i sent 2 validation letters to 2 dif cas regarding 2 dif accounts its been over 30 days since the letters were sent (sent them registered and both letters were indeed recieved) i have yet to recieve a response from either agency should i just sit on my hands and wait?
If sufficient time has elapsed since they received your letters that they cannot claim no knowledge of your dispute, have you disputed with the CRAs that are reporting these TLs?
no, i have yet to dispute i was waiting for their responses to the validation letters so i guess i should now dispute with the cras is that right?
They might never respond. If you want it fixed, you have to force a response with consequences if there is none.
Bacci40, I started cleaning up my credit several years ago to (had to be almost perfect to get a job that required it). Since then, I have gotten a lot of little, petty, inaccurate debts off successfully. Every now and then, I look back to this site to try to pay back the Karma. Never mind the fact that it is usually after a couple of martinis that I choose to start paying. You are correct that your next step should be to formally dispute with the CRA's. The collection agency probably has no records on this debt anyway. If they send you a "printout", or some kind of crappy itemized list of your debts to them, that is a "NOGO". They must send you something that gives some kind of verification that the debt is real. One more piece of advice: Get the Certified Mail stuff from the post office in advance (before you start typing letters) so that you can include the serial number of the Certified Letter in the actual header of your letter. It is just a little more effective. People will think: "This dude is SERIOUS. Let's move on to the next, less serious dude, and leave this #$%&*er alone." Here's the sequence of events: The Debt Validation Strategy 1. Send a letter requesting validation to the collection agency. 2. Dispute the collection with the credit bureaus. 3. Wait 30 days to hear back from the collection agency. Most likely they will not respond or they will respond saying that they received your letter. Only a letter which includes: a. Proof that the collection company owns the debt/or has been assigned the debt, b. Complete payment history, starting with the original creditor, and c. Copy of the original signed loan agreement or credit card application is satisfactory. 4. If they haven't sent you satisfactory proof, send a copy of your receipt for your registered mail, a copy of the first letter you sent and a statement that they have not complied with the FDCPA and are now in violation of the Act. Tell them they need to immediately remove the collection listing from your credit report or you are going to file a lawsuit because they are in violation of the FDCPA, section 809 (b). 5. Wait 15-20 days to hear back after this second letter to the collection agency. They will either remove it or not respond. 6. If they do provide a contract with a signature from the original creditor showing that you owe the debt, there is one more thing you can try: see if they are legally licensed to collect the debt in your state. If you believe that they are not licensed, and licensing is required in your state, write them another letter and tell them they are in violation of your state's collection laws and are subject to prosecution and fines. Cite your state's fines and procedures in the letter. This is a last ditch effort, but has worked in some cases. 7. Typically, your work will stop here, as most collection agencies will bow down to your demands and send you a letter agreeing to remove the listing. Now all you have to do is send a copy of the letter to the CRAs. Keep up the good fight. May the force be with you, always. Gabooz
