It is common for my clients or readers to think of how to dispute a debt. The initial thing I like to explain is what dispute actually means. Once you have an understanding of the meaning of dispute, you will begin to see how most people who are in credit card debt should dispute their debt. In a nutshell, dispute means to debate, disagree with, or argue something.
If you are wondering how to dispute debt efficiently, you must realize it will take more than a phone call to your creditor or debt collector. Disputing debt is a legal process, thus requiring specific steps to get the best results. I have helped clients through these steps so many times that I know them like the back of my hand. Many of my clients end up with complete freedom from debt, or debt settlement offers for extremely non-expensive amounts. If you want these results in your credit situation, you need to keep reading.
Even after knowing the meaning of what disputing a debt means, many consumers choose to attempt a dispute over the phone. Disputing debt over the phone is basically useless. It provides you no evidence in court that the debt was disputed. This leaves you completely unprotected in the event that a creditor or debt collector decides to sue. Not to mention the fact that the creditor or debt collector will not treat you any better and will most likely harass you even more aggressively.
I have often seen advice given to consumers that they should send debt verification letters to their creditors or debt collectors. This advice is flawed because a debt verification letter requires only a name and an address to be verified on an account. Any creditor or debt collector could go on the Internet, if they didn’t already have the consumer’s name and address, and find all the information they need in a matter of seconds. Because of this, debt verification letters do little or even nothing to help the situation of a consumer.
There are a few other problems with debt verification letters. First, they do not stop the creditor or debt collector from harassing you. Second, they provide no evidence that you had an account with the creditor or debt collector. Third, they provide no legal protection. Due to these facts, debt verification letters provide not much help when learning how to dispute a debt.
I will bet that after hearing all of the ways you shouldn’t dispute your debt that you are wondering what the best way to dispute a debt actually is. The way that I have seen the best results when disputing debt is through the use of debt validation letters. Debt validation letters are much more powerful than debt verification letters because they are backed by the FDCPA or Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This Act sets forth specific requirements for debt collectors and creditors to provide accurate and validating information on any account that a request for validation is made.
The reason for debt validation letters is to eliminate wrongful collection from debt collectors. By sending a well-written debt validation letter, you force your debt collector to provide complete and validating information on your account. The fact of the matter is that most debt collectors do not have the proper information to completely validate their collection attempts on your account. Until this validation is made, the debt collector cannot continue to attempt collection on your account.
Now that you know more about how to dispute a debt, I would suggest taking a mini course online to learn more about debt validation letters. The knowledge you can gain by doing this will be extremely valuable to help you get through your debt dispute and validation process.
Want to find out more about how to dispute a debt, then go to Alan Henry’s site on how to choose the best debt dispute for your credit solutions.