The collection was reported by the debt collector.
Any dispute or validation would be directed to and responded to by the debt collector, not the creditor.
When a debt collector obtains a debt, they must obtain (or be able, by contacting the creditor, to obtain) adequate information to investigate and verify/validate a dispute or DV request. It is quite possible that, upon purchase of the debt, the debt collector obtained adequate documentation from the creditor, and the creditor thereafter either does not have, or has archived and has no reason to search their archives to locate originals for, documentation of the debt or information reported under their account.
If, in response to a dispute, the debt collector verifies, they are stating that they had adequate basis to verify, which may or may not have involved any contact with the creditor.
A statement from the creditor that they dont have, or are not providing, documentation is not determinative of whether the debt collector can make their verification.
No, notifiying the CRA that a party not involved in the dispute cannot verify will not overcome a verification by the debt collector.
You can always, if you doubt the ability of the debt collector to document, bring civil action and compel them to come forth with their evidence in support of their verification.
