JCEMT, I used your validation template but...

According to the fdcpa it's pretty much what you dispute of the debt. So what was requested in the validation letter is what they need to send. Unless they send less than you request but you feel it is sufficient validation.

So, anything less then that is unacceptable, correct?

As far as if they do not send validation then they just can't continue to collect on it until they do. If they send you validation that you do not think is sufficient then you should send them a follow up letter stating that it is such and request the documentation they omitted. Also according to the staff opinion letter from the FTC continued reporting to credit reporting agencies constitutes collection activity. If they cannot validate you may wish to request them to delete the trade lines.

Sorry JCEMT, I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "trade lines". Would you mind explaining. Sorry I am asking so many questions but I just want to make sure I do things the right way. And thank you so much for responding.

The only stupid questions are the ones that are not asked when one does not understand.

A trade line is the entry that shows on your credit report. Say you have a credit card with Chase bank. They report on it with the 3 big CRAs every month. It shows who they are, credit limit, payment history, etc. That is a trade line.

Thank you JCEMT, I have more questions, but I'll have to wait until later to ask them, I appreciate your responses.

Feel free to ask me whatever questions you like, if you don't want to post them in the forum feel free to PM me, If I don't know the answer to them I will try to find out and get back to you as soon as I do.

Actually, the fdcpa only makes one thing clear about the validation....the big thing is that there must be documentation that the CA obtained from the original creditor. This is where many CA's screw up on this one--they cannot send you an itemized statement of what they claim you owe, on their own letterhead, and call it validation. They are required by the FDCPA to contact the original creditor, obtain documentation of the identity of the account and the amount of the debt that is outstanding, and then provide this documentation to you. The premise behind this is to protect consumers from CA's that would unlawfully fabricate debts, or add illegal charges to a debt, or attempt to collect from the wrong person.

if they send you anything that does not come from the original creditor, then they have not provided validation. If they send you, for example, one credit card statement, then they have not validated the debt because they have only shown that they can get that statement. Someone can often do the same thing by looking through your garbage! They need to provide you with:

1--proof that the debt is yours
2--proof of the amount owed

And all of that must come from the OC. If they get it from the OC and then type it up on their letter, then they didnt follow the law. Hope this helps. If they do get back to you with anything, please let us know what it is. CA's are good at doing three things when in this situation--

1--they send you a statement that they typed up and call it validation

2--they pull the "affidavit" garbage

3--they dont send anything

It's been well over a month since I requested validation. I have sent out another letter to them, requesting validation again. I have a bad feeling about this one. I know that I probably owe a debt, but, I really think the amount has been inflated, vastly, and I can not for the life of me figure out how they came to that figure. Anyway, I am anxious to see exactly what they will come up with, if anything at all. Thanks for the advice and info, everyone.

Well just remember that you do not owe a thing until they can properly validate it! It is as Skydivr said, anyone could get a measly statement, they have to prove it up. The key here is while the FDCPA/FCRA may be unclear on what exactly validation is, a judge in a court of law is not. If they can't prove those

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