I have an account listed on all of my reports, and on my hubby's, for some bogus damage charges to an apartment we moved out of 4 years ago. I fought it then and got no where. Hunter Warfield was terrible to me on the phone, so I stopped answering. They haven't called in a long time. Several problems, they're reporting incorrect information and I can prove it. The DOFD is wrong and their balance is wrong. They are charging me interest and fees which is not allowed in my lease and under state law where I live, they aren't allowed to charge it. I tried to get the apartment manager to recall the debt so I could pay them, they said no. They refuse to talk to me anymore about this. So here I am dealing with a scummy CA who has several violations. I last sent them a letter about 3 weeks ago listing their violations to them and insisting they delete and provide written confirmation that they will delete and not sell or reassign this account. I haven't heard anything. I do wonder if they contacted the apartment manager though, who emailed me saying if I would pay a certain amount by a certain date, then the rest of the charges and fees would be waived. Very nice (sarcasm) but they were illegal fees to start with. I have no intention of paying them, especially since I don't have it in writing from the CA, nor do I trust the apt manager. And anyway, a paid collection is going to help me how? So I don't know where to go from here. Any thoughts?
Welcome to Creditnet Lainey! You're right, a "paid" collection isn't going to really help your scores unless you get the negative information removed from your credit reports in return for payment. I think you did the right thing by sending the letter to the CA, but did you offer any sort of payment terms at all? Are you open to negotiating a PFD, or do you feel like you shouldn't have to pay anything?
Two months ago, I sent them a letter offering a PFD. I told them that as soon as I got confirmation in writing from them that they would accept the PFD, that I would send certified funds within 10 days of getting their confirmation. This was before I learned of the law that was enacted in my state in 2009 making it illegal for CA's to try to collect interest and fee's. I worded the letter in such a way that I told them I was just tired of dealing with this and that my offer for PFD in now way constituted acknowledgement of guilt or anything of that sort. I never got a response from them though from that letter, so several weeks ago I sent the next letter letting them know that I had become aware that they had violated several state and federal laws and I requested a deletion based on their violations. I just don't know where to go from here. I am willing to pay the apartment complex, but I do not want to pay a shady collection agency who has broken several laws. The apartment complex won't talk to me though. I have contacted the corporate office, but always get forwarded on to the local people. I thought about filing a BBB complaint against the property, with my complaint being I've been trying to take care of this with them, but they refuse to accept payment even though they claim they never sold the account.
This happened 4 years ago? I wouldn't pay the apartment complex jack schitt, nor would I pay the collection agency. Why's that? Well first of all, the damage to your credit was already done at the time when this alleged debt went to collections. By now, 4 years later, its effect on your credit scores is minimal, and your credit will have already recovered somewhat. Second, the alleged debt is obviously not stopping you from getting another apartment, because you are living somewhere now, right? I would just wait the remainder of the 7-year credit reporting period for this bogus debt to fall off of my credit report. I wouldn't pay a penny, nor would I communicate further with the original creditor, or collection agency.
Filing a BBB complaint is fine, but it probably won't do much to help you get the issue resolved. They'll most likely just respond to the BBB and say that they've followed normal procedure and sent your overdue account to a CA which hasn't been able to collect anything yet. Case closed. I can certainly understand why you don't want to pay the CA anything though. This is a tough situation, and in some ways I agree with Bcohen about waiting this one out and hoping that it eventually falls off your credit reports. I can also understand why you would want to just get this resolved once and for all by making payment (sans fees and interest) to the apartment complex. Perhaps you could follow up with the manager on his last email because it sounds like they are willing to work something out with you? I would still push the importance of them pulling the account back from collections so you can pay them directly. If they refuse, it just isn't worth it. You want to resolve this directly with them, not the CA that is ignoring you anyway.
