What is validation or verification?
Simply put, proper validation of a debt depends on the specific nature of the dispute. At a minimum, the debt collector is required to confirm with the creditor that the amount being claimed is correct and that the person he is attempting to collect the debt from is the person who owes it. The most basic response to a validation/verification request would be for the collector to provide the name of the original creditor and some simple statement regarding the alleged amount owed. The United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has opined that validation can be nothing more complicated than this: “Verification of a debt involves nothing more than the debt collector confirming in writing that the amount being demanded is what the creditor is claiming is owed; the debt collector is not required to keep detailed files of the alleged debt.” See, Chaudhry v. Gallerizzo, 174 F.3d 394(1999). All that having been said, requesting validation of the debt works for two reasons: First and most im
