A friend of mine is finally moving out on her own after 7 years of college and living under her parents' roof. She just got her master's and a new job and now she's ready to make the big move. Problem: She played--and lost--the credit card game when she was an undergrad but all that is now cleared up. She only has one 30-day and it's about 4 years old. What she does have is a collection account. It was for a medical bill while she was on some spring break trip and had to go to the emergency room. The amount she owes according to the hospital is $221. She called the CA listed on her TU and they say the balance is $270. The only reason she even found out about this is because she applied for a condo loan and the bank told her. So here's the deal--the bank is willing to approve her for the condo IF she pays off the bill. She has to either get a cashier's check from that bank (and they'll waive the fee) and have the bank mail it OR she has to provide them with a copy of her own cancelled check showing the bill was paid. Since she feels she has a gun to her head, she wants to pay. But, I'm thinking of how to play this. I checked and the CA isn't licensed or bonded as required by her state. I figured that could be an easy way to at least get it off her TU. She just wants to pay. We did a 3-way call to the hospital and to me, it sounded like the billing dept didn't know or care to know that the CA they hired wasn't licensed. In fact, when she asked where to have the check sent, the rep asked "Well, I guess you could send it to us or to BAM, which ever you'd like. Here's both addresses...." WTF?!?!? So now I'm thinking she should be able to kill two birds, make her bank happy AND get this item deleted. I figured she could have the bank mail the cashier's check which would clear her for the loan. Then, she follows up a couple weeks later with a nutcase letter to the hospital where she demands they order the illegal CA--hired by, and thus, representing the hospital--to delete their entry. Do you think this would work?
Once you pay the debt you loose most of your leverage to get the item deleted. The nutcase letter is a last ditch effort to get paid collections off your report, and it does not always work. Offering to pay the debt in return for deletion is much more effective in my experience. Your friend should consider making an offer to the original creditor, or CA to pay the balance in full if they will agree to remove the negative listing from her credit report. Get them to agree to this in writting. I know she is pressed for time, but if you pay the debt without getting the OC's or CA's written agreement to remove the negative listing she may have to live with it for the full seven years. I have gotten the OC in a similar situation to write a letter to me stating that they reported in error. The OC in my case also contacted their CA and got them to delete the item. I actually never received the bill from the doctor. I got the one from the emergency room, but the doctor at the hospital emergency room I went to bills seperately for his services. Apparently they didn't have my address (I still don't understand how they had enough information to get it on my credit profile, but couldn't mail me a bill). What a deal, I wish I could send a separate bill to my firm's clients for work I perform. Health care - what a racket....
LOL The mob should have gone into this instead of trash hauling. Thanks for the info. I don't think she wants to "go through all that", she's just looking at the short-term goal of moving into her new place.
Dear Jonesing, Whether your friend is in a hurry or not she should get this off her report. It may cause problems down the road. It won't take long. You can fax your agreement to the OC and have them sign and fax it back, and then call with a credit card. The OC is responsible for the illegal actions of their CA. We have new information on this if you need it. Good luck and keep us posted.
