I have a medical debt that turned into a collection account in July of '07. I sent them a dispute letter around the holidays in hopes they would not validate within 30 days and it would be dropped from my report. Now, the CA is reporting a date of 11/08 as the most recent activity and it has dropped my score by several points. I thought they had to report the most recent PAYMENT activity, not any other activity such as the dispute letter. The debt isn't very much and I called them today offering to pay in full if they delete it from my report, but they refused. They will mark it as a paid collection. Any advice on what to do with this would be greatly appreciated.
Dispute the entry with the CRA(s) as "not mine". If it comes back as "verified" dispute the 11/08 date and tell them that the first date of delinquency was July 07.
Do they have to correct the date though? I don't want to waste my time or the money on the stamp if it isn't going to do any good. I spoke with the CA and they said that they report the date of last activity and they consider the dispute letter as activity. Can they do that? This CA is not willing to negotiate or even listen to what I have to say unless I am giving them my checking account number. I want to make sure that I know for sure that they have to report the date of last payment as the date of last activity before I waste anymore time on it. I'm trying to qualify for a house and this is the only thing holding me back right now. Paying it won't help my score any; if anything, it will go down even more. Thanks for the help.
THeyre playing hardball with you and lying their ***s off. Last activity means the last day you made any payment towards that account. Don't EVER give them your personal banking information. If you ultimately settle with them make it perfectly clear to them that any payment from you will come in the form of a money order or cashier's check.
If you're looking to buy a house, then your best bet is probably to pay them and buy your house. While that's bad (at least distasteful), your options will take longer and be much messier. You could sue them, they could sue you, you could sue each other, etc. Whatever it is, it'll cost you a lot of putting up with these people and fighting "on their turf." (It's like wrestling with a pig: you'll both get dirty, but the pig enjoys it) So, while you have some options, they'll take a while to work out. Also, the fact that they know you're buying a house, puts you over a barrel (they were probably pinged by the CRA when the mortgage company pulled your credit). Anyway, that's my $.02. Good luck.
You bet i can i don't need a nutcase letter just have my husband show up and act normal,once he get's talking the judge will break his gavel.He may lose but it's going to get ugly
Thanks for the advice. I'm not going to pay unless they agree to delete. They already stated they wouldn't do that so I am not going to pay. I guess I will try and send out a letter and see what happens. Thanks again for all the help!
Again, do you have individual reports or a 3-in-1? You really can't tell how it's reporting unless you have the individual reports, because the fields are different. There could be something else that changed your score, like an inquiry, especially if it's only a few points. And as ccbob said, if you're looking to buy a house, you probably should just pay it. The mortgage company will probably make you pay it before they approve the mortgage. They don't want any UNPAID chargeoffs.
