There are many debt validation letters floating around on the web that are ridiculous – I used to have one posted on here. Mailing out a debt validation letter (registered mail of course) simply means you are requesting for the collection agency to prove that they have any legal authority to collect on this debt and that you owe it. Found below is a sample debt validation letter of an accused debtors request for validation of debt from a collection agency.
**Disclaimer – Debtprison.net does not administer legal or financial advice. The contents of this website are my opinions on collection agencies and how to deal with them. Nothing on this website should be interpreted as legal advice or council. No opinions on this website should be used to replace the advice of your financial advisor or your legal council.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act doesn’t apply to original creditors such as Bank of America, Citibank, Capital one, and Discover Card. A validation letter is used when the original creditor has sold or assigned the debt to a collection agency. It is important that you make sure this collection agency has the legal right to collect this debt. If they can’t prove they possess the legal right then the debtor doesn’t pay. A debt validation letter will also buy you some time. The collection agency is not allowed to pursue the debt while it is being disputed. See also all of my articles on Collection Agencies. This article was last updated in July of 2009. Other articles at DebtPrison.net you may want to review are:
Get Everything in Writing: Collection Agencies and Their Lies
How to settle your debts on your own
Can you go to jail for not paying your credit card debt
How to deal with collection agencies
The validation process is outlined in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act so you should take the time to read it. In this Act it states that the collection agency is only required to supply you with the name of the original creditor and the amount of the debt. However, if you are sued in civil court by a collection agency, you certainly have the right to request a copy of the original contract (which you signed) that indicates you ever entered into a financial agreement with the creditor. For an example of this defense please see DP reader wins civil suit against collection agency. If they fail to provide this ‘proof’ of contract, the judge will likely dismiss the case. If you have any questions please join the forum. Comments are closed to their high volume.
You should consider requesting Debt Validation in the following circumstances:
The debt is past the Statute of Limitations.
You have no knowledge of the debt.
The dollar amount they claim you owe appears higher than it should.
The debt is disputed (you don’t feel you legally or morally owe it).
The debt is on its second, third, or forth collection company.
The debt is over $1,000.
Bear in mind that unless you are willing to record phone conversations, hire a lawyer, and sue a collection agency… it may prove wise to simply ignore their phone calls and letters. But what if they take me to court to try and acquire a judgment? For a collector to actually file a suit against you in civil court, they are most likely betting that they have the information they need to prove you owe them, or that you are not informed enough to know your rights. For many people who choose to ignore them – the debt gets passed on to another collection agency. Yes they will threaten legal suit, but unless you receive a summons for court, it’s nothing more than a threat.
A collection agencies initial letter to you should indicate the original creditor and the dollar amount you owe. If your name, original creditor, or dollar amount appears incorrect you may want to consider debt validation. However, debt validation is not simply a means of getting out of paying your debts. In fact, a debt validation letter will draw attention to your account. Therefore, if you owe the debt, you may be better off simply ignoring their calls and letters. Whether or not this is a good idea will depend on many factors. You should use debt validation only when necessary. Since you probably don’t know anything about the collection agency… you won’t know if they:
Don’t have legal representation in your state in which to represent the collection agency in civil court.
Don’t have a track record of suing debtors.
Don’t have a track record of winning judgments.
If you plan on long and intensive deliberations with collection agencies you may want to consider purchasing a phone conversation recorder. You want to make sure that it’s legal to record phone conversations in your state. Also, if recording the call I would inform the collector they were being recorded only if my state law requires me to. Twelve states require, under most circumstances, the consent of all parties to a conversation. Those jurisdictions are California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington. Many collection agencies send out a letter to everyone that reads the same. They like to get debtors on the phone so they can intimidate, confuse, lie, manipulate, and harass you into payment. Therefore do not talk to these bill collectors on the phone. If you haven’t received a collection attempt letter and a collector calls you… tell them to hold while you get a pen and paper. Ask for the persons name, company name, and address. You want to write these down so you can investigate their company using google or another internet search engine.
After getting the collector’s name and company, inform him/her that you must receive correspondence from them via mail (they have to mail you a letter defining the debt) and that you are not at liberty to discuss this matter over the phone. Don’t give them your address or any other information over the phone. Tell them you will be awaiting their letter and not to call back. Promptly hang up and don’t speak with them again on the phone. All future correspondence should be via mail. If your only desire is to stop the phone calls you should send a ‘Limited Cease and Desist Letter’. This means you are still permitting them to contact you, however, it is only allowed via mail – no phone calls.
