Exercising Your Right to Dispute the Validity of a Mortgage Debt

If you’re facing the threat of foreclosure from your mortgage lender, it is important to know and understand your rights – you have more than you may think. An important right that many homeowners fail to exercise is disputing the validity of the debt.

What to Know About Fair Debt Collection Practices

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal law that governs debt collection practices in the United States. Among the many actions and practices it governs include putting an end to deceptive and underhanded consumer debt collection practices and other predatory debt collecting behavior.

In addition, the state of Florida has its own fair debt collection law entitled the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA). Florida Statute §559.55-.785 spells out the important ways in which the FCCPA protects Florida consumers. Importantly, the law’s governance extends beyond the FDCPA in several critical ways, specifically in that it applies to all creditors (whereas the FDCPA applies only to bill collectors and collection agencies).

Despite these state and federal regulations, however, many debt collectors continue to get away with deceptive behavior, in part because the people they’re targeting don’t know the law. If a debt collector ever attempts to collect a debt from you, make sure you call an attorney with experience fighting debt collectors. We’ll help you understand your rights and make sure they are protected.

Why You Should Dispute the Validity of a Debt

As noted above, one of your biggest consumer rights protected under FDCPA and FCCPA is your right to request proof of the debt – a process called debt validation. Never pay a penny to a debt collector before confirming that the debt belongs to you.

Once the borrower demands that the lender verify the debt, the lender must stop all collection actions until the debt is verified. Here are some other important reasons why you should request debt validation:

• So you understand exactly what the debt is for – force the debt collector to prove that the debt is real.
• Confirm that you haven’t already paid the debt – again, seek proof.
• Is the collector even authorized to collect the debt? – If you do have debt, make sure that you are paying the right company for the right debt.

Deceptive and untruthful debt collection behavior is against the law, plain and simple. If a debt collector or mortgage lender seeks payment from you, get in touch with our experienced team of trial lawyers right away. We work tirelessly to make sure your rights are protected.