When a collector ignores your dispute
If you dispute a debt in writing within 30 days after receiving the validation notice, the collector must stop collecting until it mails you verification of the debt. Continuing to call, send demands or sue before then violates the FDCPA. And whenever a collector reports a debt it knows you dispute, it must tell the credit bureaus the debt is disputed.
A written dispute is the most powerful letter a consumer can send a debt collector. Sent within 30 days after you receive the validation notice, it requires the collector to stop collecting the debt, or the disputed part, until it obtains verification and mails it to you. A collector that keeps calling, keeps sending demands, or files suit before it verifies is breaking the law.
There is a credit reporting side too. Once a collector knows you dispute a debt, it may not report the debt to a credit bureau without saying it is disputed.
What it looks like
- Business as usual. You mailed a dispute on day 20. The calls and demand letters continue as if nothing happened.
- "Verification" that verifies nothing. The collector sends back a copy of its own collection letter or a one-line balance printout and resumes collecting.
- A lawsuit instead of an answer. The collector files suit on the debt without ever mailing verification.
- The credit report stays clean of the dispute. The account appears on your credit report with no note that you dispute it.
- "We have no record of your dispute." The collector denies receiving a letter you sent by certified mail.
The law
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b), if you notify the collector in writing within the 30-day period that the debt, or any part of it, is disputed, or you request the name and address of the original creditor, the collector "shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof," until it obtains verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment, or the original creditor's name and address, and mails it to you. During the 30 days, collection activity may not overshadow or be inconsistent with your dispute rights. Regulation F calls the 30 days the validation period and requires the notice to state when it ends (12 C.F.R. § 1006.34(b)(5), (c)).
Credit reporting has its own rule. Communicating to any person credit information that is known or should be known to be false, "including the failure to communicate that a disputed debt is disputed," violates § 1692e(8). That applies whether or not your dispute came inside the 30 days.
If you also dispute with Equifax, Experian or TransUnion, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires the bureau to reinvestigate, and the company that reported the account to investigate when the bureau notifies it (15 U.S.C. §§ 1681i(a), 1681s-2(b)). See failed credit dispute.
What you have to show
That you sent a written dispute to a debt collector within 30 days after receiving the notice, when it arrived, and that the collector continued collecting before mailing verification. For credit reporting, that the collector knew of the dispute and reported the debt without noting it. Proof of mailing and delivery is the heart of the case.
What you can recover
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a), a collector that violates the FDCPA is liable for your actual damages plus additional statutory damages of up to $1,000 per lawsuit. The FDCPA requires a company found liable to pay the consumer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs.
If the credit reporting side leads to an FCRA claim, a willful violation carries actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000 plus punitive damages (15 U.S.C. § 1681n(a)), and a negligent one actual damages (§ 1681o(a)). The FCRA requires a company found liable to pay the consumer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs. In Florida the FCCPA provides statutory damages up to $1,000 (Fla. Stat. § 559.77(2)); in New York GBL 349 provides actual damages or $50, whichever is greater, increased up to three times actual damages capped at $1,000 for a willful violation. This site does not estimate what a case is worth.
What to do now
- Keep the dispute letter and proof of delivery. A copy of what you sent, the certified mail receipt, and the tracking or return receipt.
- Note the date you received the validation notice. The 30 days run from receipt. Keep the envelope.
- Save everything that came after. Every call, letter, text and email after your dispute. Use the call log for calls.
- Check your credit reports. Look for the account and whether it is marked disputed. Screenshot or print the report.
- Keep the first letter as your anchor. Follow-up letters are fine, but the first timely dispute is the one that set the rule in motion.
Sued after you disputed?
Do not ignore the papers. The answer deadline is short. A suit filed before verification can itself be part of your claim. See sued by a debt collector.
The clock
| Claim | Time to sue | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| FDCPA | 1 year from each violation | 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(d) |
| FCRA | Earlier of 2 years after discovery or 5 years after the violation | 15 U.S.C. § 1681p |
| Florida FCCPA | 2 years from the violation | Fla. Stat. § 559.77(4) |
| New York GBL 349 | 3 years | N.Y. CPLR 214(2) |
In New York, New Jersey and Florida
New York. GBL 601(5) bars disclosing information about a debt known to be disputed without disclosing that it is disputed. DFS rule 23 NYCRR 1 requires collectors it covers to substantiate a debt when the consumer disputes it in writing. Consumers usually sue through GBL 349, which lets the court award a prevailing consumer reasonable attorney's fees. See the New York page.
New Jersey. The FDCPA and FCRA apply in full. See the New Jersey page.
Florida. The FCCPA bars claiming or attempting to enforce a debt the person knows is not legitimate (Fla. Stat. § 559.72(9)). It reaches original creditors too, and the FCCPA requires a company found liable to pay the consumer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs. See the Florida page.
Common questions
Does my dispute have to be in writing?
To trigger the duty to stop collecting until verification, yes. The FDCPA pause applies when you notify the collector in writing within the 30-day period. Keep a copy and proof of mailing or delivery.
What counts as verification?
The statute requires the collector to obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment and mail it to you. How much detail verification must include is a legal question that depends on the facts. In New York, collectors covered by DFS rule 23 NYCRR 1 must also substantiate a debt on written dispute. A lawyer can tell you whether what you received is enough.
I disputed after the 30 days. Does the collector have to do anything?
The automatic pause applies only to a written dispute within the 30-day period. A later dispute still matters: the collector must report the debt as disputed if it reports it at all, and it may not misstate the debt. A written request to stop contact also has its own force.
The collector reported the debt to my credit report after my dispute without marking it disputed. Is that a violation?
Communicating credit information that is known or should be known to be false, including failing to communicate that a disputed debt is disputed, violates 15 U.S.C. 1692e(8). You can also dispute with the credit bureaus, which triggers the reporting company's duties under the FCRA.
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.