Disputed debts are important to understand when it comes to debt management and collection. This is because a disputed debt has different legal ramifications from a normal one, and those differences could be relevant to your FDCPA case.
Disputed Debt Simplified
As the name implies, a disputed debt is a debt that the debtor has explicitly not agreed to pay. This is often because the debt is illegitimate or the amount is not what the debtor had originally agreed upon.
For example, if you receive a debt collection notice for a debt that you don’t believe is legitimate, you can send a letter to the collection agency stating that you will not pay it due to its illegitimacy. As long as you do that within 30 days of receiving the debt collection notice, the collection agency has to stop trying to collect it until it provides appropriate evidence that the debt is legitimate.
If you’d like to dispute a debt, you should prepare a notice for a debt collector as soon as possible. You should also learn about how debt collectors validate debt so you can determine if your debt is valid.
Disputed Debts and the FDCPA
If the collection agency ignores your request to stop being contacted and continues to harass you over the disputed debt, then the agency is breaking FDCPA laws. You never deserve harassment, but especially not in a case where you’re being harassed over a debt that’s in dispute.
Consider contacting an FDCPA attorney if this is happening to you. An attorney will be in a good position to help you figure out what your next steps should be, and if those next steps involve filing a formal FDCPA claim, you’ll have a knowledgeable ally on your side.