Good question... I dunno what is the right answer. I'll do some research in Google and get back to you if I bump into an useful answer. You should email the people at Lending Tree as they probably could assist you..

Is there a reason why your not paying this debt?.

You owe them money, OF course they can use a collection agency to collect there money...

Send me the 5000 bucks you owe me today...

Now I agree with the others that if you are not paying your obligations then why not? On the other hand, if you have simply vacated a premises outside the terms of a lease agreement and the Landlord, Property Management company is getting greedy then why not attack this from the otherside?.

So for what reason did you break the lease? Was there a problem for which the management comapny/landlord could be held liable? There are laws that are designed to protect renters as well as the landlord..

Just curious, did the landlord give you a written statement or accounting of all fees due within 30-days of your vacating the residence? In many states (Texas in my case) this is a requirement which property managers rarely follow, instead simply forwarding a letter stating that you owe $XXX.XX dollars and failure to pay... etc. etc.!.

If this is the case, depending on the laws in your state, you may be entitled to damages (between $300 up to $1000 dollars in Texas) for each violation. You should either contact a lawyer for a consultation or go to the law libraray near your local court house and do some research to see what other statutes the landlord/property manager might have overlooked. It just might turn out that the amount of damages to which you are entitled may outweigh the amount that the CA is trying to collect and you can then get a lawyer to negotiate a zero sum settlement to that extent which could include calling of the CA and deleting derogatory information...

<< a*Be specific in your second letter in what "complete" means i.e., a detailed accounting statement showing all credits and debits to the account, proof of their state license number to collect in your state (If your state so requires), original documents that prove you are responsible for this debt.>>.

WILL TOO WIN.

[Color= Orange][/color].

Will here Is a better way 2 win..

1* Send VAL. Letter.

2*Send estoppel.

3*Send intent to sue..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.

A*You don't need to help them Validate by doing all this. It's their place to know the laws they are required to follow..

Steps 1* 2* & 3* above takes care of this nicely so just go with them..

LB 59..