Collection agency seems to be telling me they sent ppwk, but they have not

[riffwraith]

Jurisdiction

Connecticut

Hi all.

I have (another) debt collector after me, unrelated to the first one (other thread). The agency is Transworld Systems Inc. This is in regards to my NY MTA acct, and supposedly I have unpaid tolls. I shouldn't, but as before, if there is money I owe, I will pay it.

I sent two letters to TSI requesting any all ppwk related to this acct, including but not limited to validation of debt. I have received two letters in the mail, they are both the same.



That was the only sheet of paper in the envelope both times, and there is nothing of value on the reverse.

Is this a common predatory tactic used by debt collectors? Other than film myself opening the sealed envelope, which I have not done (maybe I can get them to send me a third?), is there anything I can do to protect myself?

Thanks!

 

[adjusterjack]

Sorry, your question is rather meaningless. What good would it do you to know whether it's common or not? No good is the answer.

If you are asking what to do about it, you need to provide some more information.

1 - When and how were you first contacted by TSI? What date? By mail? By phone? What did they say in that first contact? Be specific. Quote words. How much money do they say you owe? Dollar amount? When do they say you incurred it? Date?

2 - Your MTA account? Is it closed? Still active? When did you first set it up? How were you billed? Did you make payments? How did you make them? Do you have records of billings and payment?

3 - As for their letters with missing attachment, wouldn't it make sense to write back and say "Hey, you referred to documents that didn't come with your letters. Please send them."

is there anything I can do to protect myself?

No way to answer that without the information that I'm asking you for.

 

[riffwraith]

Sorry, your question is rather meaningless.

Sorry, that doesnt compute.

When and how were you first contacted by TSI? 2 mos ago via 2 texts
What did they say in that first contact? 1) TSI, a debt collector will send updates RE: MTA 2) Pay your MTA acct <link>
How much money do they say you owe? No $ amt specified there. In response to a text I sent asking how much I owe, $975
When do they say you incurred it? They didn't / have not yet.
Your MTA account? Is it closed? Still active? The latter.
When did you first set it up? Not sure exactly. Some time in 1997.
How were you billed? I am not billed, and never have been. That's not the way the system works when you have an EZPass. I pay in advance via credit card using their phone system for tolls I will be using in the future. If there were any tolls that weren't paid due to lack of funding (ie - I didnt previously add enough $ to my acct), I would get notified via mail (later via email) and I would then add more money via my CC, making up the difference, and adding more money for the next time I went through a toll plaza.
Do you have records of billings and payment? n/a
As for their letters with missing attachment, wouldn't it make sense to write back and say "Hey, you referred to documents that didn't come with your letters. Please send them." That's what I did (not those words of course) after receiveng the 1st letter. The 2nd letter came, and was the same as the 1st (pic above).

Would it make sense to write back and say "Hey, you referred to documents that didn't come with your letters. Please send them" a 3rd time?

 

[zddoodah]

requesting any all ppwk related to this acct,

Best not to use acronyms (?) that aren't well-known.

and there is nothing of value on the reverse.

You understand that this doesn't tell us anything, right?

Is this a common predatory tactic used by debt collectors?

I'm not sure what the antecedent of "this" is, but nothing you described could reasonably be called "predatory."

is there anything I can do to protect myself?

Protect yourself against whom/what?

Why do you (apparently) think you don't owe the $975?

As for their letters with missing attachment, wouldn't it make sense to write back and say "Hey, you referred to documents that didn't come with your letters. Please send them."

Exactly.

At the end of the day, I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish by posting here. If someone says you owe money and you don't agree, and they fail to convince you that you do owe it, then don't pay it.

 

[adjusterjack]

You've provided two important bits of information. That you pay by credit card and that your EZPass account is active. You can go online to your account, view your toll history and payment history, and see if there is a past due balance. Your credit card account should also be able to provide a history of payments to EZPass for comparison.

And, yes, do write a third letter. A paper trail demonstrating their recalcitrance is always helpful. However, I suggest you use one of the sample letters available on the internet:

sample request to a collection agency for proof of debt at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

Your choice but I like this one:

Template Info Request Letter for Debt Collectors | Request Debt Details Today — R23 Law | Consumer Protection Attorneys

Learn how to draft an effective debt verification letter with our template. Protect your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

www.r23law.com

Change names that don't apply to you. And omit paragraph 5. It's not a good idea to mention Statute of Limitations until you find out what they have. If they still don't respond with any information you are free to ignore them.

One more thing, pull your credit reports from www.annualcreditreport.com and see if there is a negative EZPass item on any of them.

 

[riffwraith]

zdolah - Almost seems as tho you didnt read my post.

n/m

 

[Red Kayak]

zdolah - Almost seems as tho you didnt read my post.

n/m

You have an EZPass account.
You have checked your EZPass statements and account balance.
You have found nothing unusual there.
Have you checked your credit to see if there are any dings in it?

Assuming you've done all this and found nothing amiss, there are three possibilities:
a) It is a scam, or
b) You have a similar name to the person who owes the debt (or some other form of mistaken identity),
c) You are the victim of identity theft.

Signs of a scam: nothing shows up on your credit report, and the contact info in the letter you received differs from the official contact information for the debt agency. Use only official contact information for any inquiries.

b) and c) are more problematic.