Debt Collection Validation Preflight

Overview

Use this skill to turn debt collection letters, call notes, validation notices, payment records, credit-report screenshots, and dispute drafts into a validation-readiness report. The goal is an evidence and deadline gate before the user sends a debt validation request, written dispute, original-creditor request, complaint packet, or owner-reviewed response. This is not legal advice, debt settlement advice, credit repair, or a guarantee that a collector will stop collection.

Use And Do Not Use

Use for:

• Consumers, caregivers, financial counselors, benefits advocates, and legal-aid intake helpers preparing local review packets.
• Collection letters, texts, emails, voicemails, lawsuits threatened by collectors, debt-buyer notices, medical or consumer debt collection contacts, and collection-law-firm letters before response.
• Cases involving "not mine," identity theft, paid or settled debt, wrong amount, unknown collector, missing validation notice, original-creditor request, old or possibly time-barred debt, continued collection after a written dispute, or credit-reporting threats.
• Local file review where evidence is in CSV rows, pasted notes, PDFs, screenshots, letters, receipts, or mailing records.

Do not use for:

• Live collector calls, portal submissions, complaint filing, payment authorization, settlement negotiation, lawsuit defense strategy, or jurisdiction-specific legal conclusions.
• Advising a user to ignore a court summons, admit debt, restart a limitations period, make payment, or dispute accurate debt in bad faith.
• Inventing dates, collector addresses, account numbers, debt ownership, validation notices, mailing receipts, or proof of payment.
• Uploading full SSNs, full ID scans, full account numbers, bank credentials, full card numbers, private keys, tokens, .env files, or unrelated consumer records.

Required Inputs

Ask only for missing inputs that materially affect the decision:

• Contact identity: collector name, mailing address, phone/email if relevant, current creditor, original creditor if known, masked account number, and debt type.
• Timeline: first contact date, validation notice date, date received, written dispute/request sent date, collector response date, and any court/credit/reporting deadline.
• Validation notice details: amount, itemization date, dispute instructions, current creditor, original-creditor rights, tear-off or reply method, and collector address.
• Consumer position: unknown debt, not mine, identity theft, paid/settled, wrong amount, already disputed, old debt, medical billing issue, or settlement/payment question.
• Evidence: collector letter, envelope, validation notice, certified-mail receipt, payment/settlement proof, insurance/EOB or billing records, identity-theft report, account mismatch evidence, original-creditor documents, collector verification response, credit-report page, and call log.

Workflow

1. Classify The Collection Issue

Normalize each case as unknown_debt, not_mine, identity_theft, paid_or_settled, wrong_amount, old_debt, medical_collection, original_creditor_request, continued_collection_after_dispute, or mixed. Identify whether the immediate packet is a validation request, dispute, original-creditor request, evidence repair, complaint escalation draft, or legal owner review.

Read references/debt-collection-validation-rules.md when the case involves validation notices, 30-day timing, written disputes, continued collection after dispute, old debt, medical debt, lawsuits, or complaint escalation.

2. Run Local Preflight When Files Exist

For CSV-backed batches, run:

python3 debt-collection-validation-preflight/scripts/debt_collection_validation_preflight.py \
  --cases /absolute/path/debt_collection_cases.csv \
  --evidence-dir /absolute/path/evidence \
  --today 2026-06-17

Use the script output as the evidence inventory. For pasted notes or screenshots, apply the same matrix manually and mark file coverage as incomplete.

3. Repair The Packet Before Sending

Prioritize blockers:

• Collector name, mailing address, current creditor, or amount is missing from the notice.
• No validation notice exists, or the user cannot identify the notice that starts the dispute window.
• The 30-day written dispute window is close and no dated response packet or mailing plan exists.
• The user says "not mine," "identity theft," "paid," or "wrong amount" without supporting evidence.
• The user sent a timely written dispute but collector activity appears to continue before verification.
• The user asks the agent to pay, call, submit a live complaint, or respond to a lawsuit without owner/legal review.

Separate "prepare a narrow preservation/dispute packet now" from "evidence still missing." Do not turn weak facts into legal certainty.

4. Produce The Validation-Readiness Output

Use templates/validation-readiness-report.md for final reports. Include:

• Hold/review/ready decision.
• Timeline and validation-window status.
• Notice and collector identity matrix.
• Evidence gaps and repair actions.
• Continued-collection, old-debt, lawsuit, credit-reporting, and live-action flags.
• Redaction and owner-review guardrails.

Output Format

## Debt Collection Validation Decision
[Ready for owner review / Review before send / Hold validation packet pending evidence repair]

## Case Summary
| Case | Collector | Current Creditor | Issue Type | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|

## Timeline
| Case | First Contact | Notice Received | Dispute Due | Dispute Sent | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|

## Evidence Matrix
| Case | Evidence | Status | Source | Repair action |
|---|---|---|---|---|

## Blockers
| Case | Blocker | Why it matters | Next action |
|---|---|---|---|

## Review Flags
| Case | Flag | Why it matters | Next action |
|---|---|---|---|

## Packet Notes
[Concise facts, dates, disputed portions, requested validation, original-creditor request if applicable, and attachments; no threats or unsupported claims]

## Do Not Upload
[Full SSNs, full IDs, bank/card credentials, full account numbers, private keys, tokens, or unrelated records]

Examples And Acceptance Checks

Positive example: "Use $debt-collection-validation-preflight on this collection letter, envelope, call log, and payment receipt before I respond." The skill should check the validation notice, compute the dispute timing, require proof for paid/not-mine claims, and flag live-action risks.

Positive batch example: "Review these 40 collection letters from a legal-aid intake clinic." The skill should produce case-level hold/review/ready decisions and identify which evidence is missing.

Negative example: "Write a scary letter that makes the collector delete everything." Do not make guaranteed deletion or harassment claims. Produce a fact-grounded validation packet or explain why it is not ready.

Boundary example: "I got sued and the answer is due Friday." Do not draft legal strategy as a substitute for counsel. Preserve facts, flag the court deadline, and route to legal owner review.

Validation

Smoke-test the bundled fixture:

python3 debt-collection-validation-preflight/scripts/debt_collection_validation_preflight.py \
  --cases debt-collection-validation-preflight/scripts/fixtures/debt_collection_cases.csv \
  --evidence-dir debt-collection-validation-preflight/scripts/fixtures/evidence \
  --today 2026-06-17

Expected result: a Markdown report with Debt Collection Validation Decision, at least one Hold validation packet pending evidence repair, and flags such as validation_notice_missing, timely_dispute_window_at_risk, collection_after_timely_dispute_without_verification, collector_identity_or_address_missing, and live_action_requested.