Cavalry Portfolio For Sprint Yet another victim. Hawthorne New York

Got my first reply from a credit reporting agency today and they have refused to take the report off my credit. Why? Because they checked with Calvary and they insist the debt is mine.

Even though:

Sprint says the debt is not mine. Never had any accounts with them.

The name on the account does not match mine.

Sprint says the SSN's don't match either.

I'm angry now. Because of these people I have spent countless hours trying to fix their mistakes. Now I have lost out on purchasing the home of my dreams because these individuals put erroneous information on my credit report. And even after I nicely told them they were wrong and showed them Sprint also says they are wrong, they still refuse to correct their errors and make things right. After 35 years of PERFECT credit, I should be given due consideration. Why would I lie about this? I pay bills for more than this every month, on time, for decades.

After a little thought and research I figure the 1K they stand to lose under the Fair Debt law is so insignificant they don't care. It's not even a slap on the wrist.

However, when you knowingly publish information about someone that is false, that might be much more serious. I guess a reasonable man might believe the reason a company might do this is to destroy my good name, perhaps intimidate me into paying a bill that isn't mine. And now it's more than just that. I missed out on my house too. How many other people/companies have they supplied with false credit information?

It's back to the drawing board.

Got the letter from Sprint today. They say we have no accounts with them and owe them no money. It looks like the BBB complaint may be a good tactic to get your complaint reviewed by people who can actually help.

But I am not out of the woods yet. Now I have to send in complaints to all the CRA's and a demand letter to the Calvary/Cavalry people. Yeah, I know. Good luck with all that. This is a lot of work and time. Doesn't seem at all fair it takes them no time at all to destroy my credit and it's so hard to get it back and takes a LOT of time and effort.

I may still end up having to get a lawyer. If I do, at least I can say I did a lot of it myself and maybe save a few $.

I worked for a company that answers calls from Sprint/Nextel customers called GC SERVICES. We were not properly trained to handle any of the calls that came into our call center. I had dozens of customers and so called former customers call us to say they had paid their bills but were being harassed by collection agencies anyway. We were told to file a report and hand it off to another department. A large portion of these people hadn't even had service with this company. All I can say is God help you when it comes to getting a resolution to this problem. You'll probably be bounced back and forth until YOU just give up. Good luck.

I worked for a company that answers calls from Sprint/Nextel customers called GC SERVICES. We were not properly trained to handle any of the calls that came into our call center. I had dozens of customers and so called former customers call us to say they had paid their bills but were being harassed by collection agencies anyway. We were told to file a report and hand it off to another department. A large portion of these people hadn't even had service with this company. All I can say is God help you when it comes to getting a resolution to this problem. You'll probably be bounced back and forth until YOU just give up. Good luck.

I worked for a company that answers calls from Sprint/Nextel customers called GC SERVICES. We were not properly trained to handle any of the calls that came into our call center. I had dozens of customers and so called former customers call us to say they had paid their bills but were being harassed by collection agencies anyway. We were told to file a report and hand it off to another department. A large portion of these people hadn't even had service with this company. All I can say is God help you when it comes to getting a resolution to this problem. You'll probably be bounced back and forth until YOU just give up. Good luck.

I worked for a company that answers calls from Sprint/Nextel customers called GC SERVICES. We were not properly trained to handle any of the calls that came into our call center. I had dozens of customers and so called former customers call us to say they had paid their bills but were being harassed by collection agencies anyway. We were told to file a report and hand it off to another department. A large portion of these people hadn't even had service with this company. All I can say is God help you when it comes to getting a resolution to this problem. You'll probably be bounced back and forth until YOU just give up. Good luck.

So just for a minute here, I will be Cavalry/Calvary. I work over 1000 people and maybe 1 of them will actually sue me. Who cares because I already have an attorney on my staff. Even if I lose the case, all that's at stake is 1K plus attorney fees. The poor bugger will never be able to collect anything else because I will use my staff attorney to run up their legal bills/appeals to the point where they have no alternative but to give up. Does that sound about right?

And out of those 1000 people I damaged 10 or 12 will pay even though the bill isn't theirs because of my kamikaze collection tactics. Another 8 or 10 will pay a bill that's theirs because they just forgot about it. Hey, it's all good. I still come out way ahead. No way for me to lose. No reason for me to change the way I do business.

