ever heard of this company

you probably got the DUNNING letter.that is just a letter informing you of there attempt to collect,who the original creditor is and the supposed balance.there should also be a section stating that you have 30 days to dispute any or all of the debt.that is basically the first communication from a CA.
if it has there address i would send a debt validation letter.send it certified mail return receipt.

it did have a 30 day notice (i was kinda supprised)

when i spoke to the lady at the CA i asked her to send me a debt validation letter and she said that that was already sent. i did recieve it it also had the original creditor name on there

all CA's are going to say that.look on the sample letters on useful links on the lower right of your screen.it should have good DV and C&D letters.you can customize them,print them and send them.

i did send that and then the CA sent me a letter back. is there a sight to find legal collection agencys

what state are you in. It is important to remember that some pdl's do use legal CA's. This is actually a good thing since if your dealing with for example and on line pdl operating illegally in your state, a legitimate CA, may elect to return the account once you make them aware of the situation, or they may be much more willing to work with you.

Did the letter show any signs of them being licensed to collect in your state. I'm not sure how it works, but doesn't a collection agency have to be licensed to collect in the state you are located in?

depends on the state, some require mere registration, so actually issue licenses and some don't care

Quote:

what state are you in. It is important to remember that some pdl's do use legal CA's. This is actually a good thing since if your dealing with for example and on line pdl operating illegally in your state, a legitimate CA, may elect to return the account once you make them aware of the situation, or they may be much more willing to work with you.

This is actually what I'm going through right now. The CA is fully legal and licensed in my state, but the PDL is not. I noticed the collector got a bit uncomfortable when I told him that they were not legal (all the while refusing to verify the debt with him), and tried to work out if they were legal at the time that the loan was given. Then he said he would have the PDL company send me some information.

Waiting to hear back on that now, bet I never see anything.

as jj said,they probably gave it back to the illegal pdl.