How do I know who owns the debt?
Date: Sat, 04/24/2010 - 10:02
I got a call from a creditor claiming I still owed $600 on a debt I thought I had paid off -- though may not have.
Here are the particulars: I was on a payment plan (with the credit counseling service MMI) for an old credit card; the payments were going to a law firm for about 2.5 years.
Toward the end of the repayment plan (2009), I called the law firm to verify the remaining balance. Only the law firm said they had no record of the debt. So MMI and I decided to stop paying.
This week, a creditor got in touch saying I still owed some money, and offered a settlement. It is likely that I owe SOMEONE the money. But how do I know the person who called me owns the debt? I asked for written documentation, but I was told I would only receive it by email AFTER I had paid. (It was at this point that she suggested I pay over the phone and said I could give her my checking acct # to make it easy.) Isn't she required to send me documentation?
Here are the particulars: I was on a payment plan (with the credit counseling service MMI) for an old credit card; the payments were going to a law firm for about 2.5 years.
Toward the end of the repayment plan (2009), I called the law firm to verify the remaining balance. Only the law firm said they had no record of the debt. So MMI and I decided to stop paying.
This week, a creditor got in touch saying I still owed some money, and offered a settlement. It is likely that I owe SOMEONE the money. But how do I know the person who called me owns the debt? I asked for written documentation, but I was told I would only receive it by email AFTER I had paid. (It was at this point that she suggested I pay over the phone and said I could give her my checking acct # to make it easy.) Isn't she required to send me documentation?
Pretty simple....do a validation request in writing. They canno
Pretty simple....do a validation request in writing. They cannot contact you again until they validate the debt. So if they want the money, they will send you the proof first.