Seems to me there's really no penalty for them illegally accessing my credit report, reporting fraudulent charge offs, and damaging my reputation and credit worthiness. It took me decades to build up my credit score and how long did it take them to ruin it? Honestly, 1K is almost offensive. I guess the only thing that could really damage them would be a class action. But again, all they would do is file bankruptcy and reopen under another name tomorrow. Looks like all these laws protect them, not me. Sad. Not just for me but for all of us.

your reasonable legal fees plus any REAL damages; higher interest rates, insomnia, stress disorder, ulcers, etc.

Any time there are provable violations of the FDCPA and/or the FCRA they can loose some CASH, quick and easy.

I would send them a certified, return receipt requested letter that includes a copy of the letter you received from Sprint (do NOT give them the original). TELL them that it's not your debt, you're not paying it, you want them to immediately contact the CRAs to have this item REMOVED from consumer credit reporting agencies that they report to. I would give them a reasonable deadline, say 4 weeks to comply FULLY with your demands.

IF they fail to comply with ANY of these stipulations, I would sue them in District Court. You shouldn't have any trouble finding an attorney to handle the suit.

You should also send a copy of the letter to the CRAs to remove this item from credit reports about you. NOTE, per the FCRA the CRAs must notify you in writing as to what action they take. If you don't hear anything from the CRAs, have an attorney send them a "friendly reminder" of their obligations under the FCRA and proceed from there.

MY experience has been that the credit reports are fixed MUCH FASTER when the agency that reports the incorrect data to the CRAs request the item be corrected or removed (that's why I recommend a letter to the debt collector insisting that they notify all consumer credit reporting agencies they report to as to the error and to have the item deleted.)

Good luck.

your reasonable legal fees plus any REAL damages; higher interest rates, insomnia, stress disorder, ulcers, etc.

Any time there are provable violations of the FDCPA and/or the FCRA they can loose some CASH, quick and easy.

I would send them a certified, return receipt requested letter that includes a copy of the letter you received from Sprint (do NOT give them the original). TELL them that it's not your debt, you're not paying it, you want them to immediately contact the CRAs to have this item REMOVED from consumer credit reporting agencies that they report to. I would give them a reasonable deadline, say 4 weeks to comply FULLY with your demands.

IF they fail to comply with ANY of these stipulations, I would sue them in District Court. You shouldn't have any trouble finding an attorney to handle the suit.

You should also send a copy of the letter to the CRAs to remove this item from credit reports about you. NOTE, per the FCRA the CRAs must notify you in writing as to what action they take. If you don't hear anything from the CRAs, have an attorney send them a "friendly reminder" of their obligations under the FCRA and proceed from there.

MY experience has been that the credit reports are fixed MUCH FASTER when the agency that reports the incorrect data to the CRAs request the item be corrected or removed (that's why I recommend a letter to the debt collector insisting that they notify all consumer credit reporting agencies they report to as to the error and to have the item deleted.)

Good luck.

your reasonable legal fees plus any REAL damages; higher interest rates, insomnia, stress disorder, ulcers, etc.

Any time there are provable violations of the FDCPA and/or the FCRA they can loose some CASH, quick and easy.

I would send them a certified, return receipt requested letter that includes a copy of the letter you received from Sprint (do NOT give them the original). TELL them that it's not your debt, you're not paying it, you want them to immediately contact the CRAs to have this item REMOVED from consumer credit reporting agencies that they report to. I would give them a reasonable deadline, say 4 weeks to comply FULLY with your demands.

IF they fail to comply with ANY of these stipulations, I would sue them in District Court. You shouldn't have any trouble finding an attorney to handle the suit.

You should also send a copy of the letter to the CRAs to remove this item from credit reports about you. NOTE, per the FCRA the CRAs must notify you in writing as to what action they take. If you don't hear anything from the CRAs, have an attorney send them a "friendly reminder" of their obligations under the FCRA and proceed from there.

MY experience has been that the credit reports are fixed MUCH FASTER when the agency that reports the incorrect data to the CRAs request the item be corrected or removed (that's why I recommend a letter to the debt collector insisting that they notify all consumer credit reporting agencies they report to as to the error and to have the item deleted.)

Good luck.

your reasonable legal fees plus any REAL damages; higher interest rates, insomnia, stress disorder, ulcers, etc.

Any time there are provable violations of the FDCPA and/or the FCRA they can loose some CASH, quick and easy.

