Hello everyone! It's been a long time since I posted here. Some of you will remember me from 10+ years ago. At any rate, I have an issue that I'm hoping to resolve fairly quickly. In 2007, I had an old cell phone bill go to collection with Diversified for $217. They have been inconsistent with reporting. It has fallen off, then it reappeared last year. They started contacting me and I explained to them I didn't know what they were talking about so please send me some information. I asked if they had the original bill or something and they said they didn't have that but they would send me something. So once I got their "something" (which included the OC along with the amount and the last day it was paid) I sent them a certified letter instructing them not to call me. That was in December. It wasn't on my CR at the time and the SOL is up. I am smack dab in the middle of having a home built and today, I get an alert - Diversified is showing up again. The bigger issue is that when it goes away and comes back, it looks new. The original date is not on the CR. Bottomline - I need to get rid of Diversified ASAP!!! I don't want this $217 to derail my mortgage. Thankfully, I have a few months before the house if complete but I need to jump on this right away. Any ideas on how to attack this for the fastest result?
Okay, so with a DOFD in 2007, this is set to fall off sometime in 2014, and the good news is you're past the SOL so other than reporting, they really can't touch you. Was the OC signed by you? Was their val attempt solid? One option, and this is just if you just want it gone, is a PFD and with the SOL being out, you're the one that gets to call the shots. But....if they really didn't validate, I'd send an actual DVL (not just asking on the phone) and dispute the account during the same timeframe. Considering the age of this debt, it sounds like they're grasping at straws in a last ditch effort.
You are correct about the DOFD and the SOL. I felt too this was their Hail Mary but what a hell of a time to throw that! The verification they sent was a sheet they created that had the OC and amount. Yeah, I signed the OC with the cell phone co. But I don't see their verification being that solid. They never sent me the OC. I thought about the PFD but my window off opportunity is narrow. I don't have 60 days to play with them. So when you say send the DVL and dispute, that's with the CCR right? Since I told them not to call me, I wouldn't call them. It would all be by mail. My other thing is - when they remove and add from the CCR, it gives a new date and it looks like it just happened. There has to be some law that says they ave to carry the DOFD on the entry. I might have some leverage with my lender to forget it if its 6 years old. Not gonna happen if it looks like I just did it. At this time, my score hasn't dropped (I have alerts on it) but I'm anticipating a ding. SMH. PFD might be my quickest route. I sure hate to do that. Even worse would be my lender making me pay and it stays on my report for another 7 years!! Guess I better get my real report and see how it's being reported. I'm still open to other options as well.
UPDATE: Ok, I got my Experian report (which to date, is the only CCR they are reporting to) and although it has a collection date as of 12/2012, it shows that it's due to fall off in Jan 2014 (bastards!). I really can't believe these people! So, I'm thinking, I dispute this thing in late October, which should get it off my report long enough for me to have my lender pull my credit for the final time (she said she'd pull it as late as 1 week before closing). Hopefully, that'll get me through closing and in January, they go away anyhow. It IS still true that when you dispute something it's removed while it's being disputed right? I haven't had to do this in so long, lol. Just goes to show how straight and narrow I've been walking!
Yes, dispute it with the CRA it's reporting to. And don't bother talking to them on the phone, anything you may catch them in, unless you're recording the call, never happened. DOFD cant change, and it has to be reported. How the CRA lists it varies. I forget which is which, but one says DOFD, another says "This account is scheduled to continue reporting until x/x/xx". Paying this account will NOT keep it there for another 7 years. Its 7 years from the commencement date, not from the date the consumer pays off. If Jan 2014 is the 7YR mark, then Feb '14, it's gone, paid or not.
Disputing it won't remove it from reporting. In fact, if anything it usually sends up a flag from what other members have reported in that the lender will ask the consumer to have the Dispute removed from the tradeline. It may at best take it out of scoring, but that doesn't matter on a manual pull. I can't remember that being the case, but then again you and I are old timers and we tend to forget things
Ok Mindcrime, then I'm just a little confused. Do I dispute with CCR AND Diversified or do I just dispute with Diversified? I recall once (and this was a long time ago) that when I disputed something, it was purged from the report until it was "validated" by the company to the CCR. But if you're suggesting that it's not AND that having it disputed will have my lender to ape-sh*t on me, then I definitely don't want to do that. Lastly - I thought when you paid an old collection that the reporting period starts over again - date of last activity - which would be the day I paid it last. Is it different for collection accounts?
Mindcrime - as I thought about this more, I realized that when you dispute, it doesn't add into the score but I think the fact that the one item was removed from my CCR is because I lucked up (or maybe the people just removed it out of the kindness of their heart). So I'm torn. I'm back to the PFR option. I might have some good leverage since it's due to fall off in Jan, never to appear again.
What's working for you -- and against you -- is time. If you weren't closing on a home in a couple months, time would be your friend here. However since you're running down a fast moving clock, I don't feel as though you have the time to challenge their validation of the debt. If you were starting from step 1 in all this, I would say send a DVL to the CA, CRRR. Once they receive it, dispute the debt through the CRA. Lock them down to 30 days and see where you land. At this point, you're past that..... though....I just thought of something. In the last communication you received, did it make any mention of the fact that this debt is past SOL? The language can be subtle, but its got to be there. Otherwise they're falsifying the legal status of this debt. You *could* challenge it on that accord. To answer your question about something being dispute and purged from the report until validation.....I personally do not recall this. Of course that was over 10 years ago, but the biggest/easiest thing I remember being able to score big with was getting inquiries removed. Back then it was simple, now it seems to take a hand signed letter from a creditors president. And yes, from what I've read from others, having an account in Dispute during a mortgage pull is not good. Date of last activity is not the Date of First Delinquency. DOFD is the 7 years trigger. Last activity can update till the very last month of reporting for all we care. Nope, same for CA's as it is OC's. DOFD has to match up and has to be accurate, otherwise that account could report 'forever'.
