Rebuilding Your Credit

[bobstevens]

Hey again everyone! So I have read posts and done a little posting of my own, but I am still confused about the DV letter. If I have a Collection that shows up on my CR, I send that CA a DV letter. Are they legally obligated to respond? And if they are, what happens if they don't respond? I guess I'm just a little confused because if I send a DV and they don't answer, what do I do then? Do I dispute with the CRA's? I've read the article "What steps do I take?" but it doesn't tell me what to do if a CA can't validate the debt. I know that if they can validate, I start the PFD process but I'm unsure of what steps to take if they cannot or do not validate. You guys have been so helpful and I thank you in advance for the replies. 

[guiness56]

A DV is supposed to be sent within 30 days of your first contact with a CA.  After they receive it they cannot continue collection activity until they respond.  There is no time frame, except in TX, for them to respond to the DV.

If your first contact is through finding it on your CR, I would say that is first contact, others may not.

If they don't respond and they send you another dunning letter, update your CR, call you etc, that is considered collection activity and they are in violation.

[Shogun]

+1  Good answer.  

[RobertEG]

The period for sending a timely DV is based on their date of formal collection (dunning) notice sent to the consumer, not the consumer's first contact with the debt collector.

Initial communication with a consumer, which includes reporting to a CRA, triggers their requirement to send dunning notice within 5 days thereafter.

It does not begin the period for sending a timely DV.  If the debt collector initiates communication and fails to send dunning notice, any DV will be timely, regardless of any communications with the debt collector.

Sending a DV does not require response by the debt collector.  The purpose of the DV process is to free the consumer from continued collection activities on the part of a debt collector until they have provided sufficient information for the consumer to evaluate their assertion of debt and take their next step.

If the debt collector chooses to simply cease collection on the debt, they have no requirement to provide debt validation.  They have a requirement to cease collection on the debt, which is not retroactive to any prior activities they have conducted, including any reporting of their collection to the CRAs.