Techoclaro
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Step 4Your planCredit health

Deal with a collector

Ask the collector to prove the debt, keep a dated record of everything it does, and — if it breaks the rules — have a file ready for a lawyer. You decide every step.

Education and self-help. Techoclaro is not a law firm or a credit repair company. We help you use your legal rights to dispute errors and demand proof; accurate information can stay on your report, and no one can promise a result.

These are tools you operate: you decide every step, review and approve every letter, and file every complaint yourself. Techoclaro does not remove collections, does not contact collectors for you, and cannot promise any result. Accurate, verified debts can stay on your report.

  1. 1Pick the account
  2. 2Learn your rights
  3. 3Review and approve the demand letter
  4. 4Track what happens

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2. Your rights, in plain words

  • If you dispute in writing within 30 days of the collector's validation notice, it must stop collecting until it mails you verification (15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b)).
  • If it reports the debt to a credit bureau, it must report it as disputed (15 U.S.C. § 1692e(8)).
  • It may not call before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. your time, call too often, threaten what it cannot do, or sue on a debt past your state's time limit.
  • You can dispute with each credit bureau too; the bureau must reinvestigate within 30 days (45 after a free annual report).
  • If a collector breaks the FDCPA, a court can award actual damages, up to $1,000 in statutory damages per lawsuit, and attorney's fees. No amount is promised.

Federal law requires verification; your state may require the documents themselves. A collector that gets your written dispute on time must stop collecting until it mails you verification — but federal law does not require it to send the original signed contract.

Do not pay, promise to pay, or sign anything on an old debt until you understand your state's rules: a payment or written acknowledgment can restart the time limit to sue in many states.

3. Review and approve the demand letter

Open the case to review the letter. Nothing is sent until you approve it — and you can always print it and mail it yourself for free.

4. Track

Log every call, letter and credit report change. Techoclaro checks each against the rules and shows the clocks.

What to say if a collector calls

  • "Please send me everything about this in writing, to my mailing address."
  • "What is your name, your company's name, and your mailing address?"
  • "I dispute this debt. I will respond in writing."
  • "Please do not call me at work." (if that is true)
  • Do not say the debt is yours or agree to the amount.
  • Do not pay or give card or bank details on the phone.
  • Do not promise to pay — on an old debt, a promise or payment can restart the time limit to sue.

Write down the date, time, caller's name, company and number right away — then log the call here.