Are You Being Hassled By Collection Agencies?

Posted on February 17, 2008
Filed Under debt |

If you are being harrassed by collection agencies, there are a few things you need to know to fight back. How do you know whether to make a payment to the original creditor or to the collection agency? How do you know whether they even have the right to collect or negotiate your debt?

The very first thing that you need to do is have the collection agency validate the debt. According to the FTC, the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act(FDCPA) requires that a collection agency send you written notice of the amount of the debt, the original creditor and notice that if you dispute the debt in writing they will provide validation. According to the FTC’s report, this is the second most frequent complaint that they receive.

If you dispute the debt, they MUST CEASE trying to collect the debt until they provide you with written verification of the debt. This verification can be the original contract that you signed or the contract between the original creditor and the collection agency. You can also request an account statement that shows what charges the collection agency is charging you versus what the original creditor charged.

In addition to not being allowed to try to collect the debt, they are also not allowed to report the debt to a credit bureau or to sue you for the debt. All of these actions are in violation of the FDCPA. You can read more about the FDCPA here in the Fair Debt Collection pamphlet for consumers.

In order to request validation or verification of a debt, you will need to write a letter to the collection agency regarding this particular debt and request that they validate it. While talking to them on the phone is not recommended, you may have to do so in order to get an address. More and more frequently, collection agencies are not sending any written notice or bill to you at all.

The Credit Infocenter’s Do It Yourself Guide has some of the best information on steps to take, sample letters and the law itself. The following is a letter from the Credit Infocenter’s forum on Debt Validation:

Creditor Name
Creditor Address

Re: Acct # xxxxxxxx
To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is being sent to you in response to a letter from you dated ________, to inform you that I am requesting validation of this debt.

This is NOT a request for “verification” or proof of my mailing address, but a request for VALIDATION. I am requesting that you validate this debt according to the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.

Please provide me with the following:

*What the money you say I owe is for;
*Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe;
*Provide me with copies of any papers that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe;
*Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable;
*Identify the original creditor;
*Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account
*Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state
*Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent

If your offices are able to provide the proper documentation as requested, I will require at least 30 days to investigate this information and during such time all collection activity must cease and desist.Also during this validation period, if any action is taken which could be considered detrimental to any of my credit reports, I will consult with my legal counsel for suit. This includes any listing any information to a credit reporting repository that could be inaccurate or invalidated or verifying an account as accurate when in fact there is no provided proof that it is.

If your offices fail to respond to this validation request within 30 days from the date of your receipt, all references to this account must be deleted and completely removed from my credit file and a copy of such deletion request shall be sent to me immediately.

I would also 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 considered harassment and I will have no choice but to file suit. All future communications with me MUST be done in writing and sent to the address noted in this letter by USPS.

It would be advisable that you assure that your records are in order before I am forced to take legal action. This is an attempt to correct your records, any information obtained shall be used for that purpose.

Sincerely,

Your Name

You should send any Debt Validation letters certified mail, return receipt requested.

After you send it to them, you should send a copy to the credit bureau stating that the debt is being disputed. The Collection Agency has 30 days to respond and if they don’t all negative information reported by them has to be removed.

The book that has helped me in negotiating my debt settlements is called Good Credit is Sexy and it can be purchased here. Order the Book!

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Comments

One Response to “Are You Being Hassled By Collection Agencies?”

Negotiating Debt Settlement With a Collection Agency | Oh My Aching Debts on February 20th, 2008 8:42 am

[...] Most collection agencies buy packages of loans that are in default for pennies on the dollar. They are bound by a different set of rules than the original creditor and there are differences in the way that you should negotiate with them. The first step is to have them validate the debt and you can read about how to do that and what it means in my post on Are You Being Hassled by a Collection Agency. [...]

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