Debt validation letters
A debt collector contacted you. Know what to do next.
Know your rights. Understand the process. Take action with confidence.
Prepare a personalized letter to dispute a debt or ask a collector for information about it. See the start of your letter free. Prepare and sign it with an AI assistant and we print and mail it for you for $25, or have a Georgia attorney review and send it for $69. One-time prices, no subscription.
Start my letterorI’ve been sued
Read the agreement first: self-service letter or attorney service. Reading creates no obligation.
Three Steps. 30 Seconds. Flat Fee.
- 01
Upload
Upload a file or picture of the Debt Collection Letter.
- 02
We scan
We scan the letter, identify deficiencies, and make statutory demands.
- 03
You approve
You review and approve. We send by First Class mail and email.
Free, before you decide
Get a free analysis of the collector’s notice
Upload the letter you received and leave an email. We read the whole notice and send you a page you can keep and print:
- Who sent it, what kind of collector it is, and what it claims you owe
- Your validation rights under federal law, what your state’s law adds, and what a written dispute does
- The strategic and legal positions against a notice like this, in plain words
- The precautionary date to dispute by, from the day the notice reached you
A second part applies the law to your notice and opens when you choose how to send your letter. Nothing is paid to see any of it. It is general information prepared automatically, not legal advice, and no attorney has reviewed it; we become your lawyers only if you choose the attorney service and we accept your matter.
Choose the notice, let us read it, then ask for the analysis. About a minute to prepare.
Two ways to get your letter sent
Letter we mail + AI assistant
$25 one time
Your letter. Your decision. AI guidance along the way.
- A personalized letter in your name, printed and mailed first-class by us.
- An AI assistant for process questions: when it is mailed, how to track it, what usually happens next. It is not a lawyer and gives no individual legal advice.
- A mailing record, a place for any reply, and reminders.
- You review it and sign it by typing your name. The collector writes back to you, not to us: it is up to you to upload their reply in your portal so it is kept with your letter. This is not attorney representation.
- Nothing to print or stamp. Upload the collector’s notice, check the details, type your name, and we mail it.
Attorney representation
$69 one time
Put a licensed attorney behind your letter.
- Everything in the DIY letter.
- A conflict check, then an attorney’s review and approval.
- The firm’s letterhead and signature, and mailing by the firm.
- The collector’s reply sent on to you, within a limited engagement for this one letter.
- Available to Georgia addresses for now, and only if we accept your matter. If we can’t, you’re refunded and told why. Lawsuit defense and negotiation are not included.
Not available right now.
Bought the letter for this debt? You can upgrade to attorney representation for $44 more, if we accept it.
What the letter asks for
- If you dispute the debt: that the collector verify it, and the name and address of the original creditor if it is a different company
- If you only need information: the name and address of the original creditor. That letter does not dispute the debt
- As extra requests the law may not require: an itemization of the amount and its basis, who the debt is owed to now and whether the collector owns it, the records they rely on, and how the collector came to own or collect it
- If you dispute the debt and they report it to a credit bureau: that they report it as disputed
It does not admit that you owe the debt, promise to pay, or agree to any amount. The collector may not provide everything it asks for, and the letter does not decide whether the collector or the debt is covered by federal law.
Questions
Read this first
Does a letter stop a lawsuit?
No. A letter does not answer a lawsuit or extend a court deadline. If you are served with a summons and complaint, get legal help promptly and respond under the rules that apply to that court; the deadline is usually printed on the summons, and missing it risks a default judgment. Do not wait for a collector's reply. That is what our Debt Defender plans are for.
Start my defense insteadGetting started
What does this letter do?
It tells the collector, in writing, that you dispute the debt (if you do) or asks who the original creditor is, and asks for records about the debt. Federal law generally requires a covered debt collector to stop collecting a disputed debt until it responds as the law requires, if you dispute in writing within the validation period. The letter does not decide whether the collector or the debt is covered, and the extra records it asks for are optional requests the collector may not provide.
How long do I have?
Usually thirty days after you receive the collector's first notice, and their notice should print a last day to dispute. We show you the earlier of those two dates as a precautionary date to act by, and we do not decide your legal deadline for you: if the dates differ, you see both, and the letter uses conditional wording. You can still send a letter later, but the protections that depend on that period may not apply.
What do I need to start?
The collector's letter or notice, as a photo or PDF, and an email address for your free analysis. We read the letter and take the names, addresses, amounts and dates from it, so you are asked only for what it does not say, and you check every detail. Then you tick every reason that applies, see the start of your personalized letter and the exact prices before you buy, and sign by typing your name. Five short steps, and nothing is paid until you choose how to send it.
What if I upload a lawsuit instead of a collector's letter?
We check what the file is before anything is kept. If it is a lawsuit complaint or a court order rather than a collector's letter, we say so and point you to the free page built for that paper where one is available: the free case analysis for a complaint, the free order recap for an order. Nothing from the wrong page is saved.
What exactly does the letter ask for?
If you dispute the debt: that the collector verify it, and the name and address of the original creditor if it is a different company. If you only need information: the name and address of the original creditor, and that letter does not dispute the debt. It also makes extra requests the law may not require, such as an itemization of the amount, who the debt is owed to now, and the records the collector relies on. If you dispute and they report the debt to a credit bureau, it asks that they report it as disputed. It does not admit that you owe the debt, promise to pay, or agree to any amount.
