Here is my cap1 info: Status as of [?] Jun, 2010 Date opened [?] May, 2006 Date of last activity [?] Dec, 2007 Date closed [?] Not Reported Account number [?] Not Reported Loan type [?] Not Reported Largest past balance [?] $1,320 Terms [?] Not Reported Account Type [?] Revolving Account holder [?] Individual Scheduled payment amount [?] $0 Descriptions [?] * Charged off account * Account closed by credit grantor Balance : $1759 Current Status : Bad debt/collection As far as I know, this is still with Cap 1. After reading everything here, it seems they hang onto old accounts rather than assigning them or selling to jdb. This is the oldest account on my CR, so optimistically, I'd like to see if they would open my account back up and take payments while I work on removing other negs and building credit. Would this help my score overall, and is this a feasible option? I've read a lot that Cap1 is a hard nut to crack, so maybe I'd have better luck that way rather than with disputing or trying a pfd. Any advice on this one?
They usually assign to some collection agency first but if the CA has no luck they have to turn it back to Cap1 to take legal action. Probably not going to work. So you owe $1759. I'd say they will most likely sue you sooner or later if you don't pay up. Makes no difference whether you can dispute it off your credit reports or not. Getting stuff off your credit reports does no good if you get sued and the probability of getting sued is pretty fair. If you do get sued in local court you will probably lose and get a judgment against you. Getting a judgment is almost a foregone conclusion if you get sued in a local court. That's not what is important. What is important is what you can do about it after the judgment is rendered against you and that depends on how you handle the situation once you have been contacted by an attorney by whatever means. The most important point is to demand validation once the lawyer contacts you either by phone, letter or by filing a lawsuit against you.
That's about the size of it if you want to avoid getting sued. I don't see that as being anything to be worried about however.
Personally, it seems like quite a hassle to go to court and all that. Besides, wouldn't it look worse on my CR if I get sued by them?
I agree with Bill that you're probably not going to get them to reopen your account. I haven't seen that happen in the past. Have you actually confirmed whether this debt is with a CA at the moment? Also, what kind of funds do you have to negotiate a payment plan? Personally, I would try negotiating a payment arrangement if I had the means to do so. So if it's with a CA, validate the debt, determine who you actually need to pay, and then try to work out an arrangement that will remove the negative listing from you credit reports.
