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The free tool below runs entirely in this browser — no account, nothing stored or transmitted. Redact anything you would not want kept before you type it.
Open the companion tool →Why validation is the cheapest move available
Collectors buy portfolios in bulk, and documentation does not always travel with the debt. If they cannot validate, the collection usually stops.
You have a 30-day window after the first contact in which a written dispute triggers verification obligations; a late dispute still matters, just less.
The protocol
- Write the date of the first contact and any account or reference numbers.
- Send a written validation request within the dispute window, by a method with delivery proof.
- Ask for the amount, the original creditor, the chain of assignment, and the account agreement.
- Ask them to stop collection activity until they validate.
- Record what arrives — and what does not — with dates.
What the tool does
Build a debt validation request It runs locally in this browser and sends nothing.
Limit first: This is a record-keeping and dispute-drafting aid, not legal or financial advice. It cannot cancel a debt, stop all collection calls, or guarantee that a dispute is upheld.
Open the companion tool →Cost and free path
Cost: Free: one complete run in this browser, no account. Optional $4 one-time unlock allows unlimited runs of this tool on this browser. The free path and safety guidance never require payment.
Rule status (mixed route): Status, 2026-10-03: FDCPA validation duties are unchanged and in force; the 30-day dispute window runs from the first contact notice, and later disputes still carry obligations.
Automated decision this documents: automated portfolio placement and collection
Free path, in order (no cost):
- CFPB's debt-collection tools and complaint route (free)
- Your state attorney general's consumer division
- National Consumer Law Center and NACA directories for a low-cost or contingency lawyer
What this cannot do: It cannot cancel a debt, stop all collection calls, or guarantee that a dispute is upheld.
Sources checked 2026-10-03 · source bank reviewed against the live pages listed in metadata.
One human next step
Send the request by a trackable method and keep the receipt; if the collector continues without validating, that record supports a complaint to the CFPB and your state attorney general.
Research log and safety checks
AI-assist path: not used for a verdict. This builder organises the reader's own documents and names an independent source; it does not infer authenticity, eligibility, or legal rights. §6.9/§6.10/§6.11 disclosed in the batch report; §6.12 status line carried in metadata as `status_line`.
§0.5 protection result: category is debt-credit-and-collections; crisis-adjacent: no; fear/urgency/scarcity toolkit used: no. The protective function is free and the paid feature is convenience only.