What is debt validation?
Debt validation is the debtor's right to ask for validation of a debt a creditor claims he owes. A letter requesting validation of the debt should be sent to the creditor or the collection agency, if they claim that you owe the debt, either by sending a collection letter or by reporting the debt on your credit report.
Debt validation letters (DV letters) should always be sent by certified mail requesting a return receipt or faxed, so that you have proof that you have asked for the debt to be validated if the creditor fails to validate the debt. When you ask for debt validation from a debt collector, they need to provide you with a copy of the original signed contract between you and the original creditor and the account statement showing your outstanding debt. In addition to these two documents, the collection agency must provide you with proof that they have been given the right to collect the debt by the original creditor, or they have purchased the debt from the original creditor.
On receiving the debt validation letter, the creditor or the collection agency must provide you with proper validation within a few days from the date they receive your DV letter. If they fail to validate the debt within this period, then you are no longer liable to pay the debt under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
Here is a sample debt validation letter which will help you to ask for debt validation.
Your Name
Your Address
Name of CA
Address of CA
Date:
Re: Your Account No:
Dear Sir/Madam,
I checked a copy of my credit report and realized that there was a collection reported from your agency, which I was not notified about. I do not reject to provide with the debt amount. However, this is a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b), that your claim is disputed and a validation is demanded. This is asking for proof regarding the debt that I owe and verifying it.
I am requesting you to stop all collection activities including reporting this information on my credit report. I am sure that you are aware of the fact that non-compliance with this request may end up in legal obligations.
Please dispatch copies of the following with your reply:
1. The agreement which authorizes you to collect debt on the assumed debt.
2. The signed agreement from the debtor confirming to pay the debt.
3. The documents regarding the payments made on this account and validation of the amount.
With regards,
Your Signature
Your Name
Hope this helps :)
answered summons
I answered the summons. Went to the hearing and ask for validation of debt which they could not provide. The case was dismissed with prejudice. The most important thing to do is ANSWER THE SUMMONS. Mos
impute80510,
That is awesome, I have one that is just hanging out there, it went to an arbitration panel, and I was suppposed to get a notice in the mail as to when the hearing would be, I have heard nothing and I know for sure that the hearing was not held with out me.
Your post is very encouraging, thanks, if you don't mind, who was the company? or the law firm?
Hi impute
You gave us a really wonderful idea of asking for debt validation in the summons itself. The most interesting part of it is that if they cannot validate your debt, the hearing can be dismissed by the court itself.
Yes, I find that very interesting, it may come in handy to me here soon.
Outstanding. I think it takes a lot of courage and heart to walk into court and demand paperwork. I believe that is why it is filed in the first place, these CA's do not expect the average consumer to demand anything. Congratulation to Thanks and impute!
I have sent debt validation a few time, I sent them certified and return reciept and have all the paperwork to proove they signed for it. I will be happy to present this in court and demand it again in person. They have never provided me anything.
Since you have all the documents that you have asked for debt validation, I am sure that the judgment will go in your favor. Moreover since they have not validated the debt as per the FDCA, I think they have lost their right to claim the money.
I hope you are right, I just wonder what is taking so long. The original summons was filed in December 2006, this was the first that I heard from them, I really think that it was a scare tactic, thinking that if I got the summons that I would automatically pay. Well I didn't, then back in January 2008 I recieved notice that the case was to move into an arbitration, I have talked to the attorney that is suppose head the arbitration, he said they would probably proceed after February. Well here it is July and nothing yet. I spoke to the prothonotary office the other day and she said to call the attorney again. Good thing is that the head attorney told me that they will not only have to prove that I owe the debt but that I owe the debt to them. So this post on here really made me feel good, I have all my documentation and reciepts of signatures that they recieved and signed for everything. I am feeling pretty confident at this point. I just wonder how long this can drag out, it has been 1 year and 7 months since the original summons had been filed.
Is there a time limit or a statute of limitation on how long they have to act on a summons. I know when you are served one, you only have so many days to act on it.
when you recieve a summons you have to send the court an answer by a specified date in order to have it considered by the court. If you do not send i an answer a judgement maybe made against you. After the court has read your answer you will be sent a court date.
If you do not answer the summons they will win by what is called a default judgement. I got a summons and had thirty days to respond, I did. It is over a year and a half later and I still have not been to court, they sure take their sweet time.
Perhaps the case was dismissed based on your answer. You should contact the court thats an awful long tie to wait for a date
I just called the prothonotaries office the other day, I have to get a hold of the arbitrating chief attorney and find out what is going on. I need to do that this week or the beginning of next.
Hopefully you can get an answer from someone, seems like a hell of a long time to wait for a hearing or arbitration. Somebody should be given you an answer soon. keep us updated, this should be interesting.
I think they probaly aren't or at least shouldn't be able to hold out like that. Its like waiting in the dentist office to get a tooth pulled and the dentist doesn't come in. I would def check. Its better than waiting for the ax to fall.
