Library Failed to Extort Me - Thanks for all the support!

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
send them a "drop dead" letter via certified mail
if they persist after that, sue them in small claims court for violating the fair Debt Collection Practices Act

this is all your letter needs to say

(Date)

To Whom It May Concern:

I have been contacted by your company about a debt you allege I owe. I am instructing you not to contact me further in connection with this debt. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a federal law, you may not contact me further once I have notified you not to do so.

Sincerely,

(Name)

(Account No.)

Congratulations on reading the thread.

 

[KillyKillall]

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: FoBoT
send them a "drop dead" letter via certified mail
if they persist after that, sue them in small claims court for violating the fair Debt Collection Practices Act

this is all your letter needs to say

(Date)

To Whom It May Concern:

I have been contacted by your company about a debt you allege I owe. I am instructing you not to contact me further in connection with this debt. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a federal law, you may not contact me further once I have notified you not to do so.

Sincerely,

(Name)

(Account No.)

Congratulations on reading the thread.

HAHAH...too true MrChad. You beat me too it.

Fobot, that would result in a valid charge still being applied to my credit history if it was proven as valid and within the AZ Statute of Limitations. Please read back to see the letter that was sent to them yesterday.

To answer some other questions:

-No, I'm not in school at the U of A. Actually, I never was. I went to a community school in the Tucson area and was writing a paper for them. As you can imagine, the University has a better library and more books.
-I don't know the titles of the books, but I'm assuming they're the 5-6 books I checked out on analysis of Franz Kafka's "The Hunger Artist."
-I have not had a chance to get down to the library at this point and look for the books myself.

 

[KillyKillall]

The credit agency/library has not responded to my letter yet. They have a few more days until all of this is thrown out the window. I'm feeling pretty good right now.

 

[amddude]

Great story, especially if you are victorious.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: knightc2
I work in a public library. We have a tough time getting people to return items all the time. We often do send sheriff letters and will occasionally send people to small claims court to recover damages. Books can be expensive and usually it is the rare, expensive or in demand items that end up missing. In your case it does sound rather fishy that all of the books you say you returned came up missing. I am not saying you did not return them, but it would be very unlikely that all of them did not get checked in accidentally. There are of course computer glitches and human error that do cause problems. I am not defending the lady at the library, but she is probably bitchy because she has to deal with deadbeats all the time and assumes that you are no different than all the other idiots she has to deal with.

Do you know anyone that works at the library? See if they can look at the books in question and see if they have been checked out at any time since they were supposed to be returned. This would certainly clear your name.

We are very reasonable with people and often give them the benefit of the doubt. We will work with people on fines and lost book charges as well. I don't know why this lady didn't propose to make some sort of deal with you. I do know that they have you by the balls though. I am surprised that they didn't put blocks on your grade reports/credits I know that when I was in college they wouldn't allow me to graduate or even get credit for classes if I owed over a certain amount at the library. And why did they not send you any notices in the last four years? That is quite strange. And how do you prove that you returned them? You don't get receipts when you return books at most librarys. Anyway, let us know how this turns out. Good luck.

hm what happens if you had a fine and a notice and returned all the books late and never went back to pay the fine? does it go away after a while? i never went back to check

 

[KillyKillall]

hm what happens if you had a fine and a notice and returned all the books late and never went back to pay the fine? does it go away after a while? i never went back to check

They have a certain amount of time legally to put it on your credit or attempt to collect. It varies by state. If it is beyond that time period, they can't put it on your credit history and they can't attempt to collect it legally - although they will still try unless you put them in line. The time period varies by state.

 

[flexy]

you seem not 100% positive you actually returned them - otherwise you wouldnt need to look around and make sure they're not in your posession anymore. But...i am just assuming you DID...but it would be better you knew for a fact

You might wanna consider the option to purchase those books (amazon, used, etc...) for the sake of your credit-score and if you dont wanna go thru all that legal BS and return them.

Also..the option to check whether those books have been checked out in the 5 years is the most obvious one....if they found their way back in the library they MUST have been checked out a few times for sure.....and there should be records ?!

 

[isekii]

if i were you, i'd go back to the univ library and search for them.

they should have the list of books that you checked out with the call numbers and what not.

if you find even a couple there, that's should be more than proof enough that you returned it.

 

[KillyKillall]

Well..it's been over 30 days since they have received the validation letter which means they can no longer try to sue me for this or try to collect (legally).

SCORE FOR THE LITTLE MAN!

 

[DurocShark]

Originally posted by: KillyKillall
Well..it's been over 30 days since they have received the validation letter which means they can no longer try to sue me for this or try to collect (legally).

SCORE FOR THE LITTLE MAN!

:thumbsup:


Now about that Karma Sutra book you borrowed back in 02...

 

[Kelvrick]

You should call up the head of collections again and start taunting her.

 

[SVT Cobra]

Congrats!

 

[Brainonska511]

Congrats!

 

[Babbles]

Congrats!

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Kelvrick
You should call up the head of collections again and start taunting her.

Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!

 

[altonb1]

Congrats on beating the system, you deadbeat book thief...

 

[Eli]

Something tells me the letter won't be the end of it...

 

[Pacfanweb]

How the hell is anyone ever supposed to prove they returned books, anyway? Not like they give you a receipt.

 

[chambersc]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
How the hell is anyone ever supposed to prove they returned books, anyway? Not like they give you a receipt.

I agree.

 

[KillyKillall]

Originally posted by: Eli
Something tells me the letter won't be the end of it...

If not, I get to sue them for harassment and make a lot more than those books are worth. It would be illegal at this point and considered fraud.