I would send them a certified, return receipt requested letter that includes a copy of the letter you received from Sprint (do NOT give them the original). TELL them that it's not your debt, you're not paying it, you want them to immediately contact the CRAs to have this item REMOVED from consumer credit reporting agencies that they report to. I would give them a reasonable deadline, say 4 weeks to comply FULLY with your demands.

IF they fail to comply with ANY of these stipulations, I would sue them in District Court. You shouldn't have any trouble finding an attorney to handle the suit.

You should also send a copy of the letter to the CRAs to remove this item from credit reports about you. NOTE, per the FCRA the CRAs must notify you in writing as to what action they take. If you don't hear anything from the CRAs, have an attorney send them a "friendly reminder" of their obligations under the FCRA and proceed from there.

MY experience has been that the credit reports are fixed MUCH FASTER when the agency that reports the incorrect data to the CRAs request the item be corrected or removed (that's why I recommend a letter to the debt collector insisting that they notify all consumer credit reporting agencies they report to as to the error and to have the item deleted.)

Good luck.

I talked with the woman from Sprint today. She read me the SSN and of course, it doesn't match. She is sending me a letter today saying they can find no account for me and I owe them nothing.

Calvary has purchased this debt and Sprint can't remove something from my credit report that Calvary put on the report. So I still have to do the disputes with the credit bureau.

However, I believe this means I can now prove Cavalry/Calvary accessed my credit report illegally as well as damaged my credit without cause. So.....things are looking up. And BTW, the NAMES don't even match completely.

If I decide to pursue this, what could happen to this collection agency? Is it anything bad enough to discourage them from doing this in the future? With my credit history, I am a perfect case. But what about all the other people they've done this to who can't fight back? What about all the people who paid these bogus bills?

What does Cavalry stand to lose? Is it just a slap on the wrist or is it substantial?

There's nothing I could say that would verify this debt.

I could have made a mistake by contacting Sprint. I freely admit to no experience dealing with chargeoffs, debt collectors, etc.

I will say that in every communication I've had with them I've stated that we have never had any type of phone service with Sprint.

The reason I contacted Sprint is after reading about Calvary/Cavalry here and learning about what kind of company they are; I decided Sprint was the lesser of 2 evils. I think the only reason Sprint is talking to me is because of the BBB complaint I filed. I figured I might as well spread around the pain.

There's nothing I could say that would verify this debt.

I could have made a mistake by contacting Sprint. I freely admit to no experience dealing with chargeoffs, debt collectors, etc.

I will say that in every communication I've had with them I've stated that we have never had any type of phone service with Sprint.

The reason I contacted Sprint is after reading about Calvary/Cavalry here and learning about what kind of company they are; I decided Sprint was the lesser of 2 evils. I think the only reason Sprint is talking to me is because of the BBB complaint I filed. I figured I might as well spread around the pain.

There's nothing I could say that would verify this debt.

I could have made a mistake by contacting Sprint. I freely admit to no experience dealing with chargeoffs, debt collectors, etc.

I will say that in every communication I've had with them I've stated that we have never had any type of phone service with Sprint.

The reason I contacted Sprint is after reading about Calvary/Cavalry here and learning about what kind of company they are; I decided Sprint was the lesser of 2 evils. I think the only reason Sprint is talking to me is because of the BBB complaint I filed. I figured I might as well spread around the pain.

There's nothing I could say that would verify this debt.

I could have made a mistake by contacting Sprint. I freely admit to no experience dealing with chargeoffs, debt collectors, etc.

I will say that in every communication I've had with them I've stated that we have never had any type of phone service with Sprint.

The reason I contacted Sprint is after reading about Calvary/Cavalry here and learning about what kind of company they are; I decided Sprint was the lesser of 2 evils. I think the only reason Sprint is talking to me is because of the BBB complaint I filed. I figured I might as well spread around the pain.

""You made a big mistake by contacting Sprint.
NEVER contact the original creditor when you are dealing with an old charged off acount that is owned by a JUNK DEBT BUYER and/or has been sold several times.""

Agree completely. HOWEVER, SPRINT knows darn well that once they sell a debt they are DONE WITH IT. I find this somewhat interesting: Sprint finds the account records AND they are willing to talk with the OP about it. If this account was sold, they only thing SPRINT can discuss is to verify it was sold and they are NOT allowed to discuss it with the debtor-it's not owed to them anymore. With this is mind, I think it's possible that this Sprint account has not been sold and it may very well be a clerical error (such as the SSN) that has "attached" this debt to the OP.

