If your goal is to get a collection agency off your back, or have some negative items removed from your credit report, you are going to have to write a few letters. Something that most people don’t know is that the Federal Trade Commission, which is the Federal Agency that regulates credit reporting agencies, has dictated that the simple itemization of an account in a computer printout is not enough to serve as validation of a debt. Therefore, you need to demand that the collection agency provide you with original documents, or certified copies of a debt; under the law these are the only documents that acceptable for debt validation.

Here is what you should be asking for:

You need to ask the collection agency to provide you proof that they actually own the debt, or that it has been legally assigned to them for collection. This is extremely important since as all of us know, during the catastrophic banking failure that we experienced a few years ago, Banks were selling the mortgages and debts to each other so fast that they couldn’t even determine who owned what. The law in on your side; use it.

Ask for a certified copy of the statement from the original creditor. If you really want to get technical you can ask them to provide you with your complete payment history, and the original amount of the debt. If you are a good writer you can always cite case law: “Fields v. Wilber Law Firm, Donald L. Wilber and Kenneth Wilber, USCA-02-C-0072, 7th Circuit Court, Sept 2004.”

Origination documents; what are origination documents? These are the original documents that have your signature on the loan application, credit card, or any credit agreement that you have entered. A certified copy of your contract also serves to establish whether the account was legally assigned or transferred to another creditor or collection agency.

Under the law you are entitled to receive a statement that itemizes the debts listed in your credit report and/or the payment history of a loan.

Don’t forget to ask for a copy of the agency\’s state and local licenses. If you find that the agency is not located in your state, demand that they provide you a copy of the license that allows them to do business in your state. If the collection agency is not properly licensed, your state laws may have regulations in place that prohibits the agency from attempting to collect from you.

Under the law collection agencies only have 30 days to respond to your debt verification request letter or debt validation letter. If they fail to respond to you within the established time, write them another letter, and inform them that their failure to respond to your request is a violation of the The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, section 809(b). You must also demand that the collection agency cease all collection activities and to immediately remove any entries that it may have sent to the credit reporting agencies.

I am a full time student, in the process of completing my Bachelor Degree in Business Management, and father of two. I served in the US Army and at one point was deployed to Iraq. During my deployment, I defaulted on credit cards and a car loan. As a result, my credit score and history was adversely affected. I have created my website: Repair Credit Now with the purpose of helping others that may find themselves in a similar situation that I did. Using the techniques I describe in my website, I was able to remove the negative items from my credit report, and improve my credit score. All information is FREE.

I am a full time student, in the process of completing my Bachelor Degree in Business Management, and father of two. I served in the US Army and at one point was deployed to Iraq. During my deployment, I defaulted on credit cards and a car loan. As a result, my credit score and history was adversely affected. I have created my website: http://www.RepairCreditNow.Net with the purpose of helping others that may find themselves in a similar situation that I did. Using the techniques I describe in my website, I was able to remove the negative items from my credit report, and improve my credit score. All information is FREE.

Author Bio: I am a full time student, in the process of completing my Bachelor Degree in Business Management, and father of two. I served in the US Army and at one point was deployed to Iraq. During my deployment, I defaulted on credit cards and a car loan. As a result, my credit score and history was adversely affected. I have created my website: Repair Credit Now with the purpose of helping others that may find themselves in a similar situation that I did. Using the techniques I describe in my website, I was able to remove the negative items from my credit report, and improve my credit score. All information is FREE.

Category: Finances
Keywords: improve my credit score, repair credit, credit report