Send the letter via certified mail with a return receipt request. Keep a copy of the letter for your files. Send out the letter within thirty days of the first contact by the collection agency/ collection attorney. The law applies to both the agency and to attorneys who collect two or more debts per year. They are allowed (under law) to contact you one time, after receipt of the letter, to notify you of their intent. Debt buyers are subject to the law in spite of their assertions that since they bought the debt, they are not the collector. WRONG!!! They ARE a debt collector, subject to the law. Send the letter, it's legal and it works!