FDCPA Violation Demand Letter - Indiana

FDCPA VIOLATION DEMAND LETTER — INDIANA

Date: [DATE]

Via: [CERTIFIED MAIL / FIRST-CLASS MAIL / OTHER]

From: [CONSUMER NAME OR COUNSEL NAME AND ADDRESS]

To: [DEBT COLLECTOR NAME AND ADDRESS]

Re: [CONSUMER NAME]; [COLLECTOR ACCOUNT NUMBER]; [ORIGINAL CREDITOR]; alleged balance [AMOUNT]

Dear [COLLECTOR / COMPLIANCE OFFICER]:

I represent [CONSUMER NAME] regarding the alleged debt identified above. [If sent by the consumer personally, replace the preceding sentence with: I am the consumer identified above.] My client disputes [THE ENTIRE DEBT / THE IDENTIFIED PORTION OR AMOUNT] for the reasons stated below. This letter also proposes resolution of the collection conduct described here.

[If counsel sends this letter: Please direct communications about this debt to me at [ADDRESS]. You now have my name and address and know that the consumer is represented regarding this debt. Direct contact with the consumer is restricted by 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a)(2), subject to its statutory exceptions.]

1. Collection conduct

On [DATE], [COLLECTOR PERSON] [DESCRIBE THE ACTUAL COMMUNICATION OR ACTION, WITH ITS WORDS, METHOD, AND RECIPIENT]. On [DATE], [DESCRIBE ANY ADDITIONAL ACT]. Copies of [LETTERS / CALL LOG / REPORTS] are enclosed as Exhibits [__]. The debt arose from [PERSONAL, FAMILY, OR HOUSEHOLD TRANSACTION], and [COLLECTOR] regularly collects debts owed to another or has debt collection as its principal business purpose. [ADAPT THESE FACTS TO THE FDCPA DEFINITIONS IN 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(5)–(6).]

The conduct supports the following federal claims [retain only those supported by the stated facts]:

• [Repeated calls with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass, or other abusive conduct: 15 U.S.C. § 1692d. Identify dates, frequency, and evidence of intent.]
• [A false statement about the debt's character, amount, or legal status; a threat of action unavailable or unintended; or false credit information, including failure to report a known dispute: 15 U.S.C. § 1692e(2)(A), (5), or (8). Identify the exact statement and why it was false.]
• [An unfair or unconscionable collection method: 15 U.S.C. § 1692f. Identify the particular method.]
• [An unauthorized third-party communication or prohibited direct contact with a represented consumer: 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a)(2) or (b). Identify the recipient and any applicable exception.]
• [A failure to send the validation information within five days of the initial collection communication, if the information was not in that communication, the debt had not been paid, and the initial contact was not a formal pleading: 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a), (d). Identify the initial communication and dates.]

[If an applicable limitations period has expired and the collector sued or threatened suit] The debt became time-barred on [DATE] under [IDENTIFY THE APPLICABLE INDIANA LIMITATION AND ACCRUAL FACTS, INCLUDING IND. CODE § 34-11-2-7(1) OR -9(b)–(c) IF APPLICABLE]. On [DATE], you [FILED / THREATENED] a legal action to collect it. Except for the bankruptcy proof-of-claim provision, 12 C.F.R. § 1006.26(b) prohibits that conduct. Identify any separately false statement about the debt's legal status under 15 U.S.C. § 1692e: [FACTS].

2. Written dispute and validation

[Use this paragraph only if this written dispute is delivered within the applicable validation period; otherwise replace it with a voluntary records request.] The validation period began with your [NOTICE / INITIAL COMMUNICATION] on [DATE], and this written dispute is timely. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b) and 12 C.F.R. § 1006.38(d)(2), cease collection of the disputed debt or disputed portion until you send the verification or judgment required by those provisions, subject to the regulation's duplicate-dispute procedure. [If the original creditor's identity is requested: Please also provide its name and address under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b).]

We request, to evaluate and resolve this matter, the account history, the basis for the balance, the identity of the current creditor, and any assignment records. This is a settlement and information request; it does not assert that every requested record must be provided under § 1692g or Regulation F.

3. Separate Indiana matters

Indiana includes collection or attempted collection by a debt collector within a consumer transaction, and Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-3(b)(20) classifies a supplier's FDCPA violation as a deceptive act. Section 24-5-0.5-4(a) excludes private damages based solely on that category; the Attorney General may enforce it under § 4(c).

[Use only for a separately supported Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act claim.] Apart from any FDCPA-derived § 3(b)(20) act, you [STATE THE SPECIFIC FALSE AFFILIATION, FALSE RIGHTS OR OBLIGATIONS, OR UNLICENSED CONSUMER TRANSACTION] on [DATE]. This independently violates Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-3(a), § 3(b)(7) or (8), or § 24-5-0.5-10(a)(1)(C), as applicable. The actual loss caused by this act is [AMOUNT AND DESCRIPTION]. This paragraph gives written notice of the act and actual damage under § 24-5-0.5-5(a), within the soonest applicable time limit under § 5(a): [SIX MONTHS OF DISCOVERY / ONE YEAR OF TRANSACTION / WARRANTY TIME LIMIT OF AT LEAST THIRTY DAYS]. Please make a written offer that meets § 24-5-0.5-2(a)(6) within thirty days. An accepted offer must be performed within a reasonable time for an act to be cured. [Delete this paragraph if notice is untimely or no independent claim and loss are supported.]

[If a covered collection agency's lack of license is documented] Indiana Secretary of State records dated [DATE] show [FACTS]. [COLLECTOR] conducted a collection agency in Indiana without a license required by Ind. Code § 25-11-1-7(a), and no § 25-11-1-2 exclusion or § 25-11-1-5(d) nonresident incidental-contact exception applies. [State an independent § 24-5-0.5-10(a)(1)(C) claim only if its notice, loss, and other requirements are met.]

[If a plaintiff debt buyer filed an action or arbitration seeking judgment] In [CASE OR ARBITRATION], filed [DATE], you omitted [REQUIRED ATTACHMENT] from the initial pleading required by Ind. Code § 24-5-15.5-5(a). Section 24-5-15.5-6 identifies this as an Attorney General-actionable deceptive act. A threatened filing alone does not trigger that attachment rule.

4. Proposed resolution

The consumer suffered [DESCRIBE ACTUAL LOSS AND SUPPORTING RECORDS]. The FDCPA allows actual damages, discretionary additional damages up to $1,000 in an individual action, and costs and a reasonable attorney's fee in a successful action under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a). A separate qualifying uncured or incurable Indiana deceptive act may support actual damages or $500, whichever is greater, and other relief under Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-4(a), subject to that section's exclusions and conditions.

To settle the identified claims, the consumer offers to resolve them on these terms: [PAYMENT AMOUNT AND DATE], [CREDIT REPORT CORRECTION IF APPROPRIATE], [COLLECTION OR ACCOUNT TREATMENT], and [SCOPE OF RELEASE]. Please respond in writing by [DATE AND TIME] to [ADDRESS OR EMAIL]. The proposed terms are subject to a signed settlement agreement; this letter itself is not a release, an admission that the debt is owed, or a waiver of the written dispute above.

If we cannot resolve this matter, the consumer may pursue available claims in an appropriate court. Please preserve the communications, call records, account records, and credit furnishing records concerning this debt.

Sincerely,

[SIGNATURE]

[NAME AND TITLE]

[ADDRESS / EMAIL / PHONE]

Enclosures: [LIST OR "NONE"]

Delivery record: [METHOD, DATE, TRACKING NUMBER]