Don't they have to pick one? I have an account in Collections and I've been disputing it since Jan and I have got no reply from the CA (next letter is a summons to small claims court for FDCPA violations). I had no knowledge of this account's existence, let alone it's delinquency, until I saw it on my credit report so I've been in contact with the OC to try and figure out what this account was all about. Neither the OC nore the CA has sent me one sheet of paper documentation about this account. All I've gotten from them has been a lot of excuses as to why they can't send me anything. In anycase, in my last phone conversation with the OC, they said they would send me a final bill and they would keep sending me one every month until I paid. It should arrive in the next couple of days (if I can believe anything they say). Well, I've finally figured out what happened and I am willing to pay the balance due, but I'm not going to pay anything unless they remove the collection entry (it was because of their screw-up that no one received the final bill). However, if I'm getting billed by the OC and the CA has a collection account on my credit report, I'm not sure who to talk to, let alone pay. I thought that if they sent an account to collection, the OC couldn't continue to bill for it. Is that not the case?
The OC can accept payment provided the account has not been sold. Bear in mind that each creditor differs in their agreements with various collection entities but, generally speaking, you can still remit payment to the OC under basic contract principles.
One thing to keep in mind that sometimes the OC 'conveniently' 'forgets' to remember to leave the CA know that it was paid. My sister was being called several times a day for a medical bill which the INSURANCE PAID, we even got a copy of the check from the insurance company, and the CA refused to contact the client to try to verify that it had been paid more than six months earlier... After we left the CA's office, we went to the OC, showed them the check, and told them that if it wasn't resolved by the time we get back to the CA's office, we would be heading from there to the State AG's Insurance office to file a complaint for fraudulent billing, and tomorrow we would be driving to Washington DC to file a complaint with the Federal Government personnel department (since her medical insurance was a FEDERAL EMPLOYEE plan).
In this case, you need to go after both the CA and the CRAs. If this is a mistake somehow, then it is in your best interest to manage the whole situation, do not rely upon any party doing the right thing, or completely taking care of the situation. You need to find out if the OC "sold" the account to the CA, if so, then the OC should not be billing you. You state that you are willing to pay the balance; I would request full removal of this account in echange for payment in full. You have nothing to lose by asking, and if they agree, MAKE SURE TO GET IT IN WRITING!
Thanks for clearing things up. That all makes sense. RE: "in writing" you betcha... this OC has a very bad memory and has not followed through with anything so far. They still have another week before I take it to the next level. Grrrrrrr.......