I agree
Can you imagine being left dangling for soo long? There has to be some kind of limit on this.
There should be, it is a pain waiting around, but there is not much you can do.
I know that would be annoying especially for those who are trying so hard to get their credit turned around. It must be all about being the little guy. If you want it you have to wait. Just like my lawsuit.
Patience will pay off.
Thats what I am hpoing for. Just gonna swing it for now.
HERE WE GO....
First of all, I've read all 5 pages of this thread and have found bits and pieces of information that seems to be helpful, but I just want to be sure.
Here is our situation. On August 5th my husband received a "courtesy letter" from a financial debt consolidator/people stating that a lawsuit has been filed on July 28th by Mann Bracken in our local Court her in Southern California. Two days later, someone is at the door serving court papers. All this is new to us and it's very scary. We do owe money to the said original creditor Washington Mutual.
On the first page it states that he needs to file a written response at the court withing 30 calendar days after the summons was served. (note, the papers have no date that it was served) I've looked all over for a date in which we have to show up to court. After reading some posts on here, that's how it should be??? Wait until after we respond to the court? The guy who served me the papers and the papers themselves say I need to contact Mann Bracken llc within the 30 days. Which is correct?? By the way, Mann Bracken is representing Portfolio Recovery Associates. I've also tried doing research on both of these companies and kept finding nothing but negative statements on various sites on them. Saying they repeatedly violate the Fair Credit laws and they are fraudulent.
I was also told I could go to the L.A Superior Court website and look up "case summary" to find more information on the summons. I punch in the Case No. but no records are found. Does anyone know how long it takes before they are put into their system? This also leads me to believe these might not be legit??? (scare tactic?) In any case, I think we should file a response to the summons (which I have no clue how to even go about doing that) and then send a certified letter to Mann Bracken requesting a Validation.
Am I on the right track here? I know I've probably bored all of you to sleep if you even dared to read this novel, but I'm just stressed out beyond belief.
Any help, suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thanks and sorry again for being completely ignorant in this situation.
WW
You only have 30 days to submit an answer. Sometimes I hear of it being 20 days. That is if it was issued from a court. I am not real familiar with this area but it doesn't sound like you should be responding to the actual creditor themselves. Being that I have never went through this I will let someone more familiar witht he process answer.
DO NOT go away I am sure someone will answer this post today.
Here We Go
Thanks Fireyone!
Anyone else have any information for me??
You have 30 days, just answer to each one, admit or deny, then submit your answer to the court and a copy to the collection agency. Make sure you read each statement. I have one of these right now, here is a sample.
1. Defendant had said account with CACH, LLC.
My answer is: Denied
Denied, CACH LLC is the collect, my original creditor was providian, so anything to do with the collection agency and me having anything contractual with them, this never hapened, so Denied.
Just make sure you don't let them con you into anything. You will want to make sure they validate the debt? Are they claiming you owe them money or are they trying to collect for the original creditor. I am sure that you have other questions, just list them here, and quit worrying, it will work out.
Oh, yeah, once you answer the summons then you will get a court date. I filed my answer over a year ago and still no court date yet.
Glad you jumped in and helped on this one. I hope worried stops in so we can guide her through this process. It is always tough when you don't know what to do and by coming here hopefully we can make sure she is aware of all her options.
Greetings everyone. Newbie here.
I have seven credit cards that have, or are about to charge off. I probably owe about 20K altogether with penalties. I haven't recieved a summons yet, but I'm expecting things to get ugly soon. I've already sent DV letters to each CA by certified mail. I feel very bad and very guilty about this. I had great credit up until late last year. However, I ended up going in way over my head to try and help one of my wayward children. The worst part of all is that is that my efforts didn't really change anything.
I'm in deep. I welcome any thoughts or suggestions.
HERE WE GO...
Hey Everyone! Checking in to see if there were any other suggestions. I guess my first step is to file a response. I will be doing this hopefully this week. I say hopefully because our Suburban just took a dump. Not sure it it's the battery or the alternator. One more thing to add to my list :( So should I just show up to the court with a letter? Should I deny or accept? We do owe that money. The amount actually sounds low. If I accept would I still get a court date??
Second, I will send for a validation and see what happens. Now if they don't respond withing 30 days?? then what happens?
Yes please file the response because you only have so long. Keep your head up. Hopefully its just the battery. Seems like when things go wrong it happens all at once. U destitute. I can see your a bit disgusted and it always makes it worse when the person we are trying to help doesn't turn things around. I am sure in a while this will all be behind you.
If you don't file a response then, they will win by default. If you agree that you owe the money and are willing to pay it, then contact the company, they can do a judgement by consent and set you up with payment plan that will work for you.
Utterly Destitute,
Welcome to the forums, I am sorry to hear that your situation has escalated to this point. Have you contacted the companies and try to work out a payment plan with them. If you phone is ringing, pick it up and deal with it before it ends up getting worse. If you have any other questions, please feel free to post it, hopefully we can help you here.
