Which letter should I send first?

If you received the collector's initial dunning letter less than 30 days ago, send the FDCPA validation letter first. It forces them to prove the debt and stops collection until they do. If they keep calling after the 30-day window or after the validation letter, send the cease-and-desist. If the alleged debt is on your credit report, also send the FCRA dispute to all three bureaus.

Are these wizards free?

The three wizards (validation, cease-and-desist, FCRA dispute) are free to open with no signup. Each produces its letter once the rules behind it are reviewed by a licensed attorney; until then no letter or PDF is generated.

For just sending these letters, no. They are self-help consumer-protection tools the FTC explicitly endorses. If you have been sued, garnished, or have material damages from continued harassment, a consumer-rights attorney is worth consulting — many take FDCPA/TCPA cases on contingency because the statutes shift attorney fees to the collector.

What happens if the collector ignores my letter?

Continued automated calls or texts to your mobile may be separate TCPA violations. Keep a contemporaneous log of every contact. The certified-mail green card is your enforcement evidence.

Debt-collection self-defense

Three letters that hit back.

Debt collectors win billions in default judgments every year — not because consumers owe the money, but because they didn’t know they had federal statutes built specifically to stop the harassment. Use them. Each produces its letter once the rules behind it are reviewed by a licensed attorney; until then no letter or PDF is generated.

Start here

FDCPA validation letter

Within 30 days of the collector's initial letter? Force them to prove the debt under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b). Stops collection until they validate.

Open the validation wizard

Cease-and-desist letter

Stop calls, texts, employer contact, and third-party contact under § 1692c(c) and the TCPA.

Open the cease wizard

FCRA credit-bureau dispute

Disputing inaccurate credit-report info from a debt collector? File a § 1681i dispute with Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion.

Open the FCRA wizard

Sequence we recommend

Day 1. The collector’s initial letter arrives. Date the envelope.
Days 1–28. Send the validation letter via certified mail. Save the green card. (How the 30-day window works: the validation-letter 30-day rule, explained.)
Days 30–45. If the collector responds with validation, evaluate. If they continue collection without validation, every contact is now a separate FDCPA violation.
If calls continue. Send the cease-and-desist letter certified. After receipt the only legal contact is to confirm receipt or notify of a lawsuit.
If they reported it to the bureaus. Send a FCRA dispute letter to each bureau. The bureau has 30 days to investigate and delete unverifiable items.
If they sue you. File an answer to the complaint within your state’s deadline (usually 21–30 days) or lose by default. Use the answer-form wizard — or file an FDCPA counterclaim to flip the case.
If they get a default judgment. Move to vacate it. Some states' set-aside windows are short (Utah 90 days; California 6 months). Use the set-aside motion wizard.
If they get a writ of garnishment. The time to object is set by state law and counted from service of the writ. Use the garnishment-objection wizard.
If you want to sue them in state court. Small-claims is pro-se-friendly with caps of $5,000–$15,000 (Utah is $15,000). Use the small-claims complaint wizard.
If you want to sue them in federal court — FDCPA. U.S. District Court under § 1692k(d) — jury, full discovery, costs and fees on winning, $1,000 statutory + actual + fees. Use the FDCPA federal-complaint wizard.
If your credit report is wrong — FCRA. Sue the CRA or furnisher in U.S. District Court under § 1681p — willful $100-$1,000 per violation + punitive + fees. Use the FCRA federal-complaint wizard.
If they won’t stop calling — TCPA. Autodialer or prerecorded calls to your cell phone, calls to your DNC-listed number, calls after revocation: $500 per call (negligent) or $1,500 per call (willful). Use the TCPA federal-complaint wizard.

Already served by a debt buyer? Start with Sued by Midland Funding LLC? Here’s what to do — the same steps apply to Portfolio Recovery, LVNV and Cavalry.

Defending — first move

Motion to Dismiss

FRCP 12(b)(6) / state equiv. Standing, SOL, service, validation.

FDCPA validation letter

Cease-and-desist letter

FCRA credit-bureau dispute

Sequence we recommend

Talk to Counsel about your case.

FDCPA validation letter

Cease-and-desist letter

FCRA credit-bureau dispute

Sequence we recommend

Talk to Counsel about your case.