I'm feeling very cornered and I don't know which direction to go in. I need some advice please. I've just discovered that one of my charged off cards has listed me seven different times on my credit report, as if they are all different accounts (with different account numbers and amounts). Apparently each time this account got sold or transfered they re-listed it. And apparently I made matter worse because I continued to pay them each month. This last collection agency has listed me as 90 days late for nine months out of the last 12! And this account charged off in 1997! And it looks like the dates of reporting correspond to the dates that I mailed my checks each month. I don't know what to do. Please help!
The answer is quite simple. Make the collection agencies prove you even owed each and every one of those debts in the first place. If they can't prove it, sue them for their screwups. At anywhere from $25,000 to maybe as much as $100,000 per each listing, you probably wouldn't care what they put on your credit reports. And don't think I'm kidding or being facetious. Others have collected those kinds of damage awards for each false listing and you can too. You don't even have to prove monetary damages to win the case.
First STOP paying them... Bill is right... you need to make them prove all of those accounts belong to you!! But.... b/f you ask for validation .... When was the last time you stopped paying? And.. what did you send check, money order, or what?
Bill is right... you need to make them prove all of those accounts belong to you!! But.... b/f you ask for validation .... When was the last time you stopped paying? And.. what did you send check, money order, or what? Thanks to both of you for the replies. I've paid them pretty much monthly for 4.5 years, by personal check. No one ever agreed to my suggested payment amount of $50 and so I've just been sending it and they've been cashing them. I did not send a payment for August. I ripped the check up once I saw my credit report. Okay, so I send validation? To the current collection agency? Or to all of the past six listed plus the original creditor? Then what? Thanks in advance! Tia
Pull up your rockin chair sit in the shade under the old oak tree and wait for about 35 days before you have to worry about that. seriously.
Thanks again Bill. I sent off a validation letter today(certified return receipt) to the collection agency that I was paying monthly. Should I also send letters to the previous collection agencies? Tia
Wait with the CRAs until you get the green cards back from the collection agencies then fire off your verification requests to the CRAs. Don't dispute with the CRAs at all. Simply state that you have an ongoing dispute with the collector or creditor and want them to verify the account. That's all you need to do.
