Return to the Home Page
Our editorial team is independent and objective. To help support our review work, and to continue our ability to provide this content for free to our readers, we receive compensation from the companies that advertise on the CreditMashup site. This site does not include all companies or products available within the market.

We also include links to advertisers’ offers in some of our articles; these “affiliate links” may generate income for our site when you click on them. The compensation we receive from advertisers does not influence the recommendations or advice our editorial team provides in our articles or otherwise impact any of the editorial content.

While we work hard to provide accurate and up to date information that we think you will find relevant, CreditMashup does not and cannot guarantee that any information provided is complete and makes no representations or warranties in connection thereto, nor to the accuracy or applicability thereof. Here is a list of our partners who offer products that we have affiliate links for.

Actions to take when a collection agency does not verify a debt

Collection agencies may not always respond to a debt verification/validation request but that does not the issue is resolved.
Man calculating his bills while his family are on the sofa

Question: Since the credit bureaus are not subjected to the debt validation provisions, after I dispute with the debt collectors via certified mail and they have not provided proper validation or responded to my validation request at all. Can I:

  • Then dispute with the credit bureaus showing proof that the collection agencies didn’t show proof?
  • At that point, wouldn’t the credit bureaus be obligated to remove the items after showing proof the collection agency didn’t show proof?

Response: Debt Validation/Verification is a provision under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. While the credit bureaus are not subject to the FDCPA they are subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act — the FCRA essentially means what is reported must be accurate.

In theory you can do as you stated however, the credit bureaus would probably just note the account as “Disputed by Consumer” without removing it. To add some teeth to your strategy you may want to:


  1. Dispute the item directly with the credit bureaus first.
  2. Wait for the credit bureaus to verify the account as accurate.
  3. Then question the credit bureaus as to how they verified the account as accurate when you have documentation to prove the collection agency could not verify the debt.
  4. At this point you have set the credit bureaus up. They are reporting an unverified debt. This can give you more leverage to request the credit bureaus delete the account.
  5. To add even more leverage to your request for removal you may want to request the method of verification if the dispute comes back as accurate by the credit bureaus.

I know it's a few more steps than you anticipated but you want to create as much documentation as possible to get the account removed. It starts with the credit bureaus first because you may have to take legal action for removal and disputing the account with them first is the only way you can do that. Get the credit bureaus on the line for reporting an inaccurate, unverified debt.

Share:

Explore More

Send Us A Message

Get In Touch

6080 Center Dr, 6th Fl
Los Angeles, CA 90045

© 2024 All Rights Reserved.