TryingVeryHard wrote:
Is it fair to say that DV is somewhat useless after the 30 days of initial contact?
It might perhaps be more correct to say that it's less useful beyond the 30 day window.
Within the 30 day window, non-compliance is a FDCPA violation. Heck, the initial written letter from the CA has to conform--and that applies whether you DV them or not.
In Texas, a consumer can DV under Texas state law ANYTIME. The 30 day limit doesn't apply, under state law, and Texas law tends to be very consumer friendly.
In other states, once beyond the 30 day window, while there's no FDCPA violation, a friendly judge could still rule that an untimely DV letter shows the consumer disputed at least some portion of the claim, and that alone could be enough to turn the worm to the consumer's favor. Judges have been known at times to rule, "Heh, b*tthole CA, you got a letter disputing the claim, you need to answer the consumer. You didn't, so case dismissed."
An untimely DV can have the effect of causing the CA to move their bowels or get off the pot.
If they have validation, they will often send it--the subtle message being, "If you wanna go to court, we're willing and we can prove what we say." If so, then you enter into a friendly settlement negotiation knowing they might well sue.
If they don't have validation, they might just go away thinking, "It ain't worth it to pursue."
