What to Do When Debt Collectors Never Send Written Notice

Debt collection agencies have a reputation for being rude, obnoxious, and sometimes scary when prompting debtors to pay up pending debts. The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) was enacted to control and cap unfair debt collection practices, even though some collectors openly defy the laws.

One of the expected practices of an ERC debt collection agency is ensuring proper communication with the creditor, including sending a written debt verification notice to you within the first five days of their official communication.

What Happens if a Debt Collector Never Sends a Written Notice?

In a nutshell, this affects the debt validation process and may lead to debt collectors taking you to court.

If you have questions about ERC you can check them here:

Dealing with debt collectors often requires a certain level of expertise and experience that most people lack. Whether you want to negotiate with a debt collector or dispute the collector's unfair debt collection practices, DoNotPay has got you sorted.

Check out this guide on how to go about a debt collector failing to send a written notice.

What Is a Written Debt Verification Notice?

Within the first five days of communication with a debtor, a debt collector is required by law to send the debtor a written debt validation notice. A written debt validation notice states a debtor's right to dispute the debt validity within 30 days.

Therefore, the FDCPA allows debt collectors to attach the debt collector notice within the initial communication in case the communication is a letter directed to the debtor. However, if the initial communication is a phone call, a debt collector must send the notice within five days.

You can still send your debt validation request regardless of receiving a notice from the collector. Ensure you send the request for validation within 30 days to ensure your rights are protected.

What Should a Written Debt Validation Notice Include?

The FDCPA recommends that this notice be in writing. The notice should include:

• Debt amount
• The creditor's name.
• The assumption that the debt will be valid unless you write a dispute letter or request for validation within 30 days.
• A notification that you can request debt verification within 30 days.
• A notification that you can request the original creditor's details within 30 days.

Failure to dispute the debt in writing within 30 days, a collector has the right to assume the debt is valid and choose to take you to court. However, during the 30 days, the debt collector will assume regular attempts to collect the debt from you until they receive a validation request.

How to Deal with Debt Collectors Failing to Send Notice By Yourself

Handling debt collectors and their unfair practices—such as failure to communicate clearly—typically require the help of an expert debt attorney. However, if you cannot access one, here are a few things you can do to avoid liability or legal suit.

1. Once you receive a debt validation letter, verify every detail of the debt, including the amount owed, creditor's name, and debt collector's details. In most cases, the debt validation letter comes with a written debt validation notice informing you of your right to dispute within 30 days.
2. If the notice is missing or does not come within 5 days and you want to dispute the debt, file a debt verification request. If the collector verifies the debt, confirm that the debt is within the statute of limitations. If not, then the collector is less likely to win a judgment against you in court.
3. You can choose to clear the debt, request the debt collector to cease contacting you, or report them to the relevant authorities if you are certain they have violated the FDCPA rules.

However, this process is long and tedious, especially if you lack the technical know-how for dealing with debt collectors.

How to Deal With Debt Collectors With the Help of DoNotPay

DNP is the perfect solution for handling debt collectors. Regardless of your situation—whether home loan, student loan, personal loan, or medical debt collection—DNP deals with your debt collectors on your behalf to reduce liability, legal suits, and stresses on your part.

If you want to write a dispute letter or negotiate any processes with the debt collector, DoNotPay has got you covered in a few steps:

1. Search “debt collection” on DoNotPay.

2. Answer a series of questions about the debt collectors, including when you were contacted and how you were contacted, so we can determine if they have violated any debt collection laws.

3. Decide which course of action you want to take based on our guidance, such as filing a debt verification request, demanding for the collectors to stop contacting you, or reporting them to the CFPB.

DoNotPay can help you dispute and file against unfair debt collection practices such as constant harassment via phone calls and forcefully taking away your stimulus check or any other protected property. Find out more about how DoNotPay covers your interests with debt collectors.

Why Use DoNotPay to Handle Debt Collectors?

• Fast: You don't need to spend lots of hours or days following up with debt collectors.
• Easy: You don't have to handle all the tedious processes.
• High success rate: Rest assured, DNP makes the strongest case on your behalf.

How Else Can DoNotPay Help?

Besides dealing with debt collectors on your behalf, DNP can also help with:

• Canceling subscriptions and memberships
• Drafting financial aid appeal letters
• Increasing credit limits
• Finding and claiming missing money
• Getting clean credit reports.

If you feel aggrieved by any unfair practices from debt collectors, such as unclear communication, DoNotPay can help you out. Reach out to DoNotPay to start the process.