Leif Adamec Rydenfalk
A debt collector wants money
A letter or a call about a debt you don't recognise, one that's much bigger than you remember, or one from years ago. Collectors buy old debts for cents and often can't prove them. The law gives you a window to make them prove it, and the first thing to do is not pay and not admit anything on the phone.
This page covers US rules. In the UK, complain to the collector and then the Financial Ombudsman; in Sweden, dispute (bestrid) a betalningsföreläggande from Kronofogden within the deadline on it. This is what I'd do, in order. I'm not a lawyer, and if you'd rather not deal with it, send it to me.
On the phone: say little
Ask for the collector's name, company, mailing address and the reference number, and ask them to send the validation notice in writing. Don't confirm the debt is yours, don't agree to "a small payment to show good faith", and don't give card or bank details. In many states a payment, or even a written promise to pay, restarts the clock on an old debt.
Your clock
| Validation notice | Within 5 days of first contacting you, the collector must send who they are, who the original creditor was, the amount itemized since a set date, and the date your dispute window ends (Regulation F). |
|---|---|
| 30 days to dispute | Dispute in writing within the window on that notice and the collector must stop collecting until it mails you verification. After it, they may assume the debt is valid, so don't let it pass. |
| Old debt | Every state has a time limit for suing, usually 3 to 6 years from the last payment. A collector may not sue or threaten to sue on a debt past it. The debt can still appear in letters; it can't be enforced in court. |
| Credit report | Most negative items drop off after 7 years from the first delinquency. Paid medical debt and medical debt under $500 no longer appear on reports from the three big bureaus. |
The dispute letter
- Their reference, your name, the date. No account numbers of your own, no phone number.
- "I dispute this debt." Say you dispute the debt and the amount, and ask for verification: the original creditor, the original account, the itemized amount, and proof they own or have the right to collect it.
- How they may contact you. By mail only, if you want. You can also tell them in writing to stop contacting you at all; then they may only write to confirm they're stopping or that they're suing.
- Send it so you can prove it. Certified mail with return receipt, before the window closes. Keep a copy.
Many old debts end here. The buyer of a bundle of old accounts often has a spreadsheet line and nothing else.
What they can't do
Call before 8 am or after 9 pm your time, or at work once you've said your employer doesn't allow it. Call more than about seven times in seven days about one debt. Tell your family, neighbours or boss that you owe money. Threaten arrest, or a lawsuit they don't intend to file. Add fees your contract doesn't allow. If they do, write down the date, time and what was said: a collector that breaks these rules owes you up to $1,000 plus your actual losses and your lawyer's fees, and you have one year to sue. Complain to the CFPB online, free, and to your state attorney general.
If they sue
Never ignore court papers. If you don't file an answer by the deadline on the summons, often 20 to 30 days, the court gives them a default judgment and they can garnish your wages or freeze your bank account. Answer, deny what you can't confirm, raise the time limit if the debt is old, and make them prove they own it. Collectors drop or lose a large share of the cases people actually show up to. A lawyer who takes FDCPA cases often charges you nothing, because the law makes the collector pay the fees.
Or hand it to me
Send me the letter or a note of the call and what you remember about the debt. I write the dispute for your state and your dates, you sign and send it, and I track the window and every reply. You get a fixed price before I start.
