The following "validation" letter has been floating around cyberspace for years. In some cases, it might work and a debt collector will cease collections and no longer contact a consumer. However, any debt collector who knows just a little bit about the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) knows that the information and requests in the letter are NOT supported by either law or court rulings.
Anyone who suggests you send that letter does not understand the FDCPA and has not researched court rulings.
To Whom It May Concern:
This letter is being sent to you in response to a notice sent to me on ___________(the date the consumer received the collection letter). Be advised that this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (B) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested.
This is NOT a request for “verification” or proof of my mailing address, but a request for VALIDATION made pursuant to the above named Title and Section. I respectfully request that your offices provide me with competent evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you.
Please provide me with the following:
1)-What the money you say I owe is for;
2)-Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe;
3)-Provide me with copies of any papers that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe;
4)-Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable;
5)-Identify the original creditor;
6)-Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account
7)-Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state
8)-Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent
At this time I will also inform you that if your offices have reported invalidated information to any of the 3 major Credit Bureau’s (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion) this action might constitute fraud under both Federal and State Laws. Due to this fact, if any negative mark is found on any of my credit reports by your company or the company that you represent I will not hesitate in bringing legal action against you for the following:
Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Defamation of Character
If your offices are able to provide the proper documentation as requested in the following Declaration, 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.
Best Regards,
Your Signature
Your Name
1. "This letter is being sent to you in response to a notice sent to me on ___________(the date the consumer received the collection letter)."
1692g of the FDCPA states that a consumer must send a request for validation within 30 days of receiving an initial communication. An initial communication. An initial communication is usually the first debt collection letter which should contain the 30-day validation notice.
15 U.S.C. 1692g(a) of the FDCPA
(a) Notice of debt; contentsWithin five days after the initial communication with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt, a debt collector shall, unless the following information is contained in the initial communication or the consumer has paid the debt, send the consumer a written notice containing—
(1) the amount of the debt;
(2) the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed;
(3) a statement that unless the consumer, within thirty days after receipt of the notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector;
(4) a statement that if the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, the debt collector will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against the consumer and a copy of such verification or judgment will be mailed to the consumer by the debt collector; and
(5) a statement that, upon the consumer’s written request within the thirty-day period, the debt collector will provide the consumer with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor.
Notice that (3) states the consumer must dispute the validity of the debt "within thirty days after receipt of the notice". If you send the your validation letter after 30 days, the debt collector does not have to respond and does not have to validate the debt. Even if you were to send the letter within 30 days, the debt collector could choose to cease collection efforts and not respond.
2. "This is NOT a request for “verification” or proof of my mailing address, but a request for VALIDATION made pursuant to the above named Title and Section. I respectfully request that your offices provide me with competent evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you."
That's an unnecessary statement. 1692g of the FDCPA does not differentiate between "verification" and "validation". Again, this is proof that the author of the letter and anyone who recommends the letter has not done one iota of research.
3. In regard to the 8 items requested, only (4) and (5) are required by the FDCPA. Not one court has ruled that the rest of the items are required to validate a debt. Go to the following link and read Myths #4 and #5 which includes court rulings.
https://www.creditinfocenter.com/community/topic/328187-fdcpa-debt-validation-myths/
4. "At this time I will also inform you that if your offices have reported invalidated information to any of the 3 major Credit Bureau’s (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion) this action might constitute fraud under both Federal and State Laws."
The above is incredibly ridiculous. "if your offices have reported invalidated information". How can information currently being reported be considered "invalidated" when you haven't requested validation yet?
5. "Due to this fact, if any negative mark is found on any of my credit reports by your company or the company that you represent I will not hesitate in bringing legal action against you for the following:
Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Defamation of Character"
Debt collectors are allowed to report information to the credit reporting agencies before ever contacting you. Since you haven't yet requested validation, the above is an empty threat. No law requires or court has ruled that a debt collector must notify you before reporting information to credit reporting agencies. In the event you request validation, a debt collector only has to report that the debt is disputed and cannot update the information until the debt is validated.
6. "If your offices are able to provide the proper documentation as requested in the following Declaration, I will require at least 30 days to investigate this information and during such time all collection activity must cease and desist."
The requirement that you be allowed 30 days to investigate the information is not mentioned anywhere in the FDCPA or in court rulings. As soon as the debt is validated, a debt collector is allowed to continue collection efforts.
The debt collector may resume collection activities only when it has obtained verification of the debt, and has mailed a copy of the verification to the consumer." Jacobson v. Healthcare Financial Services, Inc., 516 F.3d 85, 89 (2d Cir. 2008).
Section 1692g(b) gives a debt collector "a choice: it either may choose not to verify the debt and abandon its collection efforts, or it may decide to verify the debt and resume the collection activities once the requested validation has been provided. Purnell v. Arrow Fin. Servs., LLC, 303 Fed. Appx. 297, 304 (6th Cir. 2008).
7. 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.
As with the rest of the letter, the above is not correct. The FDCPA does not demand that a debt collector validate a debt within 30 days of receiving your request. The 30-day requirement is placed upon consumers to send a validation request after receiving an initial communication from a debt collector.
Anyone who recommends sending that letter or anything similar should be avoided because that person has no idea about validation and what is required by the FDCPA. In fact, you should be wary of any advice offered by that person. The failure to research something as basic as the FDCPA could indicate that he has failed to research laws and court rulings that support any advice he provides.