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.
It is necessary to know that disputing a debt needs more effort than calling up your creditor and telling them that you disagree that you owe them money. Effective disputes require specific steps and accurate timing. I know these steps so well that significant portions of my clients end up free from debt, or they take advantage of opportunities to settle with creditors or debt collectors for a fraction of their original debt. I recommend to continue learning if you would like these outcomes for your specific debt situation.
Many consumers opt to dispute their debt while on the phone with their creditor or debt collector. This is the most ineffective way to make a dispute of debt. You, as the consumer, will not have any written proof that will hold up in a court of law that you did indeed dispute the debt. Your creditor or debt collector will know this, and by knowing that you have no proof of dispute, they will continue to treat you poorly and harass you without stopping for a minute.
Credit and debt counselors often advise consumers to send debt verification letters to their creditor or debt collector. These letters are a waste of time because all they require is for a creditor or debt collector to confirm your name and address. The name and address of almost anybody in the United States is readily accessible online. In no way do a name and an address prove that a consumer owes their creditor or debt collector money.
Debt verification letters also do not offer any legal protection. They do not demand the creditor or debt collector to validate your account. They do not stop the harassment that is so prevalent in the debt collection industry. For all of these reasons, I feel strongly that debt verification letters are not the answer when learning how to dispute a debt.
After telling you some ineffective ways to dispute debt, I now am going to share with you the best way to effectively dispute a debt. The most proven way to see results when disputing a debt is by using debt validation letters. These letters are much different than debt verification letters. Debt validation letters are backed by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or FDCPA. The laws set forth in this Act require creditors and debt collectors to validate any collection claim with reputable evidence once a request for validation is made.
Debt validation letters also protect you due to the fact that a debt collector cannot continue their collection efforts after a request for validation has been made, unless they completely validate your account. This offers more protection than you think because rarely do debt collectors have enough information to validate your account. Now that you know that debt collectors rarely have the proper information to validate an account, you can stop their collection efforts with a well-written debt validation letter.
The most effective way to continue learning about how to dispute a debt is through an online mini course. These courses are designed to give you the best tips and tricks to ensure you are successful in your debt dispute.
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.