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DEBT LAWSUIT BASICS

Is This Debt Mine? The Letter That Makes Them Prove It

The short answer

Make them prove it, in writing, before you pay anything. You have a federal right to do that, it costs a stamp, and it works whether or not the debt turns out to be yours.

The letter you need is further down this page. Copy it, it is free, and there is nothing to sign up for.

The answer is the same whoever is suing you.

Why this matters more than people think

Of the complaints Americans filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about one large collection agency in the last twelve months, the single biggest category was attempts to collect a debt that was not owed. Not disputes about the amount. Not complaints about rudeness. People saying the debt is not theirs.

Collection accounts get mixed up for ordinary reasons: a common name, a junior, an old address matched to the wrong person, a debt sold twice and reported by both owners, a medical bill that went to collections while the insurer was still processing it.

None of that is unusual, and none of it gets fixed unless somebody asks.

Your right, and the exact window

Under federal law, if you notify a debt collector in writing within thirty days of their first written notice that you dispute the debt, or you ask for the name and address of the original creditor, the collector must stop collecting until it mails you verification. See 15 U.S.C. 1692g(b).

Three things about that window:

• It starts from their first written notice, not from a phone call
• It must be in writing. A phone call does not trigger it
• Missing thirty days does not end your rights. You can still dispute, it just does not carry the automatic stop

The letter

Copy this, fill in the blanks, keep a copy, and send it so you have proof of the date. Certified mail with return receipt is the usual way, and it is worth the few dollars.

Your name: ______________________ Your address: ______________________ Date: ______________________

To: ______________________ (collector's name and address, from their letter)

Re: Account reference ______________________ (from their letter)

I am writing about the account referenced above, which I received notice of on ______________________.

I dispute this debt and request validation of it. Under 15 U.S.C. 1692g(b), please cease collection of this debt until you have mailed me verification.

Please provide:

1. The name and address of the original creditor
2. The original account number
3. A statement of the amount claimed, showing how it was calculated, including any interest or fees added after the account was charged off
4. Documentation that I am the person responsible for this account
5. If you purchased or were assigned this debt, the date of that transfer and the name of every prior owner
6. Evidence of your authority to collect this debt in my state

I am not refusing to pay an obligation that is mine. I am asking you to show me that it is, before I pay it.

Please direct all further communication about this account to me in writing at the address above.

Signed: ______________________

What usually happens next

They send something. Read it against the list above and see what is missing. A balance printed on letterhead is not validation; documentation tying the account to you is.

They stop and go away. This is common when the paperwork is thin, and it is the whole reason the letter is worth sending.

They sell the debt to someone else. Then you do this again with the new owner. Keep your copies, because the file you are building is what makes the second round quick.

Nothing happens. If they keep collecting without sending verification, that is a problem for them, and it is worth raising with a consumer attorney in your state.

Also check your credit reports, because they are a separate record

Your three reports are free, and they will tell you things the collector did not:

• The original creditor, which may be a name you recognise even when the collector is not
• The date of first delinquency, which decides how long the account can be reported and how long anyone has to sue
• Whether the same debt appears twice, once from an old owner and once from the new one, which should not happen
• Whether the balance matches what the collector is claiming

Disputing with the bureaus and disputing with the collector are two separate actions. Doing both is normal.

Three things not to do

• Do not pay anything to make it stop. A payment on a debt that is not yours is hard to undo, and on an old debt it can restart the clock on how long they have to sue you in most states
• Do not give bank account or employer details over the phone. Those are the two things a judgment creditor needs
• Do not say the debt is yours before you have seen what it is, even casually, even to be polite

If you have actually been sued

This letter is not the answer to a lawsuit. It builds a paper trail and it is worth sending, but it does not stop a case, and it does not extend a court deadline.

If you have papers with a case number, a court and a county on them, that is a different and more urgent situation. The deadline to file a written answer is usually somewhere between 14 and 30 days from service, and missing it hands them a judgment without anyone examining whether the debt is yours.

Start here instead: everything on this site about answering a lawsuit is free to read too.