What happens if the collector refuses to validate the debt?
You should only be so lucky. If after a validation request under the FDCPA, the creditor refuses to cooperate, then the creditor may not legally collect the debt. If the collector does, then the law is violated and a suit for damages may be brought. Such a suit was brought in federal court in New Jersey against MRS Associates, debt collectors for a company going by the name of Lake Cook Partners. Lake Cook engages in, what is known in the business as, “bottom feeding.” Bottom feeding is a term used to mean the acquisition of “dead” or written off debts. Lake Cook purchases the debts from credit card companies (and perhaps other companies) for pennies on the dollar. Lake Cook then uses MRS Associates to make a debtor’s life a living hell. What if the debt collector ignores the request and collects the debt anyway? That happened with MRS Associates. MRS Associates was requested to validate a debt alleged owed by a husband of a client who received a bankruptcy discharge. The husband claim
