Debt collector won't send proof
A collector does not have to answer your dispute at all, but if you disputed in writing within 30 days of receiving its validation notice, it must stop collecting the debt until it mails you verification. If it keeps calling, sending demands or suing without sending proof, that can violate the FDCPA. New York and New York City add their own written-proof rules.
You sent the letter. Certified mail, return receipt, a copy in your drawer. Weeks pass. No documents arrive, but the calls keep coming, or a new letter demands payment as if you never wrote. That silence is not the end of it. It may be the violation.
What the dispute letter triggers
A collector must send a validation notice within five days after its first communication, listing the amount, the creditor and your rights (15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a)). You then have 30 days after you receive it to dispute in writing.
If you do, the collector "shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof," until it obtains verification or a copy of a judgment and mails it to you (§ 1692g(b)). The same pause applies to a written request for the name and address of the original creditor.
That is the design of the law. A collector can decide an account is not worth documenting and simply walk away. What it cannot do is keep collecting as if the dispute never happened.
Two details matter. First, the dispute has to be in writing; a phone dispute does not trigger the pause. Second, the 30 days run from when you receive the notice, so the date on your certified mail receipt is the date that counts. Keep both the receipt and a copy of what you sent, because the collector's file may not match yours.
Signs the collector is ignoring your dispute
- More demands, no documents. Collection calls or letters after your timely written dispute and before any verification.
- A lawsuit instead of an answer. A suit filed after your dispute and before any verification deserves a lawyer's look.
- Silent reporting. A collector that reports the account to a credit bureau and leaves out that you dispute it may violate § 1692e(8).
- A sale to a new collector. The account moves and a new company starts calling. The new company owes its own validation notice.
- Overshadowing. Letters during the 30 days that pressure you so hard they bury your dispute rights (§ 1692g(b)).
Our guide to an ignored dispute covers each pattern in more detail.
New York and New York City add more
New York's DFS rule for third-party collectors and debt buyers requires substantiation of the debt within 60 days of a written dispute, and bars collection until the substantiation is provided (23 NYCRR 1.4).
In New York City, amended DCWP rules took effect on September 1, 2026. They require written verification no later than 60 days after a first dispute, and the collector must stop collecting until it verifies. An unverified debt carries a notice that travels with the account (6 RCNY 5-77). The verification provisions apply to accounts where a validation notice is required on or after that date, not to accounts purchased earlier.
If you are sued in New York on a consumer credit debt, the complaint must attach the contract or, for revolving credit, the charge-off statement, and name the original creditor and every prior owner (CPLR 3016(j)). The proof you never got by mail has to appear in the court papers.
If you have been sued, do not ignore the papers. The answer deadline is short. See sued by a debt collector.
What the law provides
Under the FDCPA, a collector that violates § 1692g or § 1692e is liable for actual damages plus statutory damages of up to $1,000, and the Act requires a collector found liable to pay the consumer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs. The claim must be filed within one year of the violation (15 U.S.C. § 1692k).
If the debt is on your credit report, the FCRA gives you a second route: dispute with the bureau, which must reinvestigate within 30 days and notify the furnisher (15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)). In New Jersey and Florida, state law adds to this; Florida's FCCPA reaches original creditors. See the New York, New Jersey and Florida pages.
Large debt buyers such as LVNV Funding and Resurgent and Jefferson Capital collect on accounts bought from others, which is exactly where records go missing.
What to do this week
- Find your proof of mailing. The certified receipt and green card show the date the collector got your dispute.
- List every contact since then. Calls, letters, texts. The call log keeps dates straight.
- Send a follow-up letter noting the date of your dispute and that no verification has arrived. The letter builder drafts it; see also what to ask for in a validation letter.
- Pull your credit reports and check whether the account is marked as disputed.
- Run the violation checker.
Sources: 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692g, 1692e(8), 1692k, 1681i; 12 C.F.R. § 1006.34; 23 NYCRR 1.4 (DFS FAQ); 6 RCNY 5-77 (DCWP rule); N.Y. CPLR 3016(j).
Common questions
How long does a collector have to send verification?
The FDCPA sets no deadline. Instead, the collector must stop collecting until it mails verification. It can wait as long as it likes, but it cannot collect in the meantime. New York's DFS rule and New York City's rules add 60-day written response requirements.
I disputed after the 30 days. Do I still get proof?
The FDCPA's pause on collection applies only to a written dispute sent within the validation period. A later dispute still matters: a collector that reports the debt to a credit bureau must not leave out that it is disputed. Dispute anyway, in writing.
Is a printout with my name and a balance enough?
The FDCPA does not list the documents that verification must include. In a New York consumer credit lawsuit, though, the complaint itself must attach the contract or charge-off statement and give the chain of ownership.
Tell us what they did.
One conversation with an attorney, in your language. We tell you which laws the collector or the credit bureau broke, which deadline runs first, and what to save this week. If it is not a case we can take, we say so and tell you where to go.
(718) 484-7510The FDCPA and the FCRA require a company found liable to pay the consumer’s reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. Our fee arrangement is confirmed in a written retainer before we begin. English, Russian and Spanish in-house; an interpreter for any other language.