Here is my situation in a nut shell (Sorry, I tried to make it as brief as possible)-

I have an outstanding debt of $430 for an ambulance bill from the fall of 2003. I was told at the time, by the police on the scene, that I would not be responsible for the bill, it would be dealt with by the city. (long story).

Fast forward to spring of 2008. More financially stable, I checked my credit reports (CR) for the 1st time since 2002. I discovered the debt of $430. I had no idea what it was for, thought it was a mistake. I called the collection agency (CA) listed on my CR and they gave me the name of the original creditor and the date of incident. Then I remembered what it was for. I tried to contact the city to get them to deal with it and/or to settle directly. I got the run around for days, everyone saying to deal w/the CA.

So, I contacted the CA again, by phone, and they basically said pay now. After asking what address they had listed for me in their records, it turns out that they had the wrong address!! It was off by a couple of digits, e.g. 2171 23rd St. vs. 2175 21st St., and I'm sure that is why I never received a bill. (my address was given to the EMTs by the cops off of my I.D., not by me personally) I told them I never received a bill and I would send them payment right now if they would just delete the trade line. The agent said, and I quote: " It is not our fault that you don't know where you live. We don't remove trade lines. Pay now before we seek judgement against you." Very rude man. I said I would get back to them.

At this point, I had never dealt w/a CA before, but I had heard (and just experienced 1st hand) that they were shifty. So, I spent the next week reading online about CAs and the correct steps to take to settle debts, validate, etc.

On March 3rd, 2008, I received my 1st collection letter in response to an online dispute of the CAs trade line on Experian. 2 days later, I sent the CA a debt validation letter (DVL) certified mail, along with the honest explanation of why I had never made good on this debt, due to the bad address and the bad info from the cops.

That was seven months ago and I have not heard word one from the CA and their trade line is still on my CR.

So, should I send another DVL to them? Or should I just leave it be and wait for them to get back to me? I have read the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Debt Reporting Act and it doesn't really provide a straight answer for my unique situation. According to the FDCPA, a CA has to validate, if requested, within 30 days of first contact with the debtee. But in my case, they probably sent out a ton of debt collection letters to the wrong address, so is MY 1st contact w/them legally considered the 1st? Or is it the 1st letter they sent to me at the bad address, years ago?

I am hoping someone out there has had a similar experience and can help me out and/or understands the laws governing debt collection better than I do. Thanks for reading my long winded story. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!