What is a Dispute Letter?
Due to the sheer volume of information maintained by the credit bureaus, credit reporting errors occur regularly. When collection accounts appear on a credit report, they do substantial damage to a consumer’s credit score. If a consumer discovers a collection account on his or her credit report and is unable to identify its origin, a dispute letter is in order to determine the validity of the negative trade line. Within a dispute letter, a consumer disputes the fact that he or she owes the debt and requests proof of the debt in the form of debt validation. A dispute letter may also request the following: • The collection agency’s license number in the consumer’s state of residence • The name and address of the original creditor for the debt • Proof that the collection agency was hired by the original creditor to collect the debt • An explanation of the amount requested by the collection agency • No further telephone contact from the collection agencyThe Fair Debt Collection Practices A
