     Lucy Wilton | Saturday, January 29, 2000 - 08:23 am 
Any suggestions on how to reply to an offer from The Credit Store?
Yesterday I received a letter from The Credit Store stating that they had purchased a Citibank account in my name. I have not had an account with Citibank for 12 years, so I called one of The Credit Store's "friendly representatives" to get further information.
I was told that the account was last reported in 1988. I did not say that it was my account, and asked them how to dispute this claim. They told me to send a letter stating my dispute.
I understand that the statutes of limitations, for both reporting and collecting, are long past. Below is a rough draft of what I was planning to send to The Credit Store in response to their letter. I plan to send the letter certified, return receipt requested.
Do I need to get anything in writing from either The Credit Store or from Citibank? I don't want this debt to re-appear on my credit reports, and if I understand the FCRA, it shouldn't. But, I don't want to take any chances...
Here's the letter as I have it so far:
Portfolio Services
The Credit Store
Address
TCS Reference # _____________
Dear Sirs,
I do not recognize the validity of this debt and I dispute your claim #_______.
The statute of limitations is past on this account, so please do not contact me anymore.
I also decline your offer to open an account with your company, and do not wish to receive further offers from your company. Please remove me from your mailing list.
Sincerely,
My name here
---------------------------------------------
Final Note to Readers:
Beware of The Credit Store's offer for a "New Credit Opportunity." It looks like any other unsolicited offer of credit, until you read the fine print. I almost threw it away without opening it since it looked like any other offer of a credit card. Would I have been safe in simply throwing it away?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! |
| Gary | Saturday, January 29, 2000 - 11:08 am
Junk mail is simply that, junk, throw it away. Next, check your credit report, if the account is on there after all this time, sue the CRA for publishing the information. You do not have to dispute it first, if the CRA published it, their liable for it. Spend a couple of hundred bucks, sue 'em, they'll remove the information and probably give you $2000.00 to drop the suit and settle out of court. |
| Lucy Wilton | Saturday, January 29, 2000 - 02:11 pm
Thanks Gary. I don't know what made me open this in the first place.
Even though I called them, do you think I'm safe in throwing this away? When I called, I had to give them the reference number from their letter in order to find out what account they were writing about.
Should I ask them to remove me from their mailing list?
Thanks again. |
| kristy welsh - creditinfocenter.com | Sunday, January 30, 2000 - 09:01 am
It sounds to me like they are really a collection agency, not just junk mail. |
| Kristi F.Carreonandassociates.com | Sunday, January 30, 2000 - 10:06 am
That is for sure. When you here words like "we purchased a Citibank debt" and they are offering you new credit, what they are really doing is offering you to sign a re-newed promise to pay. Sneaky of them. |
| Lucy W. | Sunday, January 30, 2000 - 01:17 pm
Yes, they are definitely a collection agency. The confusing part is the legalese in their letter stating that if I do not dispute the validity of this debt within 30 days, they will assume it is valid. Could they actually re-open a 12-year old debt without my consent to a new agreement?
This letter looked so much like junk mail, I wonder how many other people receive letters like this one and simply toss them out. You're right, very sneaky. |
| kristy welsh - creditinfocenter.com | Monday, January 31, 2000 - 04:47 am
They can reopen a debt, but they may not be able to get anything, especially since you said the SOL has run out. |
| Anonymous | Monday, January 31, 2000 - 07:23 am
I also had an old debt purchased by the Credit Store, also past the SOL. They are reporting it on my credit report, but the seven years isn't up yet, so I haven't disputed it.
Their letters are EXTREMELY sneaky. What they are really trying to do is get a consumer to reaffirm an old debt by transferring the balance to a new credit card. You have to read the fine print with a magnifying glass to learn that, however; their letters are deliberately deceptive. I have been ignoring them for the last year without problems. |
| Sean | Monday, January 31, 2000 - 10:30 am
It's a pretty common, underhanded tactic. They offer you a credit line, and many people don't realize that their old, purchased debt gets dropped right onto that credit line. |
| Beth Fordham | Monday, February 07, 2000 - 04:09 am
My husbank received the same offer from The Credit Store about his Discover account that is over 7 years old. What I got out of it was they will issue you their MC or Visa but they will add what you owe from the previous card to the new account. But just think this debt is 7 years old so it should not be on the credit report anyway. I threw it in the trash. This credit card is issue through the First Natl Bank in Brookings, this should tell you something. |
| Sean (Sean) | Monday, February 07, 2000 - 08:09 am
The best response going forward is no response. |
| A. S. Thompson | Tuesday, March 07, 2000 - 03:10 pm
Can I send them a cease and desist letter without confirming this debt? (well past original 7 years) I now have good credit and do not want their card or to renew this debt. I have been avoiding the mail for about 3 years now and am tired of receiving junk from them.
WORDING ON THE FRONT:
This notice is a reminder that your obligation is still outstanding. The Credit Store believes it is never too late to explore positive solutions to negative situations. The Credit Store's Mastercard program is your positive solution. We are still waiting to talk to you regarding your account. See Reverse side for important information regarding your legal rights.
WORDING FROM BACK:
A lawsuit to collect this debt may be barred by the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations requires a lawsuit to be filed within a specified period of time. If you accept our offer, you will have entered into a new agreement to pay your debt, and you may not be able to claim that a lawsuit to collect your debt is barred by the statute of limitations. This is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. This communication is from a debt collector.
How would a cease and desist letter be worded that would stop communication from The Credit Store but not re-activate the debt?
Thanks. |
| K.Feathers-CarreonandAssociates.com | Tuesday, March 07, 2000 - 05:22 pm
Ignore them or return to sender. The debt is expired and if it is well over 7 years since charged off then they cannot put it back on your credit, unless of course you sign a renewed promise to pay. I would'nt even bother with a C&D in this case.
Kristi F. |
| TRL (Razzmatazz_1) | Tuesday, July 11, 2000 - 02:01 pm
I got another letter from "The Credit Store" today, but this one does not do the BS run-around about offering a credit card, they actually get to the heart of the matter of they bought my "old debt" yada yada yada....all this to get to that interesting paragraph at the bottom that was being discussed here earlier.
"A lawsuit to collect this debt may be barred by the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations requires a lawsuit to be filed within a specified period of time. This debt will not be enforced by a court of law in a lawsuit that is not filed within the required period of time."
This means that they know they are going after an old debt that I have no legal reason to pay, yet are going to try and harass it out of me. Am I correct in seeing it this way?
I live in IL, the debt was created in IL, our SOL is 6 years, and the date of last activity on that account was 1993.
Should I just leave this alone and let them waste their time trying to siphon off money that they do not deserve?
Thanks for the help! |