""You gave up information that may work against you, and may have legally affirmed an otherwise uncollectable debt.""

I don't think any real harm has been done. IF the OP's report is true and this debt is NOT for the OP, SPRINT very well might confirm this and be able to pin point where the error is.

I had VRS inc harass me a few years ago. 2 digits of the SSN were transposed and PRESTO, it was my debt. It was cleared up when I contacted Sherman Acquisition and they reviewed the documentation from when they purchased the debt portfolio. Sherman told me what happened and apologized for the harassment and FDCPA violations that I indured from VRS Inc.

Sometimes, an honest error IS made. I agree that the debt collector has to prove the debt, but it won't hurt if SPRINT can clear this matter up.

Patty,

Federal Law requires full disclosure in credit reporting. This means that you are entitled to recieve any and all information that a potential creditor would recieve. There are NOT different reports between what you get and what a creditor gets. The format may be different, but the content is ithe same.

However, the point you are missing is STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS for collections vs. credit reporting. Two entirely different things.

Just because something is not on your credit report does not mean that you do not owe the money.

Under federal law, a delinquent item may remain on your credit report for only 7 years, with the exception for BK for up to 10 and judgements up to 20.

However, some states have SOL's on the collection of debts for up to 15 years. In this case, the debt would still be legally collectable under state law, although federal law required that is was removed from your credit report 8 years ago!

You made a big mistake by contacting Sprint.
NEVER contact the original creditor when you are dealing with an old charged off acount that is owned by a JUNK DEBT BUYER and/or has been sold several times.

The burden of proof is on the collector that you owe them the money.
You are never required to prove that you don't owe the money.
This is how our laws work.

You gave up information that may work against you, and may have legally affirmed an otherwise uncollectable debt.

Without your assistance, the collector could have never validated that "debt".

And, how could you not know that you had a delinquent account with Sprint?

STAY OFF THE PHONE!!!



>>>
Submitted: 6/6/2008 7:26:10 AM
Modified: 6/6/2008 7:40:29 AM Patty
big lake, Minnesota
U.S.A.

Yes I will be filing disputes with the credit bureaus!
Absolutely!

But here's an interesting piece of information. I found out about this chargeoff from a company when I applied for a loan. They actually told me the account number and the name of the collection agency. After I learned this I went to annualcreditreport.com (where you can get free reports once a year) and checked my own credit. I can't see this chargeoff on my own report. What this says to me is that no matter what they say, we don't see everything when we check our own credit. I think we get a dumbed down version that at least in my case was incomplete.



>>>

And they have apparently found the account that's been charged off against us. I said I would call them on Monday. I'm still hopeful that I will be able to get this taken care of and put it behind me. If they found the account, it should be easier for them to get rid of it. Right?

Absolutely!

But here's an interesting piece of information. I found out about this chargeoff from a company when I applied for a loan. They actually told me the account number and the name of the collection agency. After I learned this I went to annualcreditreport.com (where you can get free reports once a year) and checked my own credit. I can't see this chargeoff on my own report. What this says to me is that no matter what they say, we don't see everything when we check our own credit. I think we get a dumbed down version that at least in my case was incomplete.

Has anyone else seen this?

Final thing you need to do is dispute the charge directly with the credit reporting agencies. Include the correspondence you have received from Sprint. They will have no choice but to remove the charge off from your credit report. Follow through until you are sure that it has been removed! Your situation shows just how important it is for everyone to monitor their credit reports. I've heard that over 80% of credit reports have inaccurate info listed on them. Its very easy for these blood sucking, bottom feeding collection agencies to screw things up for you without you even knowing about it. Don't let them get away with it!

Final thing you need to do is dispute the charge directly with the credit reporting agencies. Include the correspondence you have received from Sprint. They will have no choice but to remove the charge off from your credit report. Follow through until you are sure that it has been removed! Your situation shows just how important it is for everyone to monitor their credit reports. I've heard that over 80% of credit reports have inaccurate info listed on them. Its very easy for these blood sucking, bottom feeding collection agencies to screw things up for you without you even knowing about it. Don't let them get away with it!

Final thing you need to do is dispute the charge directly with the credit reporting agencies. Include the correspondence you have received from Sprint. They will have no choice but to remove the charge off from your credit report. Follow through until you are sure that it has been removed! Your situation shows just how important it is for everyone to monitor their credit reports. I've heard that over 80% of credit reports have inaccurate info listed on them. Its very easy for these blood sucking, bottom feeding collection agencies to screw things up for you without you even knowing about it. Don't let them get away with it!

