Hi there! This is my 1st post but I've been lurking and reading for 3 months, during which time you all have helped me raise DH FICO from 525 to 636!! ...and made some great strides on my own score as well... thanks to this board!! The last thing I have on DH's report is a Verizon Collection. Got my 3 free reports on 2/26/07 and had no idea until then that Verizon was claiming we owed them $62. I didn't know much about all this then so out of panic (we were trying to qualify for a mortgage) i got on the phone and paid it (on 2/26)since it was such a small amount. A few days later a friend advised me to dispute it with the 3 cra's in hopes that they wouldn't respond to a paid dispute. TU and EQ updated the account to a "paid" status. I received a new report from EX on 3/15 stating the outcome of my dispute as "remains" (their definition of remains - "this item has been verified as accurate")... meaning they verified inaccurate info, as this was PAID on 2/26. This account is still showing $62 past due on EX even today. I noticed that on the CR the address for Verizon California is 236 E Town St. Columbus, OH 43215. It didn't make sense that their internal Collections dept would be located in OH. Did a little reseach and found that address to be CBCS (a CA). Apparently this is a big building cuz there is also a Janitorial supply co, and a doctors office under this address... not sure how to prove that Verizon isn't also there... So, assuming I was really dealing with a CA, I sent a DV CMRRR to "Verizon California 236 E Town St Columbus, OH 43215". My DV stated simply: "I dispute the information being reported to the three major credit reporting bureaus. Please validate all tradeline notations you are reporting for Verizon CA". I recieved the following response: Dear Valued Customer, Thank you for contacting Verizon Customer Support. Your letter appears to be a request for debt validation under the FDCPA, 15 USC 1692g. However, under the FDCPA, a creditor collecting its own debts is not a "debt collector". It seems to me that CBCS is misrepresenting itself as Verizon...??? ...and assuming the rights of the OC? This is an FDCPA violation, but how would I prove it??? The CMRRR to OH address was sent to Verizon. Also, EX verified the account as Past Due on 3/15, when I had paid it on 2/26 ... isn't this a violation? Is any of this grounds for court? who do I go after? EX? CBCS?? Verizon?? Looking for a total delete. Thanks in advance for any advice!!! I would really appreciate any help anyone could offer!!!
