I owe $ money to an old apartment complex, which I have been paying to the collection agency they use. The balance now is only $175, which I would like to pay and get this cleared up. Even though this is from a couple years ago, it is just now showing up on 2 of my credit reports. I tried to negotiate with the collection agency for removal, but they said no way - it is against their policy and they don't care if I pay it or not. They do not own this account - they are just collecting on behalf of the apartment complex. So, what should I do to get this off my report? By the way, it's actually showing up as a $20,000 collection on one of my reports. The total balance ever owed was only $375. So maybe I have some leverage there - but if I dispute that they will just re-verify with the correct amount anyway. Should I try to work something out with the apartment complex directly? I'm afraid they will tell me that I have to go through the collection agency anyway. I'd appreciate any advice/input.
I looked at my report again. They are actually reporting that the original amount was $40,000 on Experian. I'm not sure if that's hurting me or not, but it is completely false anyway. The original amount was $374. For Recent Balance it says NA. They are reporting on TU a balance of $374, which is also incorrect, since the new balance is only $174 which the coll agency confirmed with me today. I'm thinking of just sending the payment directly to the original creditor to see what happens. Maybe I can even get them to have the collector remove it from my report?
Can I do this even though I have not tried to dispute the amount yet? It just says the $40,000 is the "Original Amount" owed, but does not say that I owe that amount now. However, since it does not show the amount owed now, and does not show that I have made any payments, it must imply that I owe that much.
Don't roll the dice to see what happens. Obviously, it sounds like the CA doesn't give a damn what happens. You send them money they, they won't do jack for you. I doubt if apartment complex makes it a habit of using their resources to correct peoples credit ratings, unless they have to by a written agreement. I hesitate to comment as I am a newbie, but even though the numbers sound staggering $20000 and $40000 on your reports, legally it is probably still just an error, isn't that what disputes are for?
