Debt validation: your rights with a debt collector

How to ask a collector to prove a debt, and why the first 30 days matter.

The validation notice

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a collector must send you a validation notice, generally within five days of first contacting you. It lists the amount, the creditor, and how to dispute.

Dispute within the validation period

If you dispute the debt in writing within the validation period (about 30 days, shown on the notice), the collector must stop collecting until it sends you verification of the debt.

What to write

Keep it short: identify the account, say you dispute the debt, and ask for verification and the name and address of the original creditor. Send it by certified mail and keep a copy.

Credit reports

A collector that knows a debt is disputed must report it as disputed if it reports to the bureaus. You can also dispute inaccurate collection information directly with the bureaus.

Who the law covers

The FDCPA covers collection agencies and debt buyers that collect personal, family, or household debt. It generally does not cover the original creditor collecting its own debt in its own name, and it does not cover business debt.

What collectors cannot do

A collector may not harass you, call at unusual times (generally before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.), contact you at work if your employer does not allow it, discuss your debt with most other people, lie about the amount or legal status of a debt, or threaten actions it cannot or does not intend to take.

Asking a collector to stop contacting you

You can send a written request that a collector stop contacting you. After it receives the request, it may contact you only to say it is ending collection or that a specific remedy may be used. This does not erase the debt, and the creditor or collector can still take other steps, so asking for verification first is often wiser if you are not sure the debt is yours.

If a collector breaks the rules

You generally have one year from the violation to bring a case under the FDCPA. You can also complain to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or your state attorney general, or talk with a consumer protection attorney.

Do both in CreditIQ AI

From any collection account in your file, CreditIQ AI drafts a written dispute with a verification request, or a request to stop contact. You can enter the date you received the collector's notice so the app tracks your 30-day deadline. You review and approve every word, then mail it yourself or have it mailed certified.