Limited Cease and Desist Letter
Your name
Your address
Beehive Collection Agency
458 St. Claude
Suite 103A
New Orleans, LA 70062
Today’s Date
Re: Account # XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
Dear Collection Representative,
I would like to request, in writing, that no telephone contact be made by your offices to my home or to my place of employment. If your offices attempt telephone communication with me, including but not limited to computer generated calls and calls or correspondence sent to or with any third parties, it will be documented and considered harassment. All future communications with me must be done in writing and sent to the address noted in this letter by USPS.
Best regards,
Your Name
What is Debt Validation?
Debt validation can only be applied to a collection agency - not the original creditor. For example, you have a credit card account with Capital One that is in default. You cannot ask Capital One to validate the debt. This is because you have been essentially receiving validation from them already in the form of monthly billing statements. However, you can and should under the above mentioned circumstances, ask any collection agency or ‘law firm’ to validate the debt in writing (that they claim you owe).
How do you know that this so-called collection agency isn’t actually just a group of scam artists who randomly call people using the phone book. They just keep calling saying that “Yes Mrs. Smith we are a collection agency trying to collect on a debt of $2,000. How soon can you make a payment?” If they are lucky you will volunteer some information, which enhances their story, and now you think a debt with Sears is actively being collected by these folks on the phone. This could never happen could it?
When you ask a collection agency to validate a debt, you are asking them how much money is owed and to whom it is owed. So the collection agency should send you a response letter that would state something like “you owe $2,800. The creditor or original creditor is/was Bank of America. We are representing Bank of America in an effort to collect on this debt.” Often you will receive a similar letter in the first place. This is how collection agencies begin the collection process (collection letter and phone calls).
The validation process
If you receive a phone call from a collection agency you should follow these instructions:
* Deny any knowledge of the debt.
* Grab a pen and write down the name of the collection agency and their address.
* Inform the collector that they will be receiving a validation letter in a few days and not to call back (then hang up immediately). If they call back don’t answer.
* Immediately write this letter and mail it out (snail mail).
* Send the letter as a registered letter so they have to sign for it and you’ll get a receipt showing where they signed for it.
* Paperclip the registered letter receipt to a copy of the letter and never lose it.
Now if they respond to your letter and the information appears to be correct (you honestly owe the money) you should contact the original creditor to verify that they assigned this debt to said collection agency. Or they may tell you that they sold the debt to a collection agency. You want to insure that this collection agency legally possesses the authority to collect on this debt.
Sample Debt Validation letter:
Date
Your Name Address City, State Zip
Debt Collector’s Name Address City, State Zip Re: Account Number
Dear Debt Collector:
I am writing in response to phone call/letter received from you on date xx/xx/xx. Pursuant to my rights under federal debt collection laws, I am requesting that you provide validation of this debt. Note this is not a refusal to pay, but a request that your offices provide me with evidence that I have a legal obligation to pay you.
Sincerely,
Your Name
There’s no need for you to threaten to sue the collection agency or to ask for a long list of crap that they aren’t required to provide for you under the FDCPA. Their failure to provide you with a long list will not make you judgment proof when you stand in front of a judge. However, you can request a copy of the original contract with your signature. You can wait until the day of court to pull this ace from your sleeve if you’d like, since most lawyers representing the collection agency likely won’t have a copy of the original contract on them the day of court. This can postpone their case or their failure to produce such a contract can result in the case being thrown out by the judge. Much will depend on the judge and his interpretation of the facts and your character. Or you can request a copy of such contract in your intial debt validation letter. This will let the collection agency know that you know your rights and won’t be a ‘roll-over’ debtor who simply coughs up cash.
After you receive the collectors response letter
If you further wish to dispute the debt write another letter immediately. If you’d like you can basically repeat the first letter, but state that this is the second time you have asked them to validate and their initial response was insufficient and the debt is still disputed “please provide me with the following information.” Tell them they have 30 days to respond to this letter or their claim will be considered invalid.
Or you may actually not owe the money. In this case immediately respond stating that their claim is disputed “you do not owe the money because etc, etc…” Then explain that they should dismiss this claim entirely and not report it to credit reporting bureaus. Failure to comply will result in you filing suit against their company. Send this letter registered, print an extra copy, and paperclip the receipt to the copy. Save these items – never lose them. When I say never I mean never. Keep em locked up tight.
