I apologize, I didn't realize she was disputing the debt altogether. In that case, I would agree with Angella.

mmm... nope. It is not useless. A collection agency is not permitted to contact you in any way shape or form if you state the debt is in dispute and you wish the creditor to sue you. In fact, they must cease any and all collections action.

I would say more like:

To whom it may concern:

This letter is to inform you that I have no outstanding debt with Zellers, The Bay, HBC or any of its affiliates. If the original creditor believes I do, they will have to take me to court to obtain a judgement as I deny the existence of said debt.

You may not contact me with regards to this matter at any time or in any way now or in the future.

Sincerely.

I do agree with faxing as proof it went successfully.

As they arn't going to sue you, mentioning anything about it is just pointless.

As for a cease and desist letter, it can say the following:

To whom it may concern,

I am informing all employees of MJR Collections and MJR Capital that a cease and desist is now being placed on any and all accounts you may have of mine now and in the future. All further communication in regards to this account shall be sent via registered mail.

Sincerely,

Getting Somewhere ;)

Just remember so sign, date and include the MJR and/or original account numbers. I would suggest faxing it, this way you can keep the fax transmission reports as proof that it was sent successfully.

You can send a letter, registered, telling them not to phone you about this debt.

Better yet, you can send a letter indicating that there is no outstanding debt with Zellers, The Bay, HBC or any of its affiliates and that if the original creditor wishes to receive payment on this debt, they must sue you. Forbid the collection agency to contact you in any way shape or form until this occurs.

JamieDude,

Sorry for the late reply....I have a ton of crap going on in my life right now.

I really appreciate your quick reply and helpful advice. I'm wondering how I go about acquiring a Cease & Desist letter? Through a lawyer?...Or is this something I can create on my own?

I have had no previous dealings with these sorts of matters and could really use some specific advice as to what exactly to write and if I need to get a specific form letter from somewhere.

Thanks so much for the help.

P.S. MJR are still calling and talking about lawyers....Just trying to scare me?

Can you believe I had the same phone call today.... This was a debt that was from 1995. She couldn't tell me what company it was with. Since then I have been through Credit counsellors and COMPLETED the program.. and cleaned up my credit and JUST re-established my credit last year. The only thing I could remember was a 250$ debt from Petro Canada... That has now grown to over 1000.00$... I can honestly say I was not Nice.. and had a few choice words. I told them that I would see them in court. I haven't even received a letter from them... I can't believe that these people can call and put you on hold when you answer the phone... I think I was more upset at the fact I sat and waited 10 min for that call... There should be something done about this. I think the company was Fargo? Can you believe they asked me what I was getting so upset over...... I am still really mad... and Frustrated... I took care of business and now have awesome credit.

Hudson's Bay. This company is done for anyways.

Are you sure they are claiming that the original creditor is still Zellers (HBC)? MJR doesn't have either as one of their clientele. No creditor will hold onto a debt this long, and I can guarantee you that it has been sold to a debt purchasing company such as Genesis Financial or it could have even been purchased by MJR Capital, which is MJR's own debt purchasing division.

First off, this debt is passed it's statute of limitation -- they won't (can't) sue you. Also, because of the age of the account, it will no longer be shown on your credit bureau. Quite honestly, I wouldn't sorry a bit about this account. What you can do, is fax MJR a cease and desist letter, claiming that this account is stats barred and that you don't need redundant phone calls explaining it to several different agents.

For more info on MJR Capital check out this website: http://www.mjrcapital.com/

Hi Everyone. I'm a newbie here.

A couple days ago I received a letter in the mail from MJR Collection Services in Mississauga, Ontario. They claim that I owe Hudson's Bay Company $1,611.29. The letter states legal action will be taken against me if I do not pay this amount in the next 7 days.

I called the collection officer a couple of times and finally spoke with him today. I told him that the last time I had a Zeller's card (not an HBC card as he states it is) was at least 11 years ago and I paid the amount that was owing then. I went to the store and paid cash and got a receipt. I distinctly remember doing so because afterward I cut up the card.

I lived at this residence for at least another year, and during that time I never received another statement, and never received a phone call saying that I owed any money. Since then I have moved 7 different times. I no longer have that receipt confirming that I paid. Why would I?

After explaining all this, the collections agent confirmed the address I was living at when I paid this bill, confirmed my SIN number, and I confirmed my birthday because it was a month off.

He suggested that I didn't pay it, bad memory, etc, and the amount back then was $487.69. I remember paying it. Case closed as far as I'm concerned. I asked why the hell they waited 11 years to contact me?...He had no answer. He offered me a settlement of $645.

I can't prove I paid it. My questions are as follows:

Do they have any legal standing to collect, or take me to court after waiting 11 years?

My debt obviously cleared after 7 years because I have good credit.

What are my options here?

I told him since I know I paid it back then and it's been 11 years with no contact from them, I am not paying it. No way in hell!

I was courteous, and so was he, and I told him I wanted to investigate this on my own and I will get back to him. He gave me the original file and description number, and said pretty much my only course of action would be to contact HBC directly, but he doubted that would do anything.

I've done some research through links I found in some other posts here, but I'm not understanding the legal mumbo jumbo.

I need some straight up basic advice and knowledge of what my rights are. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.