8-Letter 3rd-Party Debt Validation & Credit Bureau Series + Tracking Sheet

Wondering how to take care of those pesky 3rd-party debt collectors? Using the debt validation method, removing inaccurate or unverified collections can be easy! My recommendation would be to ONLY use this on accounts that are actually unknown, outside the statute of limitations, known to be legally unverifiable, etc. You do not want to use this on debt-buyer collections such as Portfolio Recovery, Midland, Second Round, Cavalry unless you believe it to match one of the above-listed stipulations. This same series has been used to remove 1,000s of collections!

How, you ask? It's simple: 

Sections 623 FCRA and 806(b) FDCPA  stipulate that the required notice of dispute must be entered within 30 days of receipt of your first dispute letter. 80% of the time this will not occur. This means that the credit bureaus and collection agencies are in violation of those laws. 

How do we know if it's been entered? 

Looking at your credit report, you'll see a comments section. By the 31st day after your dispute letters were received, you should see something along the lines of "disputed by consumer". 

Where do we pull our credit report to see this information? 

Make sure to either have creditchecktotal.com or identityiq.com when you start to track everything. Pull a fresh report when you start and pull a fresh report on the 31st day after the certified mail was received. Us the USPS website to track the certified mail. 

How do we know if the dispute letter has been received to start "counting"?

Send via certified mail

What if they put the required notice of dispute? 

They are still in violation if they did not send legal verification.

What if they sent legal verification? 

They are still in violation if they did not enter the required notice of dispute.

Can this be used on original creditors? 

No. 

These are templates - do I send them exactly as-is?

No. You will want to change the respective information where it says name, address, creditor address, etc. On the credit bureau disputes, you do NOT want to send that exact dispute letter. It is only a "road map" for you to come up with something similar and to guide you in the series. The collection letters can be sent as-is AFTER entering your information.