I've been searching the threads and I haven't seen this in any of the PFD discussions. My wife and I have 3 collections from about 10 years ago that we paid several years back, they were definitely ours and we were finally in a position to pay so we did. I didn't know anything about doing a PFD at the time. My wife currently has a $93 collection with the same company from a medical bill that we overlooked somehow that I just caught. Should I push for deletion of all our accounts, even the 3 that have been paid, in exchange for paying the current collection? Would it be bad to include all the accounts in one letter? Again, we know this is our bill, but we did not catch it in time. Thanks, J.W.R.
For $93? I think that's a perfect account for a PFD. Just make it seem like it's no big deal, you want to clear this up but would like everything removed. In my experience, the crankier you are with these companies, the less likely they are to help you out at all. Go for it, and good luck!
It they're 10 years old, they shouldn't be reporting anyway. You should dispute with the CRAs as obsolete.
I was under the impression that by paying them I had reset some kind of time limit for reporting them to credit reporting agencies.
It depends on whether you paid the full debt or settled for something less than the full balance. If you settled for less than the full balance, is there a JDB/CA trying to collect the balance? Is it the OC? A
Paid the full debt about 2 years ago on some old collection accounts that would have been gone off our credit reports by now on their own. I did not know anything at the time about doing a PFD.
Since you paid some of the old debt in full 2 years ago, the FCRA TLR (Time Limit for Reporting - 7 years) should not be reset. This being the case, those 10 year old debts should not be showing up on your CR's. If they, are dispute them as obsolete on your CR's with the CRA's. So it seems to me you only concern should be the CA with the $93 debt. Offer PFD for this. Argento
If a payment was made, even while in collections, the collection agency would report that payment as DOLP. If the debtor is in a state that allows any payment made to the account to reset the clock, it could stay on for another 7 years as paid collection.
I live in Oklahoma and I have already sent my communications to the CA. I'm hoping that since they are local it will be easier than if we were dealing with a larger CA. I'm doing PFD for the $93 to see if they'll remove it plus the paid off collections. If not then I'll dispute them as obsolete. Thanks for all of the input! I'll post the results when I hear back.
Collectman I will offer no comment except to read the FCRA before you get hammered for reaging. It states negatives come off seven years from date of first major delinquency and a payment cannot reset this at all.Just ask NCO & Unifund how badly they were reamed behind this!
Not to take sides, but if the CA takes a partial payment, they call it a new credit agreement (e.g. a promissory note for the balance of the delinquent account) and so they are reporting the date of the "new" agreement to pay which resets the SOL clock, among other (i.e. if you make one payment on the new note and then stop paying, you're now delinquent on the new note and the old/original debt is no longer of any consequence. Of course, the CAs never tell you any of this as they are trying to "help" you. (so I wonder if there's any TILA violations with that approach?). And, for that reason alone, you should be very careful about agreeing to ANYTHING that you are offered over the phone and that's one reason I won't send anyone any money without seeing the paperwork first. But in all fairness, and whether I think it's profitable or not, Collectman's approach seems to be the most honest and compliant of the one's I've heard from collection agents. "If the debt's yours, you can pay it or we can go to court. Your call." If he has all then necessary documentation on the account (and, in spite of all the sabre rattling that goes on here, that is still a pretty low bar to meet, in reality) and all his correspondence is compliant, then that's about as good as it gets. Where I become militant is when the CAs use the bullying and intimidation approaches they are so famous for. The law gives them enough rope to do the job, if they decide to tie it around their neck in the process, then that's their problem.
Below is the response that I received word for word. Is there anything false about this that will help me or should I start disputing? Dear (my name), Thank you for the letter you sent we do appreciate the fact you would like to clean up your credit and take care of your bill with (original creditor). We would really appreciate you clearing up the outstanding balance of $93 and we will report it paid to the Credit Bureau. Unfortunately the Fair Credit Reporting Act does not allow a valid debt that has been reported to be removed. However, a paid bill on your credit report does look a lot better than one that is not paid. Thank you again for your concern and I look forward to hearing from you soon. Sincerely, (so and so) Any input on where to go from here? Thanks, J.R.
I am interested in seeing replies also. I am in the same boat only with an OC, not a CA. I have a paid charge off now showing also. I was thinking, maybye wait a few monthes, check the tradeline for something not reporting correctly then dispute with CRA's on that? I don't think theres any chance they will delete on goodwill. But a paid charge off is better than one showing a balance. Ya know? At least we won't lose the history of the TL and it's bearing on our FICO scores. Small consideration, I know. Just curious, Tegleg
I would at least challenge "the Fair Credit Reporting Act does not allow a valid debt that has been reported to be removed", since we all know it's hooey. I would simply write a letter back that said something like, "While I appreciate your effort to maintain accuracy, this account reflects negatively upon me whether paid or unpaid. Without a removal of the tradeline I don't feel paying this bill will help my credit rating. I appreciate any other thoughts you have on an amicable solution to this issue." Of course, I'm no writer. Keep trying though! For $93, I'd let them wait a bit before just paying without deletion.
Ok. I was wrong on the original dates of the paid off collections. Looks like it was 6 or 7 years ago instead of 10, sorry for possible misleading of anyone here, I had them confused with where I had lived before this ever happened. Anyway, I do not believe the dates are quite correct. What was I reading on here about the date of first delinquency or something like that being what I need to go off of? I still think they should have been removed already or about to be removed. Isnâ??t there something about having to verify the delinquency with the original creditor? I live in Oklahoma so did I reset the reporting period by paying the collections in full 2 years ago? There were no partial payments or new agreements or anything. I've had some spinal cord damage that affects my memory and I may have some things confused that I have read here so don't smack me down too hard for making mistakes. Also, is there anymore input on the letter I received back from the CA? Thanks, J.R.
