Need Help Dealing with Collection Agency

[mintons]

Hello -

My wife and I are trying to get our credit cleaned up and one of the last negative items that we are dealing with is a collection agency. Her original account was with a card company by the name of HSBC Mastercard. This collection agency called her father, because it had the wrong number for us, and told her father all about the account and really hyped up all the negative stuff. First question is this, are they legally able to discuss details of the account with family without consent like this?

Secondly, they just gave a phone number and name to call back. So, I called back for my wife. The number was 714.380.5875. They answered "corporate office, may I help you" So I was unsure who the company was, but asked to speak to the guy that had talked with her father.

I informed him before we move any further in addressing this debt that I needed his mailing address. He asked if I was making a payment (I probably should have said yes, but didnt) and just told him that I needed to get this debt validated before proceeding forward.

He REFUSED to give me his mailing address or the name of their company, and that he did not need to "validate" anything to prove anything to me. And that unless I was making a payment today he wanted to wish me luck because I was going to need it.

So, I went online and think I have pinpointed through searching by the phone number that this company is "Worldwide Recoveries".

Any recommendations on how I should proceed with these guys? We actually would like to pay the amount owed to the original creditor, it was less than 600.00, but he is saying the balance is like 1200.00, we want to make things right, but I dont know what to do about these guys? Should I just proceed with the validation letter?

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Shaun

[Lian]

You are apparently dealing with a debt collector that has never heard of the FDCPA.

A debt collector is barred, under FDCPA 804 and 805, from communicating with any person other that the consumer for any purpose other than inquiring about the current address and/or telephone number of a consumer, and is barred, in any such attempt to even obtain locator information, from stating that the consumer even owes a debt. The term consumer is defined, for debt collection purposes, under FDCPA 805(d) as only the consumer himself and his or her spouse. Parents of a consumer may only be adives of the owing of a debt if the consumer is a minor. That is a very serious violation of the FDCPA. You can sue their butts off for such practices.

I would start by filing a complaint with the FTC, and including them as a cc to that letter.