How to Know Your Rights With a Debt Collector — and Make Them Prove the Debt
A collector calling about a debt is not the same as owing it. Make them show the paper.
Old debts get sold, resold, and worked by collectors who often have little more than a spreadsheet line. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) exists because that industry has a long record of chasing the wrong person, the wrong amount, or a debt too old to sue on. Knowing three moves changes the balance of power.
1. Demand validation, in writing
When a collector first contacts you, you have the right to request debt validation. Send a written request (keep proof of mailing) asking them to verify the debt: the amount, the original creditor, and their right to collect. Until they validate, they must pause collection. Many "zombie debts" quietly disappear here because the collector cannot actually document them.
You are not admitting anything by asking for proof. You are making them meet their own burden.
2. Know what they cannot do
- No calls before 8am or after 9pm, or at work if you have told them to stop.
- No threats, no pretending to be a lawyer or government, no false amounts.
- You can tell them in writing to stop contacting you — after that they may only confirm they are ceasing contact or that they are suing.
- Check the statute of limitations in your state; on time-barred debt they can ask but usually cannot win a lawsuit — and a single payment can restart the clock, so be careful.
3. Fix the record and complain
If the debt is wrong or already paid, it often also appears on your credit report — dispute it there too (how to dispute a credit report error). File a complaint with the CFPB and your state attorney general; collectors respond differently once there is a regulator on the thread. The CFPB publishes free sample letters.
If you get sued
Show up. Most collection lawsuits are won by default because the person never responds. Answer the suit, make the collector prove they own the debt and the amount, and check the court record — NU's guide to pulling any court record free helps you read the docket.
The takeaway
Demand validation, know the limits on their conduct, fix your credit report, and never ignore a lawsuit. The law assumes the collector must prove the debt — make them.