The DV process is there for assistance. There is no requirement that a debt collector advise you of the name of the original creditor in their dunning notice, just the name of the current creditor. In recognition of situations such as yours where identification of only the current creditor might not give the consumer adequate information to identify the debt, part of the debt valdiatiion process under section 809(b) is your right to request the name and address of the original creditor. And of course, the DV will additionally invoke an automatic cease collection bar on the debt collector until such time as they provide both verification of the debt and the name and address of the OC.
If, upon receipt of their response, you still dont recognize the debt as yours, there are various provisions of the FCRA for securing additional information regarding the debt, such as FCRA 609(e) and 615(g), but those provisions require that you first assert possible identity theft based on lack of your authorization of any transactions constituting the debt.
Yes, FCRA 609(a) gives you 30 days to request debt verification. Informing you that you have a period less than 30 days is a clear and serious violation of the express provisions of FDCPA 809(a). Section 809(a) not only sets forth your rights, but requires the debt collector to accurately advise you of those rights in their collection notice.
They are already in clear violation of the FDCPA, so be careful.
