Oftentimes I have my readers and clients asking questions about how to dispute debt. First of all, dispute simply means to disagree, argue, or debate something. Understanding this meaning, almost everyone who is in credit card or some other type of unsecured debt should always dispute the debt.
Knowing how to dispute debt effectively does take a bit more work than simply disagreeing that you owe your creditor or debt collector money. It takes proper steps and timing for it to be effective. What I mean by effective is that the majority of my readers and clients end up completely free of the debts that debt collectors or creditors are trying to get them to pay, or the settle for pennies on the dollar. If this sounds appealing to you in your current debt situation you definitely should keep reading.
One way to dispute a debt is by simply saying that you disagree or dispute the debt when you are on the phone with a creditor or debt collector. The problem with showing your disagreement this way is that it won’t protect you or build your case in the event that a creditor or debt collector tries to sue you. The creditor or debt collector will simply deny that you disputed the debt or will simply disregard your dispute altogether. Bottom line is that the creditor or debt collector’s actions and treatment of you will not change, or if it does change they will just get nastier.
Some credit counseling agencies, or similar types of companies, suggest sending debt verification letters. Debt verification letters require the debt collector to verify to you in writing that they have your correct name and address. In my opinion this is fairly pointless. When you think about sending a debt verification letter, your name and address will most likely be on the outside of the envelope you mail the letter in. That way anyone can rewrite your address and send it back to you and consider the debt verified.
The other problem with debt verification letters is that they offer you no legal protection. The do not stop creditors or debt collectors from calling you and harassing you about your account. They do not force the creditor or debt collector to produce actual account information that shows that you do in fact owe them money.
If you want to learn how to effectively dispute a debt you have come to the right place. The way to dispute a debt and get results can be done through the use of debt validation letters. The FDCPA or Fair Debt Collection Practices Act backs these letters. This Act requires creditors and debt collectors to back their collection claims with complete validation evidence on any account that the request for validation is made.
These validation letters also prohibit the debt collector from continuing collection efforts after a request has been made unless they validate the account completely. The best part about this is that rarely if ever do debt collectors have enough information to validate an account. Because debt collectors do not have the required information to validate, you can stop their collection efforts almost instantaneously in some cases with properly executed debt validation letters.
The best resource to learn more about how to draft and when to send debt validation letters is my free 10-part mini course offered through this website.
It will share all sorts of tips and tricks on how to dispute debt to make your journey through the debt validation process much more smooth and effective.
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