date confirmed from phone call information charge off was in 1997 from discover card .........now collection agent is calling and sending letters............wanting paid!! not sure if the put it against me credit since the just brought the account not long ago...... but would some one be so kind to give me some sample of dispute letters .............and doenst reaging apply to this if the put it against my credit??
Check your state's statute of limitations and if the debt is time barred (which it is in most jurisdictions), send them a full cease and desist. If it isn't, request validation from the entity which purchased the account.
If it is past your state's SOL (9+ years is past most of them), then you can probably ignore them. A caveat - my state (CA) tolls the SOL if you move out of state or are in military service, which means the clock is stopped until you move back or leave active duty. Other states may have similar statutes. In any case, an account more than 7 years after chargeoff may not be reported to the CRAs. A CA reporting or reageing that account are in violation of FDCPA - false representation (15 USC 1692e(2)(A) and (8)). Some CAs may attempt to extort payment by damaging your report in other ways, hard inquiries. Since they do have an alleged account, they can do soft (account review) inquiries all they like and it will not hurt your score or be seen by other legitimate creditors. All the documents I've seen from TU and Experian state that review of an existing account is a soft pull and hard pulls are for an application of credit which you initiate. This can be considered a violation of the general statutory verbage of 1692e and 1692f, false or deceptive misrepresentation and/or unfair means to collect a debt.