If the collection agency fails to properly validate the debt after two request I would write a letter like the following:
Beehive Collection Agency
458 St. Claude
Suite 103A
New Orleans, LA 70062
Today’s Date
Re: Account # XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
Dear Collection Representative,
Not only is this debt legally disputed, but you have been unable to validate this debt as described under the FDCPA. Therefore, I obviously do not owe you any money of any kind. I would like to request, in writing, that no telephone contact be made by your offices to my home or to my place of employment. If your offices attempt telephone communication with me, including but not limited to computer generated calls and calls or correspondence sent to or with any third parties, it will be documented and considered harassment. I also expect all collection letters of any kind to promptly end. As my rights indicate under the law, I have the right to demand you stop harassing me about this bogus debt. This includes all phone calls and letters. Any further communication with me, will be documented, and forwarded to the FTC as well as your State Attorney General. Please note that this letter is being sent to you registered mail. I am keeping a copy of this letter with the return receipt attached.
Best regards,
Your Name
Remember – if you feel intimidated by this process and have some change to spare, go visit a local lawyer in your town who you trust. Ask for one hour of legal counseling and make sure to speak with a lawyer who specializes in civil court cases.
Often the Debt Validation Letter will result in the collection agency dropping the claim or selling it to another collection agency (because they can’t properly validate the debt). If they drop the claim that should be the end of it. Or they may sell the debt to another collection agency and this process starts all over again. If they report incorrect information to the credit reporting bureaus go online to the websites of Experian, Transunion, and Equifax. Follow the instructions for filing a dispute. You would want to see the outcome of this dispute before seeking legal counsel.
If you have any questions or comments just drop me a line below. Remember that the best way to handle collection agencies is to read the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and continue reading online about other’s personal experiences. Take care and I hope this article helps!
A Debt Validation Letter for a debt you do not owe
Collection Agency Name
Street Address
City, State, Zip Code
Re: Dispute of Alleged Collection Amount
Account: Account Number
Amount: Dollar Amount
Creditor: Name of Original Creditor
Attention: Account Manager
It has been brought to my attention that you are attempting to collect on an account that is in legal dispute. Therefore, please consider this response as my legal dispute and request for you under public law 95-109, 15 USC 1692g. S 809 to obtain verification of this alleged debt or a copy of a judgment against me. I furthermore request the name and address of the original creditor stating that this alleged liability is mine so that civil action can be implemented to resolve this erroneous accusation, if necessary.
Any further attempt to collect and/or continue to falsely report this disputed information on my personal credit file without complying to the above stated provisions will be deemed as non-compliance and you will be held liable under 15 USC 1692 (k) (civil liability) to one or more of the following:
All actual damage sustained by a consumer as a result of such failure;
(A) Included above, additional damages allowed by the court, not exceeding $1,000; or
If a class action is filed, such amount for each named plaintiff, recovered under subparagraph (A) of the stated Title, and an amount not to exceed the lesser of $500,000 or 1 per centum of the net worth of the debt collector; and
All cost accrued by the consumers’ successful action to enforce the foregoing liability, along with attorney’s fee.
It is my intention to resolve your inaccurate reporting of this activity contained on my file amiably. However, rest assured I would pursue all legal rights therein to resolve this matter.
If this liability is proven to be due, it is my intention to retire it immediately. I look forward to your response within the next 30 days. Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Your Address
Debt Validation Letter for bogus Medical Service
Your Name
Your Address
Name of Collection Agency
Collection Agency Address
RE: (Original Creditor)
Account#: (put acct # here)
Amount Due: (dollar amount here)
Dear Collection Representative,
I have recently been made aware of an account that has been placed with your office for collections. Please be advised that I am unaware of ever having an account with the above mentioned creditor and dispute its validity. Therefore, please provide me with a copy of the itemization along with any documents I personally signed which would in any way obligate my responsibility for payment. I expect that this information will be sent to me within the next 30 days. If you fail to send the requested information within this timeframe, I will assume that this account will be deleted from all credit files will all credit reporting agencies and all collection efforts will cease.
I look forward to hearing from you so we may resolve this matter amicably.
Best regards,
Your Name
Here’s a follow up debt validation letter after 30 days have passed
Your Name
Your Address
Name of Collection Agency
Collection Agency Address
Attention: Collection Manager
RE: (Original Creditor)
Account#: (put acct # here)
Amount Due: (dollar amount here)
Dear Collection Representative,
This letter is to inform you that it has been over 30 days since my initial request for documentation (see enclosure) of validation for this account. As of this date I still have not received the information requested. Furthermore, I have been informed by the credit reporting agencies that your company continues to confirm this account as correct and owing. As you have not followed through with my previous request, I assume this account will now be removed from my credit report, as the law requires. Furthermore, please be advised that if you do not remove this account and notify me immediately in writing of your actions, I will not only file a formal complaint with the FTC, but also with the Office of Consumer Affairs and possibly seek legal counsel to determine what other actions I may take.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Your Name
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