When a debt collection agency contacts you about a past-due balance, the debt may not actually be yours. Federal law gives you 30 days to request that the collection agency validate your debt. This is ...

Could your debt be reduced or forgiven? Take our financial relief quiz. Before a debt collector can pursue you for a debt, they are generally required to first send you a debt validation letter. This ...

Debt validation letters help you determine that a debt actually belongs to you. Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take ...

We may receive commissions from some links to products on this page. Promotions are subject to availability and retailer terms. Part of the issue is that the recent surge in digital lending and ...

Scammers use texts, calls, emails and letters to create a false sense of urgency about debt repayment. Always ask for detailed information about the debt and the debt collector’s contact details to ...

On September 5, the FTC published a letter to the CFPB on the Commission’s annual summary of debt collection activities in 2023. Addressed to CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, the report aimed to assist the ...

I am formally requesting that you validate all notations you have submitted to the three major credit reporting agencies by {name of the collection agency or original creditor} for me, {your name}, ...

Receiving a call from a debt collector can be jarring, but you need to remain calm and make sure you’re not on the hook for an IOU you don’t actually owe. Unfortunately, it’s not altogether rare to be ...