How to proceed after receiving debt validation?

Submitted by martinmomma2 on Wed, 10/14/2009 - 18:47
Forums
Credit repair

I received a letter from a law office stating that they were representing Capitol One Bank and had been retained to collect a balance due on account.
In response I sent a debt validation letter to them.
They sent me a letter back showing...
Capitol One Bank
vs.
My name
FWD file No.------
Our File NO. N0914014
Please find enclosed documentation from our client.
What I received were numerous statement that were sent to me.
At the bottom of each letter I have received it states that this is a communication from a debt collector.
I have several questions.
Are they actually representing Capitol One or did they buy this debt and are trying to intimidate me?
There was no signed agreement so has the debt actually been validated?
Do I bite the bullet and make a payment plan?
I am like everyone else struggling from paycheck to paycheck and have very little extra money with no saving.
Any advise would be greatly appreciated!

Justin

Hi Martinmomma,

When you send a debt validation letter, you are supposed to receive the following documents from the CA, a statement of your payment history showing your outstanding debt, documents stating that the original creditor has given them the authority to collect the debt and a copy of the original contract between you and the creditor. After you receive all these documents, your debt has been validated and you need to repay it off.

If you are unable to pay the entire amount, then you can negotiate the debt amount with the CA. Call or send a debt settlement offer to the CA requesting them to accept the amount you can pay. You also need to send a pay for delete letter so that they remove the negative item from your credit report once you have paid the debt.

Do this and let us know about your situation.

Thu, 10/15/2009 - 05:48 Permalink
christina (not verified)

recently, I have sent a letter to my creditor requesting debt validation,they had mail me back with large stack copy of my monthly statement- showing all past charges, payments and copy of the affidavit from the creditor that the statement production are true & correct. Do I still need a copy of the original contract or the statement with charges is sufficient( I lived in Texas).

Mon, 12/07/2009 - 21:43 Permalink