COLLECTION LETTERS WILL NOT BREAK YOUR KNEECAPS

Copyright © 2010 John Gliha 

Realize that today we have laws and even business practices that prohibit people from coming to your house and breaking your kneecaps or kidnapping your dog unless you pay your debt.  Today they use words printed on a piece of paper, totally harmless and much better for your health.  A collection letter is much like a gauge, it informs of you of approximately where you stand in relation to future collection attempts.  For example, the more collection letters you receive the more delay you experience before any real collection attempts take place, such as a referral to an attorney.  Remember also that a collection letter is not the same as a summons and complaint from a court.  A summons must be responded to with either a motion to dismiss or an answer or an answer and counterclaim. 

But a collection letter from a creditor, in what you recognize to be a form letter (usually unsigned or signed with a font set) means that no one has taken a serious look at your account, regardless of what the language in the letter says.  Also, the date of the letter is very important.  How long has it been between the date of your last payment and the date of the letter?  The more time between these events there is, the better for you.  And another factor is who sent the letter. 

Did the letter come from the creditor’s in-house collection department, an attorney in another state, a local attorney, or a third party debt collector or a third party debt collector’s attorney in another state or the third party debt collector’s local attorney?   

It is important to understand if a collection notice is coming from a creditor or third party debt collector (and not the creditor).  Attorneys are not debt collectors, they represent either, but they are not debt collectors themselves.  A third party debt collector is a corporation that never provided you with credit and is not in the banking or credit business.  Most of us are familiar with the corporate names commonly known as creditors, such as Citibank, Discover, but companies like “Asset Acceptance Corporation and NCO and First Select” are not creditors.  

 In response to a third party debt collector, do not send the same responses as you would for creditors, instead, your letter should be dated and state that you dispute the claim, are not refusing to pay but are requesting validation.  Sign it and include a copy of their letter for reference. 

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act provides that you can request a validation of any collection account that is in dispute.  In the case of Chaudhry v. Gallerizzo, 174 F.3d 394, 43 Fed.R.Serv.3d 1063 (4th Cir. 04/05/1999), the court ruled that the collector (or creditor) is only responsible for providing some record that they have your name spelled correctly and that the account number and mailing address is correct.  The purpose it serves for us is that it helps us determine what information they do have or how they will respond. 

Even though the collection letter might say that if you don’t dispute this within thirty days it will be considered valid, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act specifically states the opposite.  It states that if you don’t respond within the thirty days of receiving their letter, it will not be considered an admission of the debt.