Need advice on charged off debt
I have a personal loan that was charged off back in 2022. This is reporting on my credit report as sold to a collection agency, it’s listed as a charge off with a $0 balance (original amount charged off was $6.5k), company stopped reporting in Oct 2022.
The collection agency who bought it is showing an amount of $7k. I sent a debt validation letter back in Feb and they sent me the contract, a letter saying the balance is $7k and there is no interest on the amount. They did not send me a proof of ownership nor did they account for the balance going from $6500 to their balance of $7k.
Last month I received a letter from a law firm attempting to collect the debt and they state if I want information regarding the dept to contact the collection agency.
I have $3000 that I would like to use to settle this debt but am not sure how to go about this. I am afraid of messing my credit up more than it already is.
Any advice is welcomed!