[tiahura]

As a lawyer who has fought a few collection cases, I would disagree with the notion that the collectors typically can’t document the debt. They can. Moreover the fdcpa doesn’t require the collector to prove the debt to you with absolute metaphysical certitude. They just have to verify it.

[Turing_Machine]

Hmmm...

One would expect that the cases that actually get to the point of lawyers and courts are atypical. It seems likely that the ones who can't document the debt would probably drop the matter when first challenged, long before that stage.

Is that not the case?

[TheOtherHobbes]

I know someone who walked away from £15k of credit card debt because the collection company sued with forged paperwork.

He happened to have all the original paperwork on file and it proved they hadn't followed the required legal procedures.

Trying to forge an essential document wasn't going to help their case.

I've heard from a number of people who work for banks, lenders, and insurers that record keeping is a complete mess, and a certain amount of unlawful creative improvisation isn't unusual.

So... they may claim to have proof, but there's a reasonable chance that if it's examined closely and/or all original correspondence is kept, they don't.

This seems to be worse in the US where debts are traded and retraded and the original paperwork may be long gone.

[tiahura]

These were as typical as they get - random credit card debts. Friend of a friend got sued and asked for help.

I serve discovery thinking they’ll never be able to respond, they do.

[tehwebguy]

Banks and card companies absolutely sue people as well — not just third party debt collectors. Discover obviously has the documentation, they can produce it.

I’d like to know the deciding factor for sue or sell.