Debt collectors may not take every action that they see fit when collecting a debt. They must follow the rules and regulations as they are written in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). According to the FDCPA, debt collectors must provide an initial communication with debtors from whom they intend to collect a debt unless the debt has already been paid. This means that they must send these debtors a document to inform them of the following data:
1. The amount that is owed
2. The creditor’s name
3. The declaration that the consumer has 30 days after receiving the written communication to dispute the debt or the amount of the debt. If this does not occur, the debt collector may consider the debt to be correct and that the consumer owes the debt to the creditor
4. The debt collector must inform the consumer that if the consumer denies owing the debt or disagrees with the amount within 30 days of receipt of the initial communication, the debt collector will provide proof from the creditor. If the creditor has obtained a court judgment, the debt collector will provide this for the consumer by mail
5. The debt collector must inform the consumer that it will provide the consumer with the creditor’s name and address in the event that the current creditor is not the original creditor. The consumer is only required to ask for this information, and the debt collector must send it if it was requested within the 30-day period
Consumers who communicate with debt collectors within the 30-day period have the right to dispute that they owe the debt; they may also dispute the amount that the debt collector claims they owe. Within this time, consumers may ask for the original creditor’s name and address. During this time, debt collectors may not proceed with their collections efforts of the disputed debt amount whether the consumer is disputing a portion or all of the debt. Collections activities may not resume until the debt collector receives one of the following:
1) Verification from the creditor that the debt is owed
2) A judgment issued by the court
3) The original creditor’s name and address
The debt collectors must mail the document in question to the consumer before any debt collections practices may begin. If the consumers do not dispute the debt or claim that the amount owed is incorrect, debt collectors may begin collecting the debt during the first 30 days after informing the consumer that the debt is owed. They may communicate with the consumers during this time only if they have not received written communication from them that they dispute the debt, the amount owed or that they asked for the original creditor’s name and address. If the debt collectors begin collections activities during the 30-day time period, they are not allowed to perform these actions in a way that conflicts with the consumers’ rights to dispute owing the debt or a part of it or their request for the creditor’s name and address.
If the consumers do not communicate with the debt collectors within the 30-day period, this will not mean in a court of law that the consumers have consented to owing the debt.
The debt collectors are required to inform the consumers that they owe a debt and that the debt collectors will be making attempts to collect it in an initial communication. The debt collectors cannot consider any communication from the court concerning a civil lawsuit as the initial communication.
Initial communication also will not be any document that was not sent as required by the Internal Revenue Service Code of 1986 under title V of Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act or any other document required by the state or the federal government regarding breaches in security or data.
Consumers who would like to dispute their debts or any part of them may use the letter below as a template for writing their own. The best practice is to send this letter by certified mail.
Consumer’s Name
Consumer’s Address
Consumer’s City, State and Zip Code
Debt Collector’s Name
Debt Collector’s Address
Debt Collector’s City, State and Zip Code
The Date
Re: The Account Number
To Whom It May Concern:
You are receiving this letter in response to the letter I received from you on (the date you received the letter). This letter is being sent to you according to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809(b) disputing what you stated in your initial communication and requests that you provide validation of the debt.
This letter requests that you provide validation for the debt that you claim is owed. As is written in the FDCPA, it is within my rights to ask that you verify this debt. This means that I am asking that you prove this debt is owed by me and that you demonstrate that the debt is correct.
Please send me the following documents when you reply to this letter:
1. The documentation you have that authorizes you to collect the alleged debt on behalf of the creditor
2. The document the debtor signed agreeing to pay the creditor
3. Any documents showing the payments that were made on this account that verify the amount owed
In the event that your office does not respond to this request within 30 days of receipt of this document, it will be your obligation to remove this debt and all reference to it from my credit reports. Under the FDCPA, you are required to immediately mail me the copies of each debt deletion request.
I also request that your offices refrain from contacting me at my home by telephone. According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, it is my right to ask this of you. If you need to contact me in the future, you may do so by writing to the address that has been provided above.
I suggest that you confirm that all of your documents are correct or else I will have no choice but to initiate legal action against you.
Thank you,
Consumer’s Signature
Consumer’s Name