Regular old welcome wagon Gn. Sometimes when that phone is ringing you feel it is gonna casue you a heart attack. It is when you start calming down and dealing with them one by one that you see it usually isn't as bad as it seems.
as long as they stay cooperative
That is true. Cooperation is important.
Answer Letter
I want to thank everyone in this forum - Thank you - your experience and input have been absolutely great.
I also have had a judgment against me and have sent an answer letter promptly to the lawyers handling the case.
I received a response from the lawyers handling the case rejecting my answer and offer to settle ALSO the response is in the legal form requesting a hearing but not signed or sealed by the county court.
What can I expect next?
Thank you all --- Shane Mac
Judgement
I want to thank everyone in this forum - Thank you - your experience and input have been absolutely great.
I also have had a judgment against me and have sent an answer letter promptly to the lawyers handling the case.
I received a response from the lawyers handling the case rejecting my answer and offer to settle ALSO the response is in the legal form requesting a hearing but not signed or sealed by the county court.
What can I expect next?
Thank you all --- Shane Mac
That will be up to you Shane Mac, did you file a copy of the letter with the court house where the summons was filed? Are they representing the original creditor or is it collection agency that bought the debt? I would say if it is the original creditor to go ahead and try to work something out with them, if it is a collection agency that purchased the debt then have them validate the debt, you can find sample letters on here.
When you say that you already have a judgement against you, did they file and you not answer with in the allotted time? Are you sure there is a judgement against you? or are they just threatening to sue you?
Thats what I am wondering. You can find out if there actually is a judgement against you by taking a quick trip to your local courthouse. It really doesn't take long to get an answer and you will feel better knowing. I would definately,absolutely, positively make them verify the debt if the are a collection agency and not the original creditor. You will find a lot of the time they can not verify the debt.
Reply
Well ,, They only sent me a summons for Judgment ,, They don’t have the Judgment against me Yet ,
I did reply to the summons and filed with court house.
This is an old Providian account bought by a collection agency.
Now I have received a summons to request a hearing but it is not documented by the court or stamped by the court ,, was wondering is this is lagit ?
I will have to make GN aware of this post. She is pretty familiar with this process and would be able to tell you better. I have an old providian and I DO really feel for you.
filing an answer to a summons
I need to file an answer to a summons because I was laid-off for 5 monthes and failed to pay my mortgage. The mortgage co. is starting forclosure. any sample answers?
Hi Shane
Since you have already answered the summons there is no need to worry. But if try to pay off the debt by coming to a repayment agreement with the creditor, I think you can avoid judgment. But since you have already answered the summon, it automatically mean that you have received the summon.
There are always sample letters here on the forum. Look around and I am sure you can find one right for you. Is there any way of saving your home? I know recently the goverment threw some help out there for people in your situation. Check with any help centers or crisis centers in your area and see if there is a program for you. My mom-in-law went through this foreclosure stuff and a community action program actually helped her bring her mortgage up to date and met her half way with payments for a year. I am sure there has to be something in your area.
UPDATE
Hey everyone! Here's an update... Trying to file a response to the summons received almost 30 days ago. The court it was supposedly filed in does not show the case number on file. They looked it up by my husband's name but there is no case pending under his name. Has this happened to anyone here?? Could these papers be fake? How could this happen??? (my original post to this thread is on page 6)
Wow I am really unsure. I hope someone around here can answer this question. To me It sounds like they are fake. I mean how can you file a response if they can't find the case?
UPDATE
As a matter of fact, the when she pulled up the number I have her, she asked me if I am Kimberly Nolan. I said, no, not us. She said, this case number belongs to a Kimberly Nolan.
I wonder if they have you confused with someone else. Or did they write down the wrong case number when they sent you the letter. was it addressed to you or your husband directly? I would have asked a few questions at he courthouse but since they couldn't even find your husbands name I guess that wouldn't do any good either. What if you tried calling the collector?
UPDATE
The debt is in my husband's name. The case number on the summons is a stamp. The zeros could be a C and vise versa, but they were both looked up and like I mentioned earlier they looked him up by name and did not find anything pending under his full name. They couldn't explain why it wasn't coming up. They said they would need to see the summons and that he should bring it to the court house.
That is definately what I would have him do. Your date to respond is 30 days and if you don't and it is a real summons he will let them win by default. Then depending on your state, they can garnish wages to attempt to collect the debt. Please take care of this asap. Get him down to that courthouse.
UPDATE
yes, he will be going to the court house to show the summons. What if they still can't find anything on him? What is the next step? I was just wondering if anyone has ever had this happen or heard of this happening? Sending fake legal papers is illegal, correct?
Hi
I think that you should immediately file a response to the summon by visiting the court where the case has been filed. In the court itself you can find out whether the papers are legal. This is because if the papers are legal and you do not file any response to it, the judgment may go against you and the CA can garnish your account by obtaining an order from the court.