Dispute Management
Dispute Management
When a debtor disputes a debt, federal law requires you to stop collection activity and validate the debt within specific timeframes. Catchpole’s Dispute Management system tracks every dispute from receipt to resolution.
How It Works
When a dispute is filed:
- Collection activity auto-pauses on the disputed claim
- A compliance deadline is set (typically 30 days for debt validation)
- The dispute appears in your Disputes dashboard with status tracking
- Once validated or resolved, collection can resume
Dispute Statuses
- Open — dispute received, awaiting validation
- Under Review — being investigated
- Validated — debt has been validated, collection can resume
- Resolved — dispute resolved (debt confirmed, reduced, or removed)
- Closed — no further action needed
Creating a Dispute
From the Disputes page or from a customer’s detail view:
- Select the claim being disputed
- Enter the dispute reason and details
- Attach any supporting documentation
- The system automatically sets compliance deadlines
Compliance Tracking
The system enforces FDCPA requirements:
- Auto-pause — collection stops immediately when a dispute is filed
- Deadline tracking — validation deadlines are calculated and displayed
- Audit trail — every action is logged with timestamps
- Notifications — alerts when deadlines approach
Debt Validation
When validating a disputed debt, you can:
- Upload validation documents
- Record validation details
- Mark the debt as validated
- Resume collection activity (automatically lifts the pause)
Best Practices
- Process disputes promptly — delays risk compliance violations
- Document everything — the audit trail protects you
- Use the deadline alerts to stay ahead of FDCPA requirements
- Train your team on proper dispute handling procedures