You're right on all accounts. Time is working for me and against me. Regarding the last thing they sent me - I don't recall. I'm in temporary housing while my house is being built and I want to say I kept it but I was throwing out papers right and left trying to move, but I'll check my files. I can almost say for certain it didn't mention anything about being out of the SOL. I would have seen something "different" and wondering what that was. Can I get them on the repost to my CCR? Can a creditor remove an account and re-add an account without notification?
Mindcrime, do you think I should mention in my letter about the fact that the reporting period is about to end and once it does they get zero? It might motivate them to go for it? Right now, I am using the PFD letter from the sample letters forum. BTW, did I say thanks? Oh, and while looking for that letter (didn't find it yet) I ran across some old postings I printed back in 2001 from lizardking that told his story. Good stuff.
You could do that....but if this debt is past the SOL, and they're not acknowledging that and attempting to collect on a debt, they're violating: § 807. False or misleading representations [15 USC 1692e] A debt collector may not use any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt. Without limiting the general application of the foregoing, the following conduct is a violation of this section: (1) The false representation or implication that the debt collector is vouched for, bonded by, or affiliated with the United States or any State, including the use of any badge, uniform, or facsimile thereof. (2) The false representation of -- (A) the character, amount, or legal status of any debt; .....my first offer to them (if they did not indicate the debt is past SOL) would not even be PFD but rather "You're in violation of xxx, civil liabilities allow for up to $1,000 plus attorney fees, do you REALLY want to pursue this and owe ME money, or maybe you should just go away for good". If they don't play ball on this and you feel you have no choice but to move forward with PFD, then yes go ahead and indicate that in your letter that the reporting period is 4 months away and you're willing to pay 25% for full deletion. Also, are you positive of the DOFD on this? Is there any possibility that it was earlier and you have proof of it? You're welcome! I'll talk to you more about things from back then, but not in the forum. When you figure out the PM, send me one.
Yeah, the problem with the "non acknowledgement" is that I can't find the last letter they sent me so I don't know if there was subtle language to cover them. I could try it though. This move has me all disorganized. There's one other place I can look in my place where it might be. I'm hoping I stashed it there. And I'll get with Logan on the PM.
I would send a letter to them saying to cease all communications. The day after, I would send a dispute to the CRA disputing something that is either incomplete, inaccurate, and/or unverifiable, from your posts it look likes the OPEN/CLOSED/DoLA are incomplete, inaccurate, and/or unverifiable. If they verify the information incompletely, inaccurately, and/or unverifiably, I would file in Federal Court, and send them a faxed copy of it - citing the $100 - $1,000 under the FCRA, and the $1,000 under the FDCPA. Now, we're talking them owing you $1,100-$2,000. INTERCEPTION!
reinsertion protection only comes when you've disputed the tradeline, and when the CRA deletes it as a result of that dispute. If the DF removes the account a second before the CA gets the dispute entered (and you get a response that the disputed item doesn't appear on your credit report), you don't get reinsertion protection. the good news, is that the CRA's frivelous response for "PREVIOUSLY INVESTIGATED" should also be moot.
Ok, I had to push pause on this due to a large paper I had to write for school. Now that it's over, it's back to my regularly scheduled (diversified) programming. I did actually send them a cease communication letter in Dec 2012. I think I'm go for PFD. Hopefully they will look at the calendar and say fine since they are in danger of getting nothing.
And I've never disputed this with CRA. It appears and disappears on its own so much, by the time anyone would see it, it is gone again.
Oh geez. It goes from bad to worse. My score took a 40 point hit for this item (I was alerted today). So now it's truly urgent that this gets off. I sent the letter to them so I'm hoping they respond and we get it taken care of. Also, I'll go ahead and dispute with the CCR - at least it'll suppress the item from my score and I can get the mortgage co to pull my credit then work with the PFD. They suck. Is there anyone here who can help me with the legality of a CC adding and removing an item arbitrarily from a report and thus, having the scoring system believe it's new based on the "report date"?
It won't change your score. I was digging through the archives, and saw that back in the day, disputing did do this, but in the last year or so that I've had a CMS and had a dispute to deal with from time to time, I saw zero change in my score. In addition, some mortgage companies require the "dispute" indication gone. Date reported/last updated (depending on the report you're looking at and where you are in the dispute process, if at all) can legally change (yes, it sucks). DOFD cannot! Can you give us full details on the account (don't need name of OC/CA), but all dates indicated and corresponding listings, just so we're clear?
It's only on EQ and the reported date is Aug 2013. The CCR is reporting that it is due to fall off in Jan 2014. I am going off memory now because I don't have the info in front of me on DOFD. In fact, I'd rather not speculate. So, let me ask this and tell me if you think I have any ground to stand on. This item has not been on my CCR in over a year. In Dec, they contacted me, I wrote them a do not call letter but it still wasn't on my CCR even then. So in Sep, 2013, I get an alert of this 'new entry'. As far as I know, this is new - it's being reported as new. Since that Aug, 2013 entry, I have no letter from the CA. Can I not ding them for failure to notify me within 30 days of a new entry? I tried to look this up but wouldn't you know it, since the government is shut down, the website is not available.
