Harassment by Cohen & Slamowitz !

by Rebecca
(Voorheesville, NY USA)

I have an an old account from 1995 that I was behind in payments for, but I arranged for monthly payments to pay off the credit card. I did so and saved my money gram receipts.

Then in July of 2007 I get a letter from Cohen & Slamowitz stating that they are taking me to court for this credit card company for non payment! I looked for all the receipts that I could and found all but the last three. I wrote a letter & faxed that & the receipts to the Collection firm AND spoke to one of their reps telling them that this account had been paid over 10 years ago. They claimed that it had not been paid at all. Then I spoke to another rep, she told me that she would look at the information I sent and settle my account. That was on December 11,2007. Today I get a call from them verifying my address because my account is still outstanding! What the hell! Now I am told that I am going to be summoned to appear in court and that they are going to garnish my wages and put a lean on my house???? I've had no correspondence for over 2 years!

I've no correspondence from the credit card company for even more and after 10 years I didn't think that I still needed my receipts, so I don't have all my records! On top of that , the original collection company I made my payments with no longer exists! What do I do??? I feel sick over this!

Rebecca

Comments for Harassment by Cohen & Slamowitz !

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Jun 27, 2010
 Another approach
by: Anonymous

Call back and demand to speak with their compliance department or with an attorney. If what you say is true, they will stop any collection or litigation activity until your matter is fully investigated.
Jun 24, 2010
 Harassed over old debt
by: Anonymous

Unless you live in the State of RI (where the statute of limitations is 13 years) most other states, the SOL (the right to sue) expires within 6 years. Therefore, what they are doing is in violation of the law. There is a resurgence out there of "zombie debt" (debt that is extremely old, out of statute and cannot be legally collected/sued for). I guess times are desperate for collections people, Congress is supposed to be addressing this and the FTC is allegedly investigating the matter. In the meantime, if that happens again, don't even bother talking to them much less attempt to prove to them that you are right. Simply tell them to send you a written notice as required by the FDCPA and take it from then. If they do send you a letter (which I doubt because the debt is so old), you have 30 days to request validation, if they don't provide it, they have to go away and if they do, you just serve them with a cease and desist notice (tell them to stop). Under the law, they have absolutely no write to demand that such an old debt be paid much less threaten to sue you, something which is in direct violation of the FDCPA.

Don't cave in, they're only trying to scare you so you pay for something they can't no longer collect under the law.

Good luck!
Jun 24, 2010
 Reply to Rebecca
by: Peter

Wow! Difficult situation! I believe I was just scammed by NCO on two pay day loans. I still get calls from other collectors but pay them no mind.I hardly think this a reputable law firm. May be you can contact the web site consumer hot line and ask one of their attorneys what to do.
Jun 24, 2010
 harassed over old debt
by: Mary & Gerri

Rebecca,

We can imagine how sick you feel over this. But please don't panic. It sounds like there may be a number of problems with the way they are trying to collect from you.

First the debt sounds like it is too old - outside the statute of limitations. According to our records, the statute of limitations for most consumer debts in New York is only six years. So there is problem number one.

Problem number two is that they are threatening already to garnish your wages and get a lien against your property. And those threats may also be illegal because they would first have to take you to court and win our case against you before they could even consider going there.

Rebecca, we really encourage you to fight back here. Talk with your own attorney about their behavior. If they are breaking the law, and based on what you are saying we suspect they are, then you may be entitled to damages and attorney's fees. We would strongly recommend you talk with a consumer law attorney with experience in debt collection cases. Find out how to get a FREE consultation with a consumer law attorney here. This service is free and there is no fee unless you win.

Please let us know what happens here using the comments link below. We are rooting for you!

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