Re: does the collection agency have to prove the debt?

Posted by Drew (24.59.27.46) on June 24, 2004 at 11:07:04:

In Reply to: does the collection agency have to prove the debt? posted by aquajoc on June 23, 2004 at 23:13:52:

You have a right to request validation of a debt. After they call you for the first time, they are supposed to send you a notice in writing demanding payment and this notice has to have the mini-miranda on it. The mini-miranda is basically a statement informing you that they are a debt collector and any and all information you give them will be used for the purpose to collect the debt. They will also state that they will give you thirty days to dispute the letter and that after thirty days, they will assume the debt is valid. It means absolutely squat as far as the legality of it in a court of law. They can assume validity all they want. However to get a judgment against you in a court of law, they have to prove that you owe the debt according to the civil procedures of that courthouse and state law.

Each state has its rules about submitting evidence and what constitutes preponderance of evidence. Usually it consists of a signed contract with your signature on it and some billing statements showing that you have been paying, and probably a couple of copies of canceled checks showing you made payments on it.

You always have the right to ask for a copy of the original contract. Some will argue that it is not wise to do so. I am torn on that issue.

Sometimes for me, I would like to know what they have early on. If you ask for validation, they don't have to provide it. They just can't make any more attempts to collect the account until they do. However many CAs routinely ignore this rule. Some of the more honest ones will either validate if they can or they will turn it back to the creditor who will then assign it to another collection agency.

This cycle may go on forever.

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