Need some help settling a credit debt (first and last timer!)

If you have no reason to dispute the information about the debt, sending DV would be redundant. IMO you should call them up directly and negotiate settlement.

However, if you're not confident whether they are the right collection agency to collect or not, you must send the DV to confirm that.

To correspond with the CA you can take help of the sample letters available here.

Best of luck!!

It's not that I'm not confident that they are or aren't the CA, I just don't know how Collect America/Square Two works. It seems like they are the debt holders but they farm out law offices like Cambece to send scary-looking law office letters. But if I deal with Cambece, they probably just kick that back to Collect America right? They are the muscle pretty much that the CA sends.
Also, I've been told by a friend that has some experience with this sort of thing that I have to keep all this documentation from this settlement for life, in case they try to sell to another CA or dispute it in court later. Is this true? Can they come after you years later? And he also said they don't have to report to the credit bureaus that you've paid and even if they did, just because the bureaus report it as paid and done, that won't stop another CA that they sold to to try to collect on me again?
Are they legally obligated to report to the credit bureaus once I've paid? And would that report be enough to keep anyone else from coming after me?

I forgot to mention, would I even be able to send a Validation of Debt letter since it's way past the 30 day mark that they sent the dunning letter? If I can't send a VOD, I guess i'll just have to trust that they are holding the debt right?

Nobody knows eh? All these other people getting help...

I'd send the DV anyway. Or call the original creditor to find out who owns your debt. Trusting a CA is something I'd never do.

I dealt with cambece last year, and they were horrible to try and deal with. When they couldn't scare me into paying they moved it to another of their collection lawyers, its a never ending cycle. They will probably do the same with you. I can't tell you what the best thing for you to do, I guess it all depends on what you want. Me, I don't trust any of them. I'm sure mine will eventually wind up in court, but that may be the best thing, because i don't trust paying CACH or any of their flunkies and then they turn around and year later and sell it to someone else or say that you still owe just as much as you did when you started. I'm not going to deal with that, so I have choose to just let it ride, if it goes to court fine and if it doesn't great. I know you want no bashing, but CACH and their network of lawyers and one of the worst to deal with, especially Cambece. I don't know if there is a right answer out there, some people can come up with settlement agreements in writing, some can't, every CA that I have dealt with refuses to put anything in writing until I pay something, I refuse to pay until I have something in writing.

Well, I just got a dunning letter from Buffaloe & Associates (Another CA apparently) so I guess they now own it. I haven't heard anything from Cambece for months now, never knew why but now I guess I don't have to deal with them.

So since it's changed hands so much I think it would be a good idea to do a Verification of Debt letter or do I stick with the original plan and just call them and work this out?

send a DEBT VALIDATION.not verification.time to make these places put up or shut up.the fact that it changed hands so much you should wonder about the legitimacy of anybody attempting to collect.validation should be your watchword from now on.

Paul, the sample Validation of Debt letter on your site makes it sounds like I just by happenstance found out about this debt and that I'm asking to see if I'm even the person that owns it. I know that I own that debt and owe the money, I just want to draft a letter to get them to prove THEY are indeed the ones holding the debt and that if I pay THEM, this matter will be done with.

I'm just confused as to what role the law offices play in the collection game. Are they the CAs themselves or are they just the legal muscle for places like Collect America/Square Two?

Also, I have some stuff I never got answers to previously:

"I've been told by a friend that has some experience with this sort of thing that I have to keep all this documentation from this settlement for life, in case they try to sell to another CA or dispute it in court later. Is this true? Can they come after you years later? And he also said they don't have to report to the credit bureaus that you've paid and even if they did, just because the bureaus report it as paid and done, that won't stop another CA that they sold to to try to collect on me again?
Are they legally obligated to report to the credit bureaus once I've paid? And would that report be enough to keep anyone else from coming after me?"

well validation entails them proving they have legal right to collect.heck i could type up something stating the debt owed,and that you should just pay me.would you do that?i don't think so.again this has been through so many JDB'S that if you pressed them they can't validate.once more it's not about knowing you owe.it's about finding out if this place has legal right to collect.that is the difference between verification and validation.