http://credit.about.com/b/a/007150.htm "A recent ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in California affirmed a lower court ruling which held that a collection letter violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) when it required that disputes be made in writing. The FDCPA requires that a collection agency send a written notice to consumer which must contain certain requirements, one of which is a statement that unless the consumer disputes the validity of the debt within 30 days, the debt will be assumed to be valid, and if the consumer notifies the collection in writing during that 30 day period that the debt is disputed, then the debt collector must provide verification of the debt to the consumer. The collection letter at issue stated "Unless you notify this office in writing within 30 days after receiving this notice that you dispute the validity of this debt or any portion thereof, this office will assume this debt is valid." The court held that this language violated the FDCPA by requiring consumers to put their disputes in writing, something not specifically required by the law. The only time a dispute must be in writing is when the consumer wants the collection agency to provide written verification of the debt; a consumer can simply verbally inform the debt collector that he disputes the debt in order to overcome the presumption of validity, and to trigger the requirement that the debt be reported as "disputed" on the consumer's credit report."
809(a)(4) requires requesting validation to be made in writing. 809(a)(3) allows the consumer to dispute the debt, but says nothing about doing so in writing. This and other courts have interpreted that to mean that Congress intended what it said, literally. It means that a debt collector cannot rewrite the law, and pretend the debt was not disputed just because it was not disputed in writing, without violating FDCPA. It still means that as knowledgable consumers, we do it in writing, sent certified, return receipt requested, so we can prove it.
Ontrack is SO right. Debt validate in WRITING certified mail, return receipt. Save EVERYTHING. This is your paper trail, your proof, your method to removal or settlement of this debt.
