Have an account on all three reports. Old account probably 2-3 years old now. Cell phone account. Never on any of my credit reports until 6-2001, when some company came out of no where and put it on my report. I contacted "Ken" at this company who told me that they bought this debt and now own it. Problem is the account is 2-3 years old now and they are reporting it as being opened in 6-2001!!! Isn't this a violation of the FCRA? It's almost as if they are relisting the debt. I'm serious about suing if I have legal grounds to stand on. It's for $385.00. I talked with the guy and said that I wasn't paying $385 for this account if they indeed did buy it, then they bought it at 25% of what was owed (In this case about $110). So why should I pay them $385 when they got this debt cheap. BUT the guy was backing up when I told him about the dates. So, the question is do I have some power of levy or should I pay them the money for deletion?
Have you tried a validation letter w/ them? Don't talk to these people on the phone until you get a validation that this debt is yours. Use the search function to find a letter here, or check in the letter section portal. Send it return receipt.
I think a common mistake we make as consumers is calling a collection company. It is a mistake because collection companys have software that they can document your conversation. We know from experience that most will out right lie to you. They can document on the account that you said something you didn't say, they can input a promise to pay or anything else they want. From day one, I have NEVER called a collection agency. I make it a general rule of thumb. When I started my credit repair journey in December of 1999, I had atleast 10 collection accounts on every report, and multiple Student loan Tradelines that were reporting inaccurately. I can tell you that Validation Letters have worked on every single collection account I have had, with the exception of Gulf State Credit. I NEVER had to send out another letter. Once they received validation letters, I received letters stating they were removing their tradeline from my report, OR they removed their tradelines with out informing me. Keep in mind that ALL my collection accounts were either past the sol or very close to it. Every collection account was 4 years or older, which in the state of PA the sol is 4 years. Additionally, all were under 400 bucks. My suggestion: Don't ever call a collection agency, send a validation letter and wait the 30 days, the older the debt the more likely the inability to verify.
Darkdoj; Let's say a sleazy collector type guy walks up to you on the street and says, "Hey darkdoj! You owe me money! Pay