Don't have the collector's address for the Validation of Debt Letter?

In order to send a Validation of Debt letter to a collector, you need a valid address. The Validation of Debt letter should only be sent by mail (not by fax or email) and with tracking to ensure that the creditor has received your letter.

Don’t have an address handy?  Because the Validation of Debt letter needs to be sent to the creditor within 30 days after you receive a collection letter, you will want to find the address as soon as possible. If the collection firm is well known, the correspondence address will be listed with Paydoff for you to use in sending your Validation of Debt Letter.  If there is not an address listed in Paydoff, you will need to do some research online to find the address.  If you have the collection firm’s phone number, as a last resort, you can call them to get the address.  Just make sure to read about how to handle speaking with your creditors below.  If you don’t have the collection firms phone number, you can try to find it online or you could get a copy of your creditor report to see if the address and/or phone number is listed on the report.  To get a free annual credit report, visit:  www.annualcreditreport.com

If you must call the creditor:  Try to keep the conversation very short and to the point. Politely ask for the creditor’s correspondence address.   It is likely that the representative you speak with will request that you set up payments if your account is past due.  Do not engage in conversation or details; do your best to say very little, only ask for the address.