Hello, First off thank you for your time and consideration. Upon receiving my credit report I noticed that a company called Credigy was claiming that I owe them about $19,000. This is stemming from an MBNA account that I let slip into collections while I was in college in 2002. The original debt is just over $8,000. I have called Credigy about this and they were unwilling to talk to me. Now the account has switched to a company (or maybe down the hall at the Credigy office) called Knightsbridge. I have spoken to them and they, of course, are claiming that I owe the same 19k. However they were willing to knock off half and settle at about $9500. I ended the phone call and offered no payment. I live in Las Vegas, Nevada and I am trying to start a new life with a new job. However, to get this new job, my credit needs to show no "bad debt" on my CR. Will they come down from that dollar amount? Should I pay at all? I am not against paying my debt but these people have been less than upstanding with my debt. No surprise, eh? I have read many posts on this board and am very impressed by the knowledge of those who reply, but I am still very much a newbie. Any help or suggestions to soooo greatly appriecated. S. Las Vegas, NV
A few questions first: 1) Did you ever receive "written notification" from any of these debt collectors? 2) Did you ever receive any phone calls from them? 3) Have you lived in NV since college? 4) What was the date "reported" on your credit report for these accounts? 5) Does your credit report show only Credigy, or both? Your first step is to check Nevada's "Statute of Limitations" for debt collection legal recourse. Creditors have a time frame within which they have "legal recourse" for collection (i.e. suit, garnishment, etc.). If a debt is "past SOL", the creditors can attempt collection, they can even take you to court, but IF YOU raise the defense of "debt past Statute Of Limitations" then they cannot secure a judgement against you. In essence the debt becomes uncollectable. It sounds like this debt is right at the end of SOL, and perhaps that is why the "new" agency has the account. Next, write "Knightbridge" a "Debt Validation Request" letter. This is a quick letter requesting evidence of your legal liability for this debt, and their right to collect upon it. There are sample letters here on the forum, just do a "search" for "debt validation request". Make sure to send this Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to document your actions. Third, after sending the above DV request, I recommend "disputing" these accounts on your credit report w/the credit reporting agencies. Check all three agency reports, and follow the directions for disputing information on your credit report. Lastly, I would start preparing an answer to the history on your credit report. Explain that this is an old debt, inaccurate and in dispute. Best to be upfront and alert them what is on your report, before the pull it. Since you are in Las Vegas, if this is a "casino" position, you may have trouble. Good Luck, and feel free to post any questions. I may have missed some points, or not clear on them. A bit rushed right now.
Biz is on target as usual however, if I may amplify his post a little I would suggest disputing this item (and Credigy) per the credit reporting agencies. These are both debt purchasers and rather easy to remove if you target the correct data fields. You would also be right thinking to find a contact within Kinghtbridge should the dispute fail.
And make sure that you have checked the individual reports and that you aren't working from one of the online "trimerge" reports. Since the different CRAs use slightly different fields, everything doesn't always map correctly on the trimerge.
Good point. An example would be the difference between date of major first delinquency on Equifax as opposed to date of status on Experian. Therefore, it is imperative to get all three. You'll probably see an "open" account type of Equifax and Trans Union but, an "installment" on Experian. I missed that . . .
thanks for the response. A few questions first: 1) Did you ever receive "written notification" from any of these debt collectors? 2) Did you ever receive any phone calls from them? 3) Have you lived in NV since college? 4) What was the date "reported" on your credit report for these accounts? 5) Does your credit report show only Credigy, or both? As to your questions Biz: 1. I do not remember receiving anything from Credigy. When this debt went into collections I still lived with my parents, so a lot of my mail went there. HOnestly at the time I didn't want to deal with it and here it is biting me back. I have not received anything recently, I know that. 2. No phone calls, but then once again, the calls would have gone to my parents house. 3 I have lived in Nevada all of my adult life. 4. Oddly enough the date reported says 8-29-07 5. As of now Credigy is the only one listed, i don't know if it has been updated since last I pulled my report. (about a month ago) Thanks again for all the great advice!~ Sorry i messed up the quote portion. I will get the hang of it. =)
Well, let's assume something was sent, so technically they attempted notification of this debt. It doesn't really impact the actions needed. So recently they have not contacted you, but you contacted them after seeing this on your credit report, correct? When you spoke on the phone with the agency, did they advise you of your "rights under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act? This would have entailed that you have 30 days to dispute this debt, make a request in writing for verification of this debt, and their requirement to provide validation of this debt... If they did not, then they were required to send you written communication of this via mail within five days after the call. Did you tell them you never received any communication regarding this debt? This clarifies that only NV Statutes of Limitations apply to your debt. Nevada is six years for this type of debt, so you're very close. You will need to know the "Date of First Major Deliquency" to pin down the remaining time they can pursue legal action (and win). This most likely means the debt has been sold, and this is supposed to be the date Credigy acquired the account. Well, then this must be disputed with the credit reporting agencies, dispute as "inaccurate, please verify". If Credigy has sold the account to Knightbridge, then they are required to remove the tradeline from your account. Of course, this means Knightbridge can/may/will report it.
When i called, no, they did not advise me of any right that I had; nor did they send anything in the mail. In your opinion do you think they will move forward on this with so little time left? Am I stirring up a wasp nest by doing this? They are obviously not happy with me when I told them I wasn't paying 50% of the "debt". Once again, I am not a low life and I am willing to pay something but with all of the post on here telling me, in essence, not to - I hesitate. I am just afraid of garnishment, and by afraid I mean very afraid.
You need a bit more information, which Credigy/Knightbridge is required to furnish: 1) "Date of First Major Deliquency": this is the date where the account "first" becam deliquent, and was never brought "current". Per your info this is sometime in 2002. But you need to request the date, if it is not listed on your credit report under the MBNA account tradeline. You also need this to determine the legal SOL for pursuing recourse on this debt. The agency must file for suit prior to the six years from DOFMD date. 2) Accounting of alleged debt amount: You state the debt has grown to $19K (+/-), you need to request an accounting of this numebr, and how attained. 3) You need to determine Credigy/Knightbridge's legal ability to collect on this debt, and in your state. Request evidence of their legal right to conduct this activity in your state. You will need some more information to make an informed decision regarding next actions. Be prudent, request all information which must be provided by law to you. You may have to work out a deal with them, if all else fails. But, first things first.
