I recently pulled my credit report and found a collection for $170 - which reduced my Equifax score from 730 to 660. The creditor was a Emergency Room group who treated my soon-to-be ex wife last year. I've been separated from her for a year and the divorce will be final in July. I tracked down the collection agency and got the particulars and account number. should my next move be to make my case with the collection agency?? I wrote the following letter to the collection agency.. its ready to go out in the mail. "To whom it may concern, I would like to dispute a charge of $170.00 that has appeared on my credit report. My account reference with you is 8957669. After speaking with one of your account managers I learned that the balance is owed for a visit that my wife Jennifer made to the emergency room in 2008. My wife and I have been separated for over a year and will be legally divorced in July 09. We have filed the Dissolution of Marriage paperwork with the State of Florida and our court date is set for July 13, 2009. Our case number with the state is 09 DR 34955. I have enclosed a copy of our receipt for Dissolution of Marriage as evidence of our legal separation and pending divorce. In short, my wife and I have not communicated in over a year. Iâ??ve read that this is a common occurrence in divorces, and request the derogatory item be deleted from my credit report. I would also contend that this is my former wifeâ??s financial responsibility and not mine. To expedite matters, I would be willing to pay the full balance on behalf of my wife, and then get her to pay me back. I would also be willing to pay your fee for deleting the item from my credit report. Please let me know how I can resolve this quickly. Thanks."
Was she still covered by your insurance? Even though you were separated, you were still legally married. I don't know what your state's laws are regarding things like this. You might want to call your lawyer and ask him.
I'm willing to bet money that that's the only part of your letter that they will read. There are different thoughts on the matter, but I think letters should always be direct and brief. They don't care about your circumstances, they just want their money. I would suggest first calling your lawyer and asking his/her opinion on the matter. If your lawyer says it's your ex-wife's expense, then bring that up with the CA and CRAs. If your lawyer says it's yours, I'd just send a simple DV letter. "I am disputing this alleged debt. Please validate said alleged debt and send supporting paperwork to my address above." They're under no obligation to respond if it's past the 30-day mark since they first contacted you, but who knows, you may discover that they have no paperwork.
