LVNV Funding is a company of many names, Resurgent Capital Services, LP, LVNV Funding Capital Management Services, Astra, Venta, among others; but they are all very much one in the same. They buy outdated credit card debts and try collect upon them. Chances are if you have ever had a credit card that went into collection and then was written off you have gotten a letter from LVNV funding or one of their sister companies demanding payment.
In my case, they bought a sear credit card debt that went into collection and began sending me letters. The first letters were thrown away because I did not recognize the name as someone I did business with nor was I in any position to take on more debt. When the third letter came, I was curious and I opened it.
In this third letter, they were threatening me with a lawsuit, because it was obvious to them that I was ignoring their previous letters. I admit I was just tossing them out. I blew off their demands for money. I never called LVNV funding because I know that credit card debit expires in all states by the seventh year of non-payment and I knew I was way over that limit. I also knew if I contacted them by phone they’d have my new unlisted phone number and I would be called day and night.
I remember when I got this credit card. One of the first things I bought with the card is my daughter’s first training bra, summer outfits for the kids, shoes and a few other things. I can remember the year as well it was 1994, and my daughter was in fourth grade. The credit card that had a limit of 1,200 was maxed out in a month or so, but I am not the one who maxed it out. However since it was in my name I was responsible, so I paid the bill faithfully for a year or so until things got bad here in the house money wise. Making 50 dollar a month payments for a year added 1,000 dollars to this debt but interest and late fees just kept adding up and the total never seemed to drop any. I talked with someone at Sears and she told me it would go into collections if I did not give them a huge amount, and since I could not pay that amount, it went into collection in early 1995.
Apparently, in 2004 LVNV funding bought this old debt and millions of other debts like my own and began sending letters out to people demanding payments on these debts. They tell consumers that this old debt is affecting their credit rating and so forth. The company tells people like my self to pay up or they will take us to court.
Some people just go ahead and make payment arrangements or pay the bill in full and this is something you should not do. I know you should pay all bills, which are due, but with this company, it just makes it appear on paper that you have gotten this debt. It is called re-aging a debt and then it is legally collectable. NEVER make payment arrangements or a settlement to a debt collection agency unless you speak with a well-informed lawyer who knows about credit card debt.
My original debt was to Sears and they wrote it off as a business debt, so why should I pay this company LVNV funding money, which is entitled and owed to sears? That is like paying my outdated electric bill to a newspaper company whose newspaper I never read, it just makes no sense to me either.
When I received a letter from the district justice locally advising me that this company was in fact suing me in court, I freaked out. When I had regained my composure, I then educated my self as I best I could. I did an internet search on this company and I found out a whole bunch of stuff on this company’s tactics as well as learning quite a bit about consumer debt.
The statue of Limitations on collecting Credit Card debt in Pennsylvania is only 6 years after the date that the last payment occurred. In my case, it was February of 1995. The statue of Limitations on this credit card ran out on February of 2000. LVNV funding was trying to collect on as debt that was out of date by at least 7 years when I was scheduled for court in early May of 2007.
Therefore, through the month of April I educated my self on this company and send them letters asking them to verify that this was in fact their legal debt to collect. They never responded to my letters. With a few days of that court date, I called the local court and got it rescheduled for a later date as I was still hoping to hear from this company.
When the second court date arrived in early June, I walked into that courthouse very nervous. I was nervous as I had never been to court for anything in my entire life. I had plenty of various papers I had printed off the internet with credit card information, statute of limitations on debts and plenty of information about LVNV funding and their tactics. I did not have a lawyer, as I could not afford one.
I was ready to go to the mats for myself and prove what kind of company this was. There are plenty of lawsuits against them from almost every state in the nation for this very thing. There are also a few class action lawsuits pending for this company.
I was a little disappointed but very much relieved when this company’s lawyer failed to show up for the court hearing. I won by default which was a let down but it is still a win so I am happy with the outcome. The woman in the local court said that I won at this level but the company may take it to a higher court so I have kept all my papers and will use them once more if needed.
Perhaps I was a bit naive about handing things my own way but when funds are limited, and all you have in the internet and a brain you use them both to your advantage. I do not regret handing this the way I did, and yes, I would do it again.
If you are ever faced with a company demanding money that you know you did not do business with, get in the internet, do your own research, and educate your self. It could be your legal debt had expired and been sold to one of these companies who try to collect on it. These companies will destroy your credit with plenty of errors, which they report.
My next goal is to try to get LVNV funding company’s bad marks removed from my credit report. I am not sure how I can get this removed but where there is a will there is a way. I am also thinking seriously about starting a lawsuit against this company in my local court, but I need to educate myself more there. Wish me luck!
Do your own search on the internet about this company, as well as the statue of limitations on credit card debt. You will be surprised with the results and it may help you in the future.
