I had an old collections account from 1995 for an old gas bill. I have tried several attempts to offer settlement for deletion then I tried settlement for paid in full never late, nothing has worked I then mistakenly sent a letter stating I would pay on the condition in writing that they mark this paid in full, they never replied and sent me the signed agreement. Now my questions are: By agreeing to pay for paid in full status, did I just restart the clock?? The SOL has expired for collecting in the state in which the debt occured, I don't reside there now and the agency is in another state as well. They claim they have my agreement to pay and I'd better pay up, note I never signed the letter and stated it would be void if they didn't agree to mark paid in full Now I realize that they are supposed to mark it paid in full, but I wanted it in writing. I have no problems payng what I owe 225.00, but this has stopped me many times from getting credit always citing this reason. Did I blow it or do I have another shot??
Forget paying Request a validation. I did the same thing on a gas bill. they never had a signed agreement and I knew it. I requested validation, they had none. Got it all off the credit repors in 2 months total. I'd been trying for 4 years previously. Search validation on this board. We've posted on it exhaustively. also, the letters are listed: validation1 validation2 and 2 up from val2 is a letter demanding credit removal.
Re: Forget paying I did the search and found the letter. Do I send this to the collection agency, they own the debt, or the original creditor or both?? I do recall signing for gas service, they made you but wonder of they still have record of it. Also that letter I sent agreeing to pay, can they hold me to that , they claim they can?? ANd finally I am buying a home in May, so I do need this either removed and if not paid. Thanks you all your answers.
Re: Forget paying lizardking said: "If you pay on the account, then it will change the date of last activity to 03/2001. Then it will stay on your credit report as a paid collection until 03/2008." Absolutely, positively 100%, no questions asked WRONG. Paying an old debt off as described above will NOT restart ANYTHING. WHERE do you get this from, and WHY do you post false information? The ONLY activity that will re-age the trade line/collection would be if Abbey agreed to a payment plan. Essentially, this renegotiates the original contract (agreed payments due over future time) and brings the account back to 'current' status. Paying off an old debt, in full or with a partial, one-time payment accepted by the creditor AS full settlement will NOT restart the CRA reporting clock.'
Re: Forget paying John, I would agree with you as well, but does it matter that this debt occurred PRIOR the FCRA amendments in 9/97, I know this rule must be followed for debts occurring after the new revisions, but could they try to use the old grandfather rules to this debt which happened in 95, or do they all now just go by the new rules?? Mom P.S. Personally Abbey, if you can't budge with them, believe me be there done that, and if that is your only negative and you need it paid for mortgage then maybe you should consider just paying it. Please don't start on me guys LOL
Re: Forget paying Abbey, They never sent the letter saying that they would agree to mark it "paid in full" so as far as your concerned they have not agreed to your offer. I also agree with what John said but I've heard creditors make the arguement that MomOf3 was talking about so I don't really know. Also you won't see "Date of 1st Delinquency" on your Trans Union or Equifax report. I think that leads to a lot of consusion expecially since Equifax does have a "Date of Last Activity" showing and Trans Union's "Date of Status". I have no idea when my negatives are scheduled to fall off of those reports... If it were me I would try and disupute these accounts off your credit report first and then if that doesn't work then maybe pay it if it's needed to get a mortgage.
get it off quickly If you want this off quickly and you're willing to pay, get them to send IN WRITING that, since the debt is disputed, if you pay them a dime they remove all derog info immediately. Period. Otherwise, there is little incentive for you to pay. If you send the validation letters and they don't respond you have info to give your mortgage underwriter. The collection company does have a point, in a way. If you sent a letter agreeing to pay, then there is a novation: a new agreement which inherently acknowledges their claim. BUT, if you didn't sign it... you're NOT obligated. If you did sign it and they have it, then tell them it's contingent on them sending you, in writing, that they'll remove the entry entirely. OTherwise, don't bother paying. While the debate above goes on as to whether or not they'll try to "reage" your account, odds are that the collection company will screw you and redate the account from the pay date: which means you still have to fight it and eat it for another 7 years. Bottom line: pay for a delete. or Use validation letters to negate the account and keep records for your mortgage underwriter. No underwriter would expect you to pay a debt that can't be legally proven to be yours.
