What Alabama Creditors Should Know About Debt Validation Letters

Being a debt collector for a collection agency is one of the world’s most thankless jobs.  As soon as you inform prospective borrowers that the purpose of your call is to collect a debt, the conversation can quickly devolve into shouting matches and ad hominem attacks.  Being pleasant instead of adversarial makes people more willing to pay you what they can afford, but America’s consumer debt problem is too big to be solved with just a smile, even if it is a charming Alabama smile.  Perhaps it would be better if you started by informing creditors of their rights.  For example, you could avoid a lot of stress if you started by informing them that they have the right to request a debt verification letter.  Instead of cursing you out, many borrowers who can’t afford to make a payment during the phone call, no matter how sweet you are, would simply say, “Yes, please send a debt verification letter.”  Your employees could spend a greater portion of their workday drafting, sending, and responding to debt verification letters instead of politely enduring verbal abuse.  To find out more about creating an effective debt verification letter template, contact an Alabama creditors’ rights lawyer.

How to Write a Debt Validation Letter

The law allows debt collectors to provide information about debts to borrowers verbally over the phone or to provide the information in writing.  Borrowers should request the information in writing, in the form of a debt validation letter, simply because it is hard to memorize the information or write it down in the situations in which people receive phone calls these days (such as while driving, washing dishes, or feeding baby food to a baby).  Even better, you should ask borrowers if they would like information about how to dispute the debt, because that is an essential component of a debt validation letter.  As for catching more flies with honey, you make it sound like you are helping the borrower dispute the debt instead of arguing with them about whether it is their responsibility to pay it.  If a borrower requests a debt validation letter, you must send it within five days.

A debt validation letter must include the following information:

·         The creditor to whom the borrower owes the money

·         The amount of the debt

·         The deadline for disputing the debt in writing (30 days from the date of the debt validation letter)

·         The fact that the creditor must provide a written response if the borrower disputes the debt in writing

Debt validation letters will not magically make borrowers repay their debt, but they could reduce the hostility of interactions between borrowers and debt collectors, leaving the door open to compromise and debt settlement.

Let Us Help You Today

Debt collectors are supposed to call borrowers to negotiate about debts, not to fight about them.  A creditors’ rights lawyer can help you develop a debt collection strategy that focuses on solutions instead of on conflict.  Contact Cloud Willis & Ellis in Birmingham, Alabama for a consultation.

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What Alabama Creditors Should Know About Debt Validation Letters

Being a debt collector for a collection agency is one of the world’s most thankless jobs.  As soon as you inform prospective borrowers that the purpose of your call is to collect a debt, the conversation can quickly devolve into shouting matches and ad hominem attacks.  Being pleasant instead of adversarial makes people more willing to pay you what they can afford, but America’s consumer debt problem is too big to be solved with just a smile, even if it is a charming Alabama smile.  Perhaps it would be better if you started by informing creditors of their rights.  For example, you could avoid a lot of stress if you started by informing them that they have the right to request a debt verification letter.  Instead of cursing you out, many borrowers who can’t afford to make a payment during the phone call, no matter how sweet you are, would simply say, “Yes, please send a debt verification letter.”  Your employees could spend a greater portion of their workday drafting, sending, and responding to debt verification letters instead of politely enduring verbal abuse.  To find out more about creating an effective debt verification letter template, contact an Alabama creditors’ rights lawyer.

How to Write a Debt Validation Letter

The law allows debt collectors to provide information about debts to borrowers verbally over the phone or to provide the information in writing.  Borrowers should request the information in writing, in the form of a debt validation letter, simply because it is hard to memorize the information or write it down in the situations in which people receive phone calls these days (such as while driving, washing dishes, or feeding baby food to a baby).  Even better, you should ask borrowers if they would like information about how to dispute the debt, because that is an essential component of a debt validation letter.  As for catching more flies with honey, you make it sound like you are helping the borrower dispute the debt instead of arguing with them about whether it is their responsibility to pay it.  If a borrower requests a debt validation letter, you must send it within five days.

A debt validation letter must include the following information:

·         The creditor to whom the borrower owes the money

·         The amount of the debt

·         The deadline for disputing the debt in writing (30 days from the date of the debt validation letter)

·         The fact that the creditor must provide a written response if the borrower disputes the debt in writing

Debt validation letters will not magically make borrowers repay their debt, but they could reduce the hostility of interactions between borrowers and debt collectors, leaving the door open to compromise and debt settlement.

Let Us Help You Today

Debt collectors are supposed to call borrowers to negotiate about debts, not to fight about them.  A creditors’ rights lawyer can help you develop a debt collection strategy that focuses on solutions instead of on conflict.  Contact Cloud Willis & Ellis in Birmingham, Alabama for a consultation.

Share This :