Avoid Paying Debt - Cancel Debt

Make the collection agency prove to you that it has been given the right to collect what you owe a particular creditor. Send them a debt "debt validation letter" by registered mail, a right granted you by the "Fair Debt Collection Practices Act" (FDCPA). This method is not meant for those creditors that you owe, but the collection agencies they have hired to pursue the debt. If those collection agencies cannot prove they have the legal right, you do not have to pay them. Also, since you have disputed their claim, they cannot pursue it until it is resolved.

If the collection agency can prove that it is acting legally on behalf of the creditor. Send them another letter that asks them for a copy of the original papers you signed that created the credit card debt in the first place. Furthermore, you should request them to provide you with a breakdown of the amount you owe, including the interest and the fees that have been added to it. A breakdown would include ALL of your credit card transactions! In most cases they will have to go back to the original creditor to get that information. If the collection agency does not provide you with that information, according to the FDCPA, the claim against you is considered invalid and they can have no further contact with you.

Look for a creditor to sue you if it has complied with these requests, although this action will depend on how much you owe. They will file a sworn affidavit that you owe the money, and you should dispute it by simply denying that you owe the money in a notarized letter submitted to the court. That will make the credit agency provide a witness in court to give testimony about the debt. Who are they going to get to testify about your specific credit card debt? In the majority of cases, this is unlikely to happen and the case will be dropped.

Show up in court if the creditor has complied with all your requests. In the majority of cases, no defendant (you) will do so, and a default judgment will be issued. If they do appear in court, ask the judge for a continuance so you can gather additional information. This delaying tactic may result in the creditor backing away from the case since it would involve more expense.

If a case is decided in favor of the plaintiff, immediately appeal it. Such an appeal can take several months to find its way through the legal system, but the collection agency will be precluded from pursuing you or any garnishments until the appeal is beaten. If they get a garnishment after all that, then move on to the garnishment section of the website to beat that. Avoid Paying Garnisments.