Well, I hit hard times back during the 2001-2003 period but things have gradually improved since then. For a while I had no negative credit marks since January 2004. Then around September 2007, a collection agency named Palisades placed a negative entry on my credit report. I have never heard of them or received any communication from them. My FICO score tanked by 50 points. So I DVed them and got no response. After a month passed, I sent them a second notice along with a threat of legal action. At that point they removed their entry. So my FICO score goes back to what it was before. A few months later the entry reappears and I get an envelope from Palisades with a some billing statements from Verizon back in the Sept 2002 to December 2002 time frame. The last statement says I owe $61. My FICO scores go back down again. I would be willing to pay the OC but I don't want one red cent to find its way into Palisades pocket (they bought the debt). Furthermore, I don't want to do anything that might legally reset the 7 year period or cause the CA to reage the account (legally or illegally). Upon reviewing the tradelines posted, here is what Palisades reported: EQUIFAX Account Owner: Individual Account Type of Account: Open Term Duration: <blank> Date Opened: N/A Date Reported: 01/2008 Date of Last Payment: <blank> Current Status: <blank> High Credit: $61 Credit Limit: $0 Terms Frequency: <blank> Balance: $61 Amount Past Due: $61 Actual Payment Amount: $0 Scheduled Payment Amount: $0 Date of Delinquency First Reported: 12/2007 Creditor Classification: Utilities Charge off amount: $0 Balloon Payment Amount: $0 Date of Last Activity: N/A Months Reviewed: 1 Activity Description: N/A Type of Loan: Factoring Company Account (debt purchaser) I wrote to Equifax to get the Date of Last Activity. The response they sent back on 1/7/2008: "Equifax does not maintain of service the information contained in your credit file. Your correspondence has been forwarded the the credit reporting agency which researches the credit file concerns of consumers living in your area. The credit reporting agency to which your correspondence was forwarded is: " <blank> (Yep, they left that space blank. So I don't know how to proceed). EXPERIAN Account Name: PALISADES COLLECTION L Acct Type: Unknown - Credit Extension, Review, Or Collection Acct Status: Closed Monthly Payment: Date Open: 8/1/2006 Balance: $61.00 Terms: 1 Month High Balance: Limit: Past Due: $61.00 Payment Status: Seriously past due date / assigned to attorney, collection agency, or credit grantor's internal collection department I haven't written to Experian yet. My concerns is that I want this to drop off in 2009 in accordance with Federal law. I also want the dates to be accurate if they will minimize my hit to my FICO score. More info: * The statute of limiations is 5 years in my state, so the SOL has expired. * None of the statements the CA provided (which cover 9/2002 - 12/2002) shows that the payment is current, so the Date of First Delinquency could not be past 9/2002. Is this considered as illegal reaging? Any advice would be welcome. Thanks.
Here's what I'd do (I'll probably be getting something like this in the future so I have some interest in seeing how this plays out...) Dispute the entry with the Experian. Send a letter (CMRRR) to the CA informing them of their inaccuracy and request that they correct it. Include a copy of the trade line from your experian report (no need to send more than that) and the relevant page from the bills they so thoughtfully sent you. Don't admit or deny anything (i.e. keep it short) and don't go on and on, making all sorts of legal references (that only impresses the people who don't know any better. If they don't know the law, informing the by a summons is the only thing that will get their attention). Keep copies of all your credit reports from before, during and after (assuming they correct it). If they don't correct it, you then need to decide if it's worth suing them to remove or correct the entry. Name the CA and Experian. Claiming damages is tougher with an FCRA violation than with an FDCPA violation but you can at least ask that the court order them to correct it (for whatever that might be worth). I don't see much in the way of an FDCPA violation here. You could have had them on continued collection without validation (and you might still if a year hasn't passed since the first round) but since they pulled it after your 2nd letter, that might be a bit of a stretch. You might be able to lump them all into the same suit if you're really looking to litigate. Pro Se litigation will cost you from $300-500 to file depending on where and how you file and serve (small claims court in my state can only settle for monetary damages and, as such, couldn't order Experian or the CA to do anything like correct the entry). Then, of course, there's all the time you'll spend learning the procedures and rules. So, you need to do a cost-benefit analysis of all that before you take the next step after the letters.
There is nothing you can do that will legally reset the 7 year period. wrong incomplete information Disputable, collections shouldn't report a past due balance - I think there is a thread on that here somewhere. Don't let this date scare you - read it for context, the date provided is accurate, it is not reaging the account. You are probably with CSC - what state are you in? Its good that you requested the DOLA, but you will have to wait and see which EQ step-child manages your report to find out if you instead are looking for a Date of First Delinquency. Your dispute should be moving forward - just with some other company. There is info missing here. There is nothing that even hints at a Date of First Deliquency, or alternatively a removal date for which you can calculate the reported DOFD. From what you have reported, there are no dates even reporting to figure out if this has been reaged.
