No one wants to deal with debt collectors and see the consequences of of collection debt on their credit report. That’s especially true when there’s a mistake and the debt doesn’t belong to you or is past the point when collectors can legally attempt to collect. In those cases, you’ll want to dispute the debt and clean up your credit report. Let’s review how to dispute debt in collections.

When and Why Does Debt Go to Collections?

Creditors send debt to collections when they don’t receive payments on the money they lend. Although policies vary by creditor, most consider payments “late” immediately following a missed payment and “delinquent” after 30 days. However, creditors don’g generally sell debt to a collection agency until it’s six months or more past due. Some creditors have in-house collections departments while others sell the debt to collection agencies.

What Types of Debt Get Sent to Collections?

Almost all types of secured and unsecured debt are subject to collections if they go unpaid. This includes credit card debt, medical debt, student loans, personal and auto loans (even if the vehicle is repossessed), overdraft fees, and court-ordered fees and fines.

Can I Ignore a Debt Collector If I Don’t Think Owe the Debt?

Although it can be tempting to just ignore debt collectors and their tactics, doing so won’t make the issue go away. If a debt collector contacts you about a debt you don’t believe you owe, you should let them know you are planning to dispute it.

How Do I Dispute a Debt in Collections?

By law, debt collectors must provide consumers with certain information when they ask for it. This information includes the name(s) of the current and original creditor (if different), the total amount owed, and information, including a mailing address, for how to dispute the debt. Collectively, this is called validation information.

You will have 30 days from the time you receive the validation information to initiate a formal dispute by mail. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) provides templates to help you effectively communicate with creditors, including disputing a debt.

What Happens After I Dispute the Debt?

Once you have officially disputed the debt, the debt collector cannot contact you to continue collection efforts until they verify the debt belongs to you. Additionally, the debt won’t show up on your credit report during the dispute process. However, if they determine you do owe the debt, collection efforts will resume, and it will return to your credit report.

How Long Can Debt Collection Continue?

There are statutes of limitations in place for how long debt collectors can pursue payment. These statutes vary based on the state in which you live, the type of debt and the state laws included in your debt agreement. But there are some debts, such as student loans, that do not all under these statutes.

Plus, the longer a debt is in collections, the more damage it does to your credit report and score.

What Should I Do If I Know I Paid the Debt?

If a debt collector is contacting you about a debt you know you’ve paid, you’ll need to provide proof of payment.

Once you verify you’re dealing with a legitimate debt collector, send copies of canceled checks, payment confirmation emails and/or creditor statements indicating the debt is paid-in-full. Keep the originals for yourself and document all telephone conversations, chat correspondence and email communication regarding the matter.

Continue to check your credit report to verify the debt comes off the report and does not return.

Beware of Zombie Debt

Sometimes, you’ll pay a debt in full or an old, unpaid debt past the statute of limitations will fall off your credit report. But after months or even years a collector contacts you trying to collect it. We call this “zombie debt.” It can be legitimate debt for which the statute of limitations to collect has passed, debt that’s been paid or off, or debt that’s fraudulent or mistakenly assigned to you.

If  you’re hit with zombie debt, do not make any immediate payments, or share additional information with the collector or collection agency. Respond using one of the letter templates from the CFPB. If that doesn’t solve the issue and collectors continue to contact you, especially if they are aggressive or threaten you in any way, file a complaint with your state attorney general and/or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).