Hopefully the subject kind of sums it up..but I want to know: Do I correspond with the CRA before the Debt collectors that are listed on my report? Or, visa versa? Also, should the first correspondence be the verification letter? Then the dispute letter? Or just jump right to the dispute. Or, should I start both at the same time...verification to both...?
All I can do is tell you what worked for me. I would jump right to the dispute first with all the CRA's that are reporting the negative item, especially if you are trying to use your credit for a purchase. The collection agencies are in no hurry to help you out and will drag the situation out for the rest of your life if it's up to them. I have requested a verification letter from a collection agency and still haven't heard or received anything at all (years later). If the item is removed from your report, you can still contact the debt collector and bring the account current just so you won't have to hear from them again.. If you do that be sure to get a payoff letter for your records and hold on to it forever! Main concern for right now is cleaning up your credit report though. For the best results on the dispute: Send the dispute letter by certified mail-NO receipt verification and NO return receipt requested. Sign and date the dispute letter. Include your DL, SS card and any other documents you want to send. Any other questions you have, feel free to PM me . Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I don't know what the process is called but for the sake of this post I'm going to call it the "Bookend" approach. Meaning, I wrote a dispute letter to the CB and a DV or Dispute/Validation letter to the creditor and sent both certified mail. In my opinion it saves a lot of time in the event of different potential outcomes. If you're more focused on what can be deleted by disputes alone then I would just certified mail the disputes to CB and wait for the results.
Ideally... IF YOU ARE IN THE FIRST 30 DAYS (Validation Period)... 1. Demand the CA VALIDATE the account (per the notice on the letter). 2. Request the CRA VERIFY the account (as soon as you know that the CA received the request for VALIDATION). The order is important, because IF you are within the validation period, and demand validation, the CA can not continue to collect until they OBTAIN and MAIL the validation. Waiting until you know that they've received the validation means that if they verify with the CRA before obtaining and mailing the validation, they've violated the law, putting $1,000.00 in my pocket.
I prefer going straight to the data furnisher first as often as possible, so demand validation from the CA right away (hopefully you're within the 30 days allotted). Then you can move on to disputing through the CRAs and requesting verification once you know the CA received your validation request. What kind of collection are you dealing with here greeneyez? And may I ask who is the debt collector?
There is no private remedy against the creditor/furnisher until a dispute has been initiated with the CRA. I'd recommend initiating a dispute with the CRAs via certified mail and sending a copy of that dispute, including supporting documentation, to the creditor/furnisher.
Creditorts; That's only under the FCRA, with a CA, it WOULD be liable for reporting (or threatening to report) false credit information. I personally would never send a copy of documentation to the creditor/furnisher. You want to see how quickly they can photoshop your signature off of a piece of documentation and onto a contract that they'll try to say that you signed?
I too am not a fan of giving the creditor/furnisher any more info. than they already have. It's OK to provide supporting documentation to the CRAs, but I think it's wise to be very careful about what info. you share with the data furnisher.