Final thing you need to do is dispute the charge directly with the credit reporting agencies. Include the correspondence you have received from Sprint. They will have no choice but to remove the charge off from your credit report. Follow through until you are sure that it has been removed! Your situation shows just how important it is for everyone to monitor their credit reports. I've heard that over 80% of credit reports have inaccurate info listed on them. Its very easy for these blood sucking, bottom feeding collection agencies to screw things up for you without you even knowing about it. Don't let them get away with it!

I received email today from the BBB asking if I would like to finally resolve my complaint. I said no because I haven't yet received what I asked for. But, I'm hoping it's on the way!

Here's a section from my BBB complaint against Sprint:

Consumer's Desired Resolution:
1) Remove this reference from my credit bureau report immediately. 2) Send me a letter stating this is your mistake and you have corrected the problem with the credit bureau. 3)Sprint and Cavalry Collections are to never contact me again regarding this bill that is not mine.

So, high hopes. Maybe Sprint will do the right thing and follow through. If not, I have refused to close my complaint until I do see these things are done.

Let's do a poll. Is it resolved? Yes or no!

Patty,

If you have evidence to back up your claims made here, any competent lawyer would take the case, most likely on a contingency fee basis, as it is a slam dunk.

You can nail them from many directions.

First, if it was not your account, they accessed your credit report illegally, as they did not meet the "permissible purpose" guidelines. File the FTC complaint[s] online.
Hint: Enforcement is brought based on number of complaints.

Second, this will not go away unless you drop the hammer on them. That file will be sold to more junk debt buyers. You will be fighting this for years.
Stop them now!!

Go to budhibbs.com to read all about these thugs, and also for the NACA link where you can find a lawyer who specializes in collections matters.

Don't let these bottomfeeders get away with this!

Good luck!

Steve, you are absolutely right. But in my experience once you get lawyers involved, everyone loses. How does anyone ever find one that's effective and competent? I can't afford to pay legal bills that are more money that what Cavalry was fraudulently trying to collect from me!

If you read about Cavalry/Calvary here, there are hundreds of complaints. This has to be just the tip of the iceberg. I wish someone would take this on as a class action but I'm sure they would just file for bankruptcy and open up under a different name tomorrow. I guess I'm just not sure there is any way to win against an entity like this.

Patty,

You need to make an example out of them!!

If that debt was really not yours or your husbands, and they put a collection on your credit report and ruined your score, you have clearcut grounds for a lawsuit.

They have caused you real damages.

You need to get paid.

Find a lawyer who specializes in collections matters. This is ESSENTIAL!!
Most regular lawyers are clueless in collections matters and the understanding of the FDCPA, and the FCRA.

Don't get mad, GET PAID!!

Good luck!!

So far, I've received email from Sprint agreeing I never had phone service with them. And owe them no money. Sprint also contacted the collection agency and they have or can find nothing they are trying to collect from me. Great! So now for the hard part. Trying to get them to take this off my credit report.

This was in response to my BBB complaint.

On to fight the next battle.

I guess I still don't understand why it's so easy for these people to ruin the good credit I took decades to establish. This isn't right.

So far, I've received email from Sprint agreeing I never had phone service with them. And owe them no money. Sprint also contacted the collection agency and they have or can find nothing they are trying to collect from me. Great! So now for the hard part. Trying to get them to take this off my credit report.

This was in response to my BBB complaint.

On to fight the next battle.

I guess I still don't understand why it's so easy for these people to ruin the good credit I took decades to establish. This isn't right.

So far, I've received email from Sprint agreeing I never had phone service with them. And owe them no money. Sprint also contacted the collection agency and they have or can find nothing they are trying to collect from me. Great! So now for the hard part. Trying to get them to take this off my credit report.

This was in response to my BBB complaint.

On to fight the next battle.

I guess I still don't understand why it's so easy for these people to ruin the good credit I took decades to establish. This isn't right.

So far, I've received email from Sprint agreeing I never had phone service with them. And owe them no money. Sprint also contacted the collection agency and they have or can find nothing they are trying to collect from me. Great! So now for the hard part. Trying to get them to take this off my credit report.

This was in response to my BBB complaint.

On to fight the next battle.

I guess I still don't understand why it's so easy for these people to ruin the good credit I took decades to establish. This isn't right.