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Hello again,
In regards to "Pay for Deletion" and "Disputing" of items within ones credit report; I have been advised to request debt validation before doing either.
I was wondering if this is actualy necessary, and if so, why is it?
As always, any advise would be greatly appreciated!
Sean C.
If you simply dispute the debt with the CRA's, you may get nowhere, they simply get "verification" of the debt from the creditor.
In case of verification, the debt collector is required to send a written statement to the debtor with the name and address of the original creditor and the amount of the debt owed. The verification does not require the collector to provide original documents to the debtor
Now "validation" requires the following
Proof that they own the debt legally or have been legally authorized to collect it from you.
A complete payment history documented from your original creditor. This requirement was established by the case Fields v. Wilber Law Firm, Donald L. Wilber and Kenneth Wilber, USCA-02-C-0072, 7th Circuit Court, Sept 2004.
A copy of the original loan contract that you signed with your creditor.
A pay for deletion is usually asked when one is settling a debt for a lessor amount. BUT, most creditors do not have to agree to one.
Before disputing a listing from your credit report, it is not necessary that you go for debt validation first. But if you plan to come to a pay for deletion agreement with the creditor, you should always ask the creditor to validate your debt just to be sure whether you actually owe the debt to the debtor or not.
OK... Another question:
I have already disputed a debt on my CR with two of the bureaus via their websites. If I now request Debt Validation from the collection agency, and they do not provide the all the required information or do not respond in the allotted time; can I dispute the debt again?
Also, (this may dumb, but) if I request Debt Validation; is it possible that it could somehow "Re-Age" the debt?
Yes, you can definitely ask for debt validation first and if they do not provide you with a proper validation of the debt within 30 days, you can send a dispute letter to the bureaus. Send a copy of the return receipt along with the dispute letter as a reference. Now, if the bureaus do not remove the negative item from your report, you can file a complaint against them with the Federal Trade Commission. Instead of disputing the debt over the internet, send it by certified mail.
Hi Sean
Debt validation can never re-age your account. It is only an instrument against the creditors asking them to prove that they own your debt. However, as far as I know, if you make a payment towards a debt, the account will re-age. So before making any payment towards the debt, you should first check the statute of limitation in your state.
OK... One more question!
This is in reference to Mary's last response:
What was meant by "the return receipt"???
In reference to Justin's response:
Yes I am aware of the SOL. It is one of the many things I have learned from this forum. Thanks!