dv question

[Anonymous]

I'm afraid I've made a mistake by sending a dv letter to a real-estate company that I rented from in 2005. By sending this letter did I effect it from dropping off my credit report in the 7.5 years. They have sent a letter saying "Unless you dispute the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, within 30 days of receipt of this notice, it will be assumed to be valid."

[llecs]

You did fine. Sounds like this is from a CA. If they verify and you agree, then you can always consider sending a PFD if that CA is reporting, or direct the PFD to the real estate company if they are reporting. Or wait til it drops.

Nothing can legally change the DOFD and the DOFD is the basis for the reporting time period (7-7.5 yrs). It won't report any longer than what it is now.

[RobertEG]

I agree.

DV letters have nothing to do withe credit reporting.  They are private communications between you and a debt collector relating to their debt collection activities.

DOFD on the OC account is the only date that matters for calculating continued inclusion of a CO or CA in your CR.  Nothing a CA reports can change the DOFD on the OC account.

[Anonymous]

DV letters are only really helpful when they dont respond.

[RobertEG]

I tend to agree.  In my opinion, debt validation in response to a DV request, if a proper collection (dunning) notice was sent, really gives you very little beyond that stated in the collection notice.

A collection notice under FDCPA 809(a) requires identification of the name of the credtor (FDCPA 809(a)(2)) and the amount of the debt (FDCPA 809(a)(1)).

Sending a DV letter under FDCPA 809(b) entitles the consumer to request the name and address of the original creditor, along with "verification" of the debt.

However, FDCPA 809(b) does not define what proper "verification" is.  Many posts can be found on the net that require many items under "verifiation," including such things as account records from the OC, documentation of collection athority, statement of the SOL, etc., that are not required under FDCPA 809(b).

Over years and years, it has become fairly standard practice that "verification" is satisfied by a simple listing by the debt collector of the breakdown of the debt, such as orignal amount referred to them by the OC, and any additional interest or fees that they assert since that date.  Such a listing does not require legal proofs.

So, in my opinion, I dont see much in the way of validation after a DV letter than what was provded in their collection notice.

I agree with the prior post that a DV letter may be more valuable if NOT responsed to, in that it blocks further collection activity until responded to.