Howard Lee Schiff collects debt in the normal course of business. They do sue in order to collect from people. How common is it for the firm to transfer a paying account to another law firm? It is not common for debt collectors to transfer a paying collection file, and less so if you are a debt collection law firm like Schiff. Having said that, it is not unheard of.
I am glad you were able to come to an agreement to settle with the attorney collecting for the Schiff firm, and it sounds like you will not have to try to negotiate anything different than what was already outlined in court.
Now that your collection account is with Lustig, Glaser and Wilson.
The Howard Schiff firm may have transferred your account to Lustig Glaser and Wilson for a few reasons. It could have occurred because of Schiff proactively moving files in certain geographic areas, or some other form of work load and file management. Citibank may have wanted to move collection accounts (debt buyers do this too). There are other reasons for your debt being transferred.
What to do now, and should you request the debt be validated by Lustig, Glaser & Wilson?
You have the letter inviting you to call Lustig Glaser and talk about the transfer. You could start with that. If you are not confident that you are paying the correct debt collector, you can send a validation request in writing, or request that from them on the phone too (I prefer debt validation request be in writing).
You can call the Howard Lee Schiff firm and speak to them about the transfer. Even though they wrote to you and stated as much, some of us just feel better talking to someone about stuff like this.
You can call the account owner, which may or may not be Citibank at this point (even judgment debts get sold), and confirm that Howard Schiff legitimately transferred your collection account to Lustig Glaser.
Unfair and Deceptive Collection account transfer.
Nothing you have shared with me suggests anything unfair or deceptive from either collection firm. Both of the firms wrote to you to let you know what is going on. It would have been nice to get the transfer letter directly from the owner of the account, whether Citibank or a debt buyer, but there is often no requirement for that in this type of thing, at least not yet (I hope there will be this time next year).
I would call Lustig Glaser and Wilson and ask what there policy is for sending a confirmation letter that the debt is paid after they process your final payment. That letter is not always going to be sent out. If it is not their policy to send them, there is nothing deceptive about that (not yet). You can request one from them. Let me know what they say in the comments below.
It appears as though you want to pay off the debt earlier than scheduled. I would bring that up with them on the phone as well. I would want to make sure there is a note in my file at the firm. Of course, this is after you confirm that every thing is legit, and that Howard Lee Schiff indeed transferred the collection account to their collection firm, and that the amounts Lustig says is owed is consistent with your settlement agreement with Schiff, etc.
Anyone with question about Howard Lee Schiff collecting a debt, or Lustig Glaser and Wilson for that matter, or even how collection accounts you are paying on can be transferred or sold, is welcome to post in the comment below for feedback.
- JC:
12 Jun 2015 Thanks for your reply. My biggest concern was that I was almost paid off and the balance due to Schiff was 1 final payment of around 350.00 When I got the letter from the Lustig law office, they wrote that the balance due on the account was 4995.00 I called Schiff, they confirmed the account is no longer handled there and gave me Lustig phone number. When I asked to be xferred to extension of atty whom I settled with, Schiff rep refused to xfer my call. Fortunately I had her cell # and she took my call. She said that settlement should still be honored by Lustig and she acknowledged the payments were recorded. I felt better and then called Lustig and spoke with person who had my info and only indicated they did in fact receive the payment from Schiff and they said balance was 4995.00 and they had no other info since it was new in their office. I told that person I would be requiring DV and would send letter to that fact. I stated they would also receive cease and decist requiring only written communication. I only acknowledged having a settlement agreement with Schiff and they were responsible for obtaining those documents and I have no obligation to them until they provide me with the confirmation of original settlement agreement and balance amount. I plan to send them the letters and include a copy of my settlement agreement. If they do not respond with the correct final payment amount as requested, I plan to send the final payment as scheduled along with a copy of the settlement agreement with tracking to Schiff so as not to miss the payment. I'll let them forward to Lustig and I'll have complied with all the terms of my written agreement and have proof of payment to challenge Lustig in case they try to collect on some other grounds. - Michael Bovee:
12 Jun 2015 That is not necessarily how I would go about it. If it were me, I would not send the final payment of the settlement agreement to Howard Lee Schiff, but to Lustig Glaser and Wilson. I would do this because it could be argued that you were aware the file had been transferred to another firm. You received that confirmation from the attorney at the Schiff firm. I would then file a debt collection complaint against Lustig Glaser and Wilson with the CFPB for attempting to demand payment and a collection amount in excess of an agreed upon settlement with the prior debt collector. I might even file that complaint before the payment is due, while still making the payment. If you do file the collection complaint, be sure to be thorough with dates, times, names of people you spoke to, and upload all pertinent documents. The CFPB is currently considering a set of broader rules for the debt collection industry. Part of that may involve attorney debt collectors. Your situation could certainly point to how attorneys must be held to any new standards of collection, as adding over four thousand dollars to a collection file arbitrarily could easily meet later unfair and deceptive standards. - JC:
12 Jun 2015 Good idea, I have enough supporting documentation regarding settlement agreement and payments. I will go that route. Thanks. I'll let you know how it goes.