yourself by knowing your rights by looking up the "Fair Collection Practices Act" (http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm), a goverment issued act that helps people understand what their rights are and what debt collectors can and can't do. I really don't like collection agencies. Especialy when they go after people who have paid off their debts. They do this to people and often times get them to pay just to get the agency off their backs. Not so nice. I hope this helps! :)
4) Brenda's answer is perfect. What you might want to do is send them a certified "demand to validate" letter, and include wording that if you find this debt on your credit report you will sue them for FCRA violations. Then follow through. It's a simple small claims suit...you will easily win $1000.
5) here's a site i can highly recommend for you. give it a shot!
6) http://www.consumerangel.com/ These people pulled me and my wife out of a blackhole, even though we both have CCJ'S and Defaults. Good luck
7) find the proof that it's been paid off. when someone rings you up about it, get their details and registered address. Send them a letter asking who gave them your data and sue them both for sharing and using your data without permission. Most debts are statute barred after 6 years, but that means 6 years of no contact.
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