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     | Wednesday, December 13, 2000 - 11:01 am  I have a balance from a very old car loan that was never collected ($5000.00) and the SOL has expired. It has been more than 5 years since I last made a payment or were in contact with these guys. They just disappeared and never contacted me again. They called my grandparents last night looking for me. The guy said he was a lawyer and that I had given him permission to contact me at their home. When I called the 800 number last night, it was a recording from this old finance company. This guy is no attorney. I think I may have given no less than 4 family references at the time of application for the car loan. It was a mean and nasty finance company who even called my mother at one point and told her I needed a swift kick in the a** when I was 6 days late once. Anyhow, I have no interest in paying these guys. There is zero incentive for me. Had they tried to collect the $5000 way back when, I would have had to file for bankruptcy. My question to you is this: how can I notify them that they are not to contact me or any member of my family again? Can I send a cease and desist letter to them certified that outlines that they are to speak to no one regarding the account? This could get embarrassing if they continue to call every family member I have. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
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| | Wednesday, December 13, 2000 - 11:40 am Patricia, Here's a link to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act: http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm and another to the FTC's complaint form: https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/complaint.htm You'll find guidelines for ceasing communications in section 805(c). I would, immediately, send a registered letter (return receipt requested) to this unscrupulous collector; and include a copy of the FTC complaint, which you should also file. Looks like this guy is probably violating various clauses of sections 804-808. good luck, dave
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| | Wednesday, December 13, 2000 - 02:43 pm I had a collection agency contact me about a debt that I haven't made a payment to in over 5 years. This account when to judgment 2/94 and was reported on my credit reports. I've sinced got it removed from my credit reports and the judgment sol expires 2/01 (though I know it can be renewed.) By their own admission, they purchased the debt from the creditor. I told them that the attorney on record for the judgment has rights to collect for creditor. Am I correct in this??? I do not believe the collection agency has a ice cube chance in hell in collecting. They said that they can satisfy the lien once I paid them. They tried their best to get me to send in a payment, but I refused. I refrained from using the word yes when talking to them. I then told them that the conversation was being recorded and he hung up. The name of the collector is Surpass Research (so they tell me) located in Houston Tx. Has anyone heard of them??? I'm planning a premptive strike against them. The amount of the debt is $2,000. I planned on settling the judgment with the attorney (he is a local guy) before I see a mortgage broker. Any advice would greatly be appreciated. Great site.... P.S. They threaten judgment action against me. Of course I laughed.....
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| | Wednesday, December 13, 2000 - 04:05 pm Patricia, The finance company isn't Credit Acceptance Corp. is it? They tried that stuff against me and it didn't work as I wouldn't pay a dime more for a dud car.
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| | Thursday, December 14, 2000 - 10:56 am No, they are Mercury Finance out of Richmond, VA. Pretty small company, at least when I dealt with them. Now, I have another dilemma, how do I get their address? I ran a search on the web and got nothing. I am at work during the day and hate to have them run caller id against my work number and call back even if I don't give my name. I would like to get their lawyer's address. Any insight would be a help.
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| | Thursday, December 14, 2000 - 12:05 pm Search on www.google.com and type Mercury Finance. I found info about their deepening financial situation. Maybe one of the press releases lists an address. They look like their corporate headquarters are in Illinois.
