My 1st just sent me to collections???

[UniqueSituation]

Hello! Has anyone had this happen and what did you do?

I just received a letter in today's mail from a collection agency indicating my Lender on the 1st (Indymac Federal Bank, FSB) has turned over my account to them for collection proceedings and that my full mortgage is due to them within 30 days of the letter.

Within that same letter it says, "unless I disute the validity of the Debt, or any part of it, (Collection Agency) will assume the debt is valid".

What is this? I have read many posts on this forum and haven't seen anyone mention something like this before?

Can someone shed some light on this matter? I would love to hear the feedback.

Thanks!

[CaWalker]

I had seen something similar, though not exact, about a month or 2 back.
Someone had been foreclosed upon and gotten a letter from an insurance agency asking for the whole amount with similar terms as yours.
At that time the only thing that made sense to me was that the bank took money from the Mortgage Insurance company and the company was now coming after the person who foreclosed.

I've not heard your situation before but I am assuming you've missed a few payments and have a recourse loan. Others here will give you a more accurate answer but I am thinking that the bank saw this as a recourse loan and saw the possibility of going after you and sold it to a collection agency.

OR

This letter is a scam. Someone knows you are in foreclosure and found out the bank name etc and wants to extract money from you.

[UniqueSituation]

Thank you for your reply.

My first impression was it was a scam, but not only do they have my lender on there, they have my exact loan number and $ amount. Pretty scary.

Also, I am in California and my loan is a non-recourse loan, but someone may have made a mistake.

I just don't know if I should respond to the letter or just let it ride. It says if I do not respond, then I am validating the debt.

This is all so confusing.

I really do appreciate your response though, it seems we were both thinking along the same lines.

Thanks!

[CaWalker]

I've been getting letters from 3rd party companies for loan modifications for the last 2 or 3 months. And this is the first month that I missed a payment.

The letters I get include the exact loan amount and the bank name. The only problem is that they include the name of the bank that initially owned the loan. I had bought a new house from a builder and they made me go thru their mortgage company for closing (UAMC). They sold the loan to Wells Fargo within 15 or 20 days.
So these letters I get have the exact loan amount but mention UAMC as the bank instead of Wells Fargo. And that's how I know they are junk. If any of these had mentioned WF, I wouldn't have thrown the letters in the trash.

If I were you, I would do a google search to see if something fishy comes up.

[UniqueSituation]

Great idea! I will do just that!! Thanks!

[925girl]

Someone I know was sued by a ccard co. when they were listed as a 2nd person authorized to use the card (they never did and did not even know they were signed up for this) who started receiving legal paper threats. Just in the nick of time they responded to the lawsuit and it went forward but the company lost their case. This company (I can't remember which bank) tried to put a lien on this 2nd parties home for the amount on the loan (about $11,000). Now here's the part I want you to hear-If she had not responded by the date they would have been legally able to slap a lien on the property. Something in the court system where if you do nothing gives the other party more leverage. I'm no lawyer but maybe someone here can advise you. PS The credit card company lost the case as the debt had been dealt with 2 yrs. earlier in a bankruptcy. The sneaks tried to come after the innocent one anyway; I suppose hoping words like lien, court, etc would make them cough up the money. The original card holder was an attorney so they did their work.

[cdmosaic]

My advice is that you want to respond within the 30 days and do a debt validation. You can google that.

The evil collection agency has to have the right to collect this debt and it must be a legit debt. If it is non-recourse loan, sounds like it is not a legit debt. In the letter do not admit that this was your debt, just state you do not believe this is a legit debt or that you owe the money and then request that they provide you detailed proof per FDCPA section 809. Read the info on the link it explains the process well.

I've had a collection agency after me for years on a debt that they legally can not collect on. They don't care, they just keep hounding me, but that is all they can do. Send the ocassional irrating letter, I respond with my rights, they try again a year later, etc. One of these days I'll just sue them in small claims court, but my point is, don't ignore it; dispute it. Put the burden on them and do not let them bully you. Also, avoid speaking to them on the phone, do everything via certified letter that way you can build a case if you need to sue under the FDCPA.

Hope this helps.

[The Professor]

UniqueSituation:

Has Indymac already foreclosed on your home?

Daniel

[UniqueSituation]

Thanks for all your replies!

cdmosaic:

1) Yes, I intend to dispute it within the 30 days I have (according to the letter).

2) Good idea on not admitting to anything just have them validate the debt.


Professor Shays:

1) No, Indymac has not foreclosed yet. At least not to my knowledge. I looked up my deed this morning in my County and nothing was recorded.

2) I did a Hoovers look up on the company that is attempting to collect this debt. They are out of Texas (I am in California). They have 12 people in the whole company and they are a Trust company.

[UniqueSituation]

Hello,

Well here is the letter I am putting together for the collection agency:

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is in response to your Letter/Notice dated December 8, 2008.

I am disputing the validity of the Debt you mention in your letter. I request that you provide detailed proof, per FDCPA section 809 of the validity of this Debt. Further I request the name, address and phone number of the original creditor.

Sincerely,

This is short and sweet, but will it suffice?

Also, Professor Shays - If you are there, I am curious as to why you were asking if they have foreclosed yet.

Thanks!

[The Professor]

Sorry for leaving you with that fair question. Frankly I found it interesting that Indymac, given their status as the FDIC poster child in terms of how they handle workouts, shifted collection over to a third party collector.

The primary reason I asked is that the collection agency's action in notifying you that the loan balance had been accelerated (all due and payable) isn't true under California law. You have up to five (5) business days from the date the foreclosure is scheduled to take place to reinstate the loan by making all back payments and paying the foreclosure costs and trustee's fees.

I like your letter. Short and sweet.

Take care,

Daniel

[UniqueSituation]

That's right! I forgot about the timeline I had. All the more reason to believe this letter may be a scam.

Further, I checked the company out on Hoovers and it is a 12 person company. I can't imagine Indymac would turn this over to such a small organization (as well as it not being right under California Law).

But then again, nothing these days surprises me anymore!

Thanks for all your replies. It helps having this forum to share our stories!!