In this day in age Identity theft is increasingly common and easy to perpetrate.  This is very troubling for many consumers, particularly with the ease of obtaining credit that was pervasive only a year ago.  This, combined with unscrupulous “bottom-feeding” debt collection agencies, means that consumers are increasingly being contacted for collection of past due debts which they do not owe.

So, if a collection agency contacts you about a debt that does not rightfully belong to you, what is a consumer to do, and what protection does the law provide you?

Anyone who has received a letter from a debt collector will be familiar with the following paragraph, which appears at the bottom of the collectors initial collection letter.

“Unless you notify us within 30 days after the receipt of this notice that you dispute the validity of any portion of this debt , we will assume it to be valid.  If you do notify us, we will obtain verification of the debt…” and so on.

As a proactive and educated consumer, you take this step and notify the collection agency, through certified mail of course, that the debt they are collecting is not valid and does not belong to you.  To further protect yourself, you ask them specifically to provide documentation, from the original creditor, bearing your signature originating the debt.

In response, the collection agency mails you a glorified collection notice, telling you that the debt collector verified the debt, and giving you the name of who the creditor they claim you owe, and how much you owe.  In this letter, they tell you that this will serve as validation of the debt.  The collection agency did not provide you with any further proof or documentation that you requested.

They have violated the law by not providing you with thorough proof of the debt, right?

WRONG!

The protection provided by the FDCPA, and the right for a consumer to dispute debts, is so very hollow that it does not in reality provide consumers ANY protection against identity theft or unscrupulous collectors.  The law simple requires that:

“[T]he debt collector obtain verifications verification of the debt or any copy of a judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy of such verification or judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor” and mail it to the consumer.

You have absolutely no right to request ANY loan originating documents from the collection agency to PROVE that you owe the debt.  This would not be a problem if identity theft were not rampant and if all collection agencies were honest and thorough in vetting their debt portfolios.  Maybe in the simpler time of the 1970s, when the FDCPA was written, both of these were true; they are not true today.

The protections and rights given to consumers to dispute debts are simply not sufficient.  All concerned consumers should contact their congressmen and encourage them to provide consumers with actual protection against identity theft and dead-beat collection agencies.

-Matt S.