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| | Thursday, December 14, 2000 - 12:17 pm Patricia, Here's what register.com has on them (assuming that this is their domain): Whois Results for mercuryfinance.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Data in Network Solutions' WHOIS database is provided by Network Solutions for information purposes, and to assist persons in obtaining information about or related to a domain name registration record. Network Solutions does not guarantee its accuracy. By submitting a WHOIS query, you agree that you will use this Data only for lawful purposes and that, under no circumstances will you use this Data to: (1) allow, enable, or otherwise support the transmission of mass unsolicited, commercial advertising or solicitations via e-mail (spam); or (2) enable high volume, automated, electronic processes that apply to Network Solutions (or its systems). Network Solutions reserves the right to modify these terms at any time. By submitting this query, you agree to abide by this policy. Registrant: Ayers (MERCURYFINANCE3-DOM) 409 Chase Avenue P.O. Box 570 Gambier, OH 43022 US Domain Name: mercuryfinance.com Administrative Contact, Technical Contact: Ayers, David (DA10738) service@SITELEADER.COM Ayers 409 Chase Avenue P.O. Box 570 Gambier , OH 43022 740-427-2253 Billing Contact: AYERS, DAVID (DA10664) david.ayers@mail.com AYERS, DAVID NA COLUMBUS, OH 43235 US NA NA Record last updated on 13-Mar-1999. Record expires on 13-Mar-2001. Record created on 13-Mar-1999. Database last updated on 14-Dec-2000 16:28:55 EST. Domain servers in listed order: NS1.SITELEADER.NET 207.211.36.1 NS2.SITELEADER.NET 207.211.36.2 __________________________________________________ PS - Make a note of the search engine that Anonymous gave you. I think it's the best on the web. good luck, dave
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| | Thursday, December 14, 2000 - 03:35 pm It's good for obscure stuff. www.google.com
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| | Friday, December 15, 2000 - 12:54 pm Thanks for the info guys. I did get a letter in the mail from these guys today, so I will be using that address. I am considering another approach. The letter does not say anything on the bottom about "30 days to validate" like is required. Since this is the first correspondence I have gotten from them, should I dispute the validity of the debt? The reason is that the amount they are claiming I owe is wrong. I owed 8000.00 on the car. I got into an accident about the time they were going to repossess the car. The insurance company felt it could be repaired and paid them 3000.00 and the finance company at that point had possession of the vehicle. They then sent me a letter saying they would be auctioning the car off. That was the last I heard. The balance on my credit reports is for the $5000. They have tacked on interest and now the letter says $6500 is owed. Shouldn't I have been notified of the results of the auction including any balance owed? It seems like if they screwed up their end legally, I shouldn't have to put up with this crap. Not to mention, they have 1-96 as the date of charge-off a full 6 months after my last payment and this happened. I have had no luck getting the proper date put on the report. Do I have something to work with here to get it either removed from my report or at least the correct dates? Does the fact that they haven't kept me posted on the situation mean anything? I am hoping maybe asking for validation might get me the documentation I need to get the right dates on my reports. What do you think?
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| | Friday, December 15, 2000 - 07:17 pm Patricia, By all means, dispute the debt. Tell this collection company that this was a secured debt, and the security was repossessed; therefore, you owe nothing. You might also want to show them that you're aware of which sections of the FDCPA that they violated in their recent contacts (cite specific passages in sections 804-808), and that they had better stop their harassment unless they want to be facing a law suit. Also, file a dispute with each of the 'Big 3 (that is reporting this), and send them all of the back-up that you can muster. Send it registered (return-receipt requested). They then have 30 days from the date of that receipt to inform you of the status of their reinvestigation. If they can't do so, they must delete this entry. If things get this far, then you must stay on your toes. If they allow this collection company to reinsert this info in your file, they must notify you, in writing, within 5 days of the reinsertion. They must include, with such notification, the name-address-phone of the creditor who contacted them, and advise you of your right to add a 100-word statement to this entry in your file. If they fail to do all of this, you are within your rights to demand deletion of this entry, as they failed to comply with the FCRA. Obviously, catching them would require pulling your reports again, a month or so after the deletion. good luck, dave
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| | Saturday, December 16, 2000 - 09:02 am I thought that even with a secured debt (home/car) that if it is foreclosed or repoed that you are responsible for the post auction difference to the creditor.
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| | Sunday, December 17, 2000 - 08:07 pm Yes, you owe the difference on a car repo, subject to the SOL. In California you do NOT owe the difference on a foreclosure unless it's a JUDICIAL foreclosure, which practically never happens.
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| | Monday, December 18, 2000 - 07:00 am Now, to add to all this craziness. The charge-off is on none of my reports as of today. They had disappeared off of two of them on their own over the last 4 years and now the final one was just deleted thanks to the legal credit service I signed up for. So, I intend on sending a cease and desist letter today and be done with the whole thing. Things are looking up.
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| | Monday, December 18, 2000 - 10:39 am Pat, make sure you send certified. Personally, I would fax it and then mail.
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