California law gives residents the right to stop collections when a collection company can't verify a debt they supposedly owe. The law also allows Californians to restrict a collector's contact with them. Residents can't stop collection actions for debts they legitimately owe, so it's unwise to ignore collection notices for legitimate debts.
Paid Debts
California's Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prevents debt collection agencies from continuing collection efforts if Californians dispute a debt that a collector can't verify. According to the California attorney general's office, residents need to respond in writing within 30 days of receiving their first collection notice to dispute a debt. People who have already paid off a debt that a company is trying to collect should send copies of canceled checks or other documents that show they paid the debt in full. A collector has to stop contacting a resident after receiving a letter that disputes a debt, unless the collector can reply with information that verifies the debt is legitimate.
Wrong Debtor
Residents who believe a collection company is trying to collect a debt from them that isn't theirs also should respond to the first collection notice within 30 days and explain that the debt isn't theirs. The attorney general's office indicates that a collector may ask that a resident provide a driver's license or Social Security number to prove that the collection company is contacting the wrong person. A collection company must stop contacting a resident if it can't prove it's holding the right person responsible for paying the debt.
Collector Contact
State law also allows California residents to tell collection agencies to stop contacting them whether they owe the debt a collector is pursuing or not. Residents also have the option of telling a collector to contact them only by mail. People who don't want a collector to contact them at work can stop contact at their workplace as well. In any case, residents need to send a written request to a collection company to tell the company to cut off its contact with them. One risk of cutting off all contact with a collection agency is that the agency may decide to sue you to recoup a debt, since it can't contact you about repayment.
Considerations
It's sometimes difficult to get out of a collection agency's system even if it can't prove that you owe a debt you have disputed. The attorney general's office indicates that uncollected debts may go back to the original creditors or lenders. The problem for consumers is that companies sometimes resell uncollected debts to other collection companies. Therefore, an unverified debt may go to another collector, and a consumer will have to start the dispute process all over again to stop collection efforts.
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