I got a dunning letter from NCO for a utility bill from an apartment I left 12/06. They sent me a computer print out (which shows that PG & E wrote it off). Now what? It's under $200. I am not looking to buy a house, car or rent an apartment any time soon so I'm not in any hurry to pay it. Obviously the SOL has not run out (and I'm not familiar how it works when you move across state lines anyway. We moved from CA to the midwest in 2006.)
Since they also sent you a validation of the bill, try to settle with them. Offer them $75 with the stipulation that they remove the item from your credit reports. If you just ignore them they might run to court and get a default judgment for the amount of debt and legal fees against you possibly leading to a wage granisment and a bank account freeze.
A computer print out? Showing that the OC charged it off in 12.06? Anyone can provide that sort of a document in about a minute from any computer. What evidence is there that this print out was obtained from the OC as required by statute? Settlement discussions are appropriate at any time the OP considers it wise. But a CA going to the mat for a bill less than $200 at this time seems bit of a stretch. Settlement talks may be a ways off. I would be looking carefully at what they sent as validation and as the obvious question as to whether or not it passes for what they claim it to be before I began to think of options going forward.
The bill was incurred 12/06. I think the writeoff is 8/07. Where is the verbiage on the statute (because anyone can use their dot matrix printer for this "validation"). If it takes a bit more of cat and mouse, I don't mind playing it. I have successfully disputed tens of thousands of $$$ with the VOD letters. The utility bills have always been a bugger to dispute IME.
