How to Dispute Collection Agency Charges

Very little can ruin your day quite as effectively as a telephone call or letter from a collection agency notifying you that you owe a debt. Collection agencies are notorious for relentlessly pursuing consumers for old debts. This can result in repeated collection attempts by debt collectors for a debt you know nothing about. Federal law gives you the right to dispute the legitimacy of any debt a collection agency claims you owe, and to make the collection calls stop.

Instructions

1

Write a letter to the collection agency notifying it that you dispute its claim that you owe the debt. Ask for proof that the debt in question actually belongs to you. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act gives all individuals the right to question the claims of collection agencies regarding what they do and do not owe. It also prohibits further collection attempts from the agency until it provides you with the written proof you requested.

2

Mail your letter to the collection agency via certified mail or registered mail. Opting for one of these two methods allows you to request a return receipt. The mail carrier will then obtain a signature from a company representative before delivering your dispute. The return receipt proves that the collection agency received your letter and will serve as proof of a legal violation if the company refuses to comply with your request.

3

Write a letter to the credit bureaus if the collection agency is currently reporting the inaccurate account on your credit report and either does not send you the proof you requested or sends you a simple printout of the account balance. Notify the credit bureaus that you do not owe the debt and want it removed from your credit report immediately. Include copies of your photo ID and Social Security card to help the credit bureaus validate your identity. Each credit bureau will then contact the collection agency and attempt to validate the debt.

4

Dispute the debt in court by filing a civil lawsuit against the collection agency if it validates the debt to the credit bureaus. If the collection agency cannot prove in court that the debt belongs to you, it must withdraw its claim against you, delete any reports it previously made to the credit bureaus and pay you up to $1,000 in damages.