When you are being pursued by a debt collector, the best time to dispute a debt that you do not agree with is immediately after you get the very first collection letter. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Section 1692g (found here) requires a debt collector to notify you of certain dispute rights in the initial collection letter.
You can dispute the debt for many reasons. For example, you can dispute the debt because you do not recognize the name of the original creditor, you do not recognize the precise balance that is claimed as due, your prior payments have not been fully credited, the debt has improperly accrued interest in excess of the amount allowable by law, and for many additional reasons. If you dispute the debt in a timely fashion, the debt collector “shall cease collection of the debt” until the debt collector obtains verification of the debt and mails it to you. Your dispute must be in writing.
Even if you fall outside of the 30 day period, you should still consider disputing the debt. Even an oral dispute of the debt is enough to force the debt collector, if they are credit reporting the delinquent debt, to notify the credit reporting agencies that you dispute the debt.
If you dispute a debt and the debt collector fails to handle the dispute properly, we may be able to file suit against the debt collector for you. The FDCPA allows a consumer to collect a penalty of up to $1000 if he or she defeats the debt collector in court. The FDCPA also allows the victorious consumer to collect attorneys’ fees from the debt collector.
At Voytas Law, LLC, we typically take consumer cases without charge to the consumer. Either the debt collector pays our fees and reimburses our costs, or we do not get paid.
Rick Voytas of Voytas Law, LLC is a trial lawyer who combines objective advice with the tactical know-how to obtain the compensation you deserve. He has more than nineteen years of courtroom and litigation experience, handling a variety of difficult cases.
As a native of St. Louis and licensed in Missouri, Illinois, and various federal courts, Rick Voytas provides knowledge and personal attention to your legal matter.
Don’t delay! Contact Voytas Law, LLC now for your debt collection legal problems in Missouri at 314-380-3166 or learn more at www.voytaslaw.com.
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