Should I pay, or call them first?
Talk to a lawyer before you pay or sign anything about the debt. Whether a payment or a written acknowledgment affects an old debt depends on the debt and your state. We can't tell you what is right for your situation without reviewing it.
What is the free notice analysis?
Upload the collector's letter and leave an email, and we send you a page you can keep and print: who sent it and what kind of collector it is, what it claims, your validation rights under federal law, what your state's law adds, what a written dispute does, the strategic and legal positions against a notice like this, and the precautionary date to dispute by from the day the notice reached you. A second part applies the law to your notice and opens when you choose how to send your letter. Nothing is paid to see any of it. It is general information prepared automatically, not legal advice, and no attorney has reviewed it. If you do not continue, the analysis and the letter you uploaded are deleted after 30 days.
Prices and options
What does it cost?
$25, one time, for the letter with the AI assistant: we print your signed letter and mail it first-class, in your name and from your address, so you print and mail nothing. $69, one time, to have an attorney review it and send it from the firm. If you bought the letter, you can move up to the attorney service for $44 more. No subscription. You see the start of your letter and these prices before you pay.
What is the difference between my own letter and an attorney's?
With your own letter the letter is in your name: you sign it by typing your name, and we print and mail it for you. The collector writes back to you, not to us, and it is up to you to upload their reply in your portal so it is kept with your letter; the AI assistant answers process questions. The assistant is not a lawyer and gives no individual legal advice. With the attorney service, the firm does a conflict check, an attorney reviews the letter, the firm signs and mails it, and the collector's reply goes to the firm and is sent on to you. That service covers this one letter, not a lawsuit, negotiation or ongoing work.
Who prints and mails the letter?
We do. Upload the collector's notice, check the details we read from it, choose what is wrong, and type your name as your signature. We print your signed letter and hand it to our mail service, first-class, in your name and from your address, and your letter page shows the day it was handed over and the mail service's reference. The collector's reply comes to you. The fee is refundable until the letter is handed to the mail service. Mailing is a convenience, not attorney representation.
What is certified mail, and do I need it?
It is optional, $15 more on either letter, paid with the letter. We mail your letter by USPS certified mail with electronic return receipt instead of first-class. You get a tracking number, and when the letter is delivered the signed receipt is kept with your letter. You do not need it for the letter to be valid. It gives you a record of what USPS reports about delivery; it is not a legal conclusion about when the collector received the letter or about any deadline. If you upgrade a certified letter to the attorney service, the attorney letter is certified too, with nothing more to pay for it.
What if an attorney can't take my letter?
We refund what you paid for the attorney service in full and tell you why. If you upgraded from your own letter, we refund the $44 you paid for the upgrade, and your own letter stays yours. Your deadline keeps running while you wait, so please don't.
Can I get a refund?
For your own letter, yes until it is on its way: the fee is refundable until your signed letter is handed to our mail service, and if we cannot mail it you are refunded in full. For the attorney service, the whole fee is refunded if we do not accept your matter, or if the engagement ends for any reason before the letter is mailed; once it is mailed, the fee is earned. A card refund usually shows within five to ten business days.
Is the attorney service available outside Georgia?
The attorney service is available to Georgia addresses for now, and only if we accept your matter. Our attorneys are licensed in Georgia. If we can't take your letter, we refund what you paid for the attorney service and tell you why.
Legal and privacy
What happens to what I type and upload?
What you type stays in your browser until you save. If you choose to have us read a photo or PDF of the collector's letter, that file is sent to us and to the AI service we use to read it, even if you never save; we ask you first. If you save, we keep your email, the letter, the documents you add and when it was mailed. The Privacy Policy on this site has the details.
Is a letter the only way to dispute?
No. A written dispute can also go through a channel the collector accepts for written consumer communications, such as an email address or portal named in their notice. Your letter page keeps the record of the letter we mail for you; whatever else you use, keep a copy of exactly what you sent and the proof of when it was submitted.
Is this legal advice?
No. This is general information and a drafting tool. The AI assistant is not a lawyer. Buying the letter does not make FairCounsel your lawyer. The attorney service is a limited engagement for one letter that begins only when we accept your matter. Our attorneys are licensed in Georgia.
After it is sent
What happens when the collector replies?
With your own letter, the reply comes to you, not to us: the letter is in your name and from your address, even though we mail it. We only know about a reply if you upload it. Sign in to your client portal (or open your letter link), go to Your documents, and add the reply; a photo of each page is fine. That keeps it with your letter and lets us show you what it means and what to do next. With the attorney service, the collector writes to the firm and we send the reply on to you.
What happens about a month after the letter is sent?
Your letter page shows the day the letter was handed to the mail service. About 33 days after it is mailed, three for it to reach the collector and thirty for them to answer, we email you once to ask what happened. Upload whatever you received from them, a photo of each page is fine, or press "No response received" on your letter page. Either one keeps your record complete and tells us what to look at next. With the attorney service, the reply comes to the firm and we send it on to you.
This is general information, not legal advice.