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I sent a debt validation letter to an attorney's office which has a small account ($115.50) of ours. They then sent me a letter with the account number and balance also stating this is the FINAL demand for payment or it will hit my credit....Well, it has already hit my credit. And from what I can tell this is not valid proof of debt as there is no copy of the original contract or proof that the medical facility gave them the permission to have this account. So, my question is..What do I do now? Do I contact the CA or just wait until the 30 days is up to move on..? Any advice is greatly appreciated.
You can send them a certified letter asking them to prove that they are authorized to collect your debt. Since the debt has already hit your credit report, it will stay there for seven years and so you can wait for some more time for their response.
The FDCPA does not prescribe any time limit for the creditors to validate the debt. It only says that the creditors must stop collecting the debt till the time they validate it. You can wait for 30 days and dispute the listing with the bureaus if they do not prove that they are authorized to collect the debt.
I thought that is what I was doing when I sent the debt validation letter? (asking them they if they are authorized to collect the debt) I sent the sample DV letter in the Letters of credit. So, I should send another letter of some sorts? Or just wait for the 30 days to pass and then dispute the listing with the credit bureau?
You can send a second letter asking them to prove that they are authorized to collect the debt. Wait for a few days for their response. If they cannot provide them with a proper proof, dispute the listing with the credit bureaus and the bureaus will get it removed from your report if it is unauthorized. You can also dispute it now with the credit bureaus.