I'm so glad I found this website, although my head is spinning slightly from all of the info. I hope you all can set me straight. I have about $15,000 in various credit card and medical bill debt that has recently been turned over to various collection agencies. I have about $5,000 in cash that I can put toward immediately paying something off, but I'm not sure where to start. Do I need to send the debt verification letters first? If I don't get a sufficient response, do I still have to pay them, or am I only able to get the entry removed from my credit report?