How to Challenge the Validity of a Debt

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Find any information you have in your own records about the supposed debt.

   You may not have anything, but if you do, you may be able to use it to your advantage down the road.
   
   This includes purchase agreements, statements and other pieces of information you have in reference to the alleged debt.
2. 2

   Step 2: Draft a debt validation letter to the collection agency.

   You must do this within 30 days of the original letter you received from the agency or else you will lose your chance to dispute the debt.
   
   This letter should outline your requests for proof of the debt.
   
   You can ask for proof that the collection agency does in fact hold the debt now, a statement regarding how much principal you owe plus any fees and interest that have been added and a copy of the contract you originally signed saying you will be responsible for payment of the debt.
   
   Also request contact information for the original creditor so you can call or write to them if necessary. , It's wise to send it certified so you know who received the letter and when; request that a return receipt be sent to you. , Look up your state's laws on how these agencies are licensed as well as the specific laws on how the agency may go about collecting debts.
   
   If they are in violation of any of these laws, report them to the state and send them a letter stating that they are in violation and should not contact you again. , If they can validate the debt, you may have to pay it or risk damage to your credit.
   
   If you can prove that the debt has already been paid and the collection agency is misinformed, send copies of your own paperwork to back up your story and request that they remove the item from your credit report promptly.
   
   If they cannot provide proof that you owe the debt, write another letter telling them they could not validate your debt and do not have any legal right to attempt to collect this debt from you, and thus they need to remove the listing from your credit report.
   
   Notify the credit bureaus of this fact if the company still reports that you owe the debt.
   
   You can also add a statement to your credit report, explaining the situation to future creditors.
   
   If the company does not respond to you at all, draft a letter stating that they are in violation of federal law and that they do not have any right to try to collect the debt.
   
   Send a copy of your return receipt and a copy of your validation letter along with this new letter as proof that you previously contacted them and they did not respond within the allowed time frame.
   
   Request that they remove the debt from your credit report promptly.
3. 3

   Step 3: Send your letter to the debt collection company.

4. 4

   Step 4: Research debt collection laws while you are waiting for a response from the agency.

5. 5

   Step 5: Evaluate the response you get from the collection agency.

Detailed Guide

About the Author