Agree w/Lizardking Paying a collection account is, in essence, a novation or a new agreement whether it's in full or in partial payment. I'd bet my first born that it will reage the account if it's paid. And under the current system: a paid collection has equal weight as an unpaid one. Now, the mortgage company will likely want it either paid, or be given proof that it's not yours. A validation set of letters is legal proof that the debt does not legally exist (if the collection agency either doesn't respond or if they respond w/insufficient proof). Do whatever you feel is best. But remember, if you agree to pay, signed in writing by both parties, you have a novation (a new agreement) and you can't dispute validity anymore. So if you pay, get deletion in full. period. Remember: if it's not in writing it doesn't exist.
Re: get it off quickly Your head is clearly thrust into your anal cavity, LizardKing. You are spewing bad information without any regard to the federal or state laws and statutes. First and foremost, a SETTLEMENT in full or partial accepted AS FULL SETTLEMENT is NOT a reaging of an existing contract -- you are simply FULFILLING YOUR ORIGINAL AGREEMENT by paying them back, even if done at a lesser amount. This will NOT re-age an account - not LEGALLY and per the FCRA. I can't help those you mention who have HAD their trade lines re-aged - they were a$$es if they didn't dispute them. I PERSONALLY had two five year old accounts (one a car repo, one a mobile home repo) that I negotiated partial settlements accepted as full settlements for a sum total of almost $9,000. Both (Ford Credit and Conseco Finance) refused to delete the history. Both stated that it was corporate policy to NOT remove accurate history. The best they could do was what they were legally bound to do -- update the STATUS of the account to PAID/WAS REPO and that's it. They can NOT legally and per the FCRA re-age an account for another seven years BECAUSE in order for the account to be re-aged, it must become CURRENT again, and because the accounts are CLOSED, they can NOT become CURRENT just because you settled them. THEY HAVE TO BE OPEN ACCOUNTS IN ORDER TO BE CURRENT ACCOUNTS. THEY CAN NOT BE CURRENT ACCOUNTS IF THEY ARE CLOSED ACCOUNTS. A settlement does not OPEN your account(s) - it merely fulfills your requirement to pay back the lender. Not only have I PERSONALLY settled these two accounts, but I settled for partial / paid off 7 or 8 OTHER accounts that were closed/delinquent/unpaid. NONE of them re-aged. NONE OF THEM. THEY CAN'T because I was intelligent enough to remind them of the LAW, which meant that they knew that I KNEW that they would be violating the law if they tried to re-age it. BTW: The Conseco magically disappeared from ALL my reports within a couple months of being settled, even though they told me that they would not do it. The Ford one disappeared off 2 of the 3 CRA's - my TU still shows it with a last activity date of 11/94 (I paid it in 1999), and it's scheduled to come off this November. >> jshimmer is frankly full of sh*t if he is telling >> someone to pay in full on a 6 year old account. First of all, I never really telling anyone to pay in full a 6 year old delinquent account. Regardless, there ARE circumstances when you WOULD want to pay it off. Let's say somebody had a charge off 6 years ago. Now he/she makes a good living and wants to buy a $300,000 home on the lake. He/she finds the "PERFECT" house after months of searching. Upon applying for his/her mortgage, the lender tells him/her that everything is perfect, except for the fact that there is an outstanding 6 year old charge-off on his/her credit history and, without ADDRESSING it, the loan will not be approved. Now, Mr/Ms Jones has already put several thousand (or more) dollars down after signing a purchase agreement with the builder, which he/she will foreit if he/she defaults on the contract. Would you "not pay" the 6 year old delinquent account, just because it's going to "fall off" your credit reports in another year? If your answer is "no, you won't pay it", then say goodbye to that mortgage, that "perfect house" that you searched for for months, and the "several thousand or more dollars" that you put down with the builder. I've been around, Mr. LizardKing. I've been doing this for longer than you've HAD a credit history. Don't publically tell someone that they are full of $hit when you have nothing to back it up with.
Re: Agree w/Lizardking Marie: >> I'd bet my first born that it will reage the account >> if it's paid. You just lost your first born. I'll send you a PO Box so that you can contact me to arrange shipment. The FCRA provides this protection. See the meat of my previous post to LizardKing. You are NOT re-aging an account by paying it off. You are not creating a nouveau account or situation. You are merely fulfilling your original obligation. The only way that "other people's" accounts have been re-aged after this type of agreement is because they LET it happen because they were not knowledgeable about the current credit reporting laws. Most of the mistakes made (by people on this board) are due to ignorance of the laws and stautes -- I don't mean that they are ignorant people - I mean that they are ignorant of the LAWS. I have settled over $10,000 of personal debt with full or partial settlements. Not ONE was re-aged, because I reminded the lender of the laws. It's a simple process but unfortunately, not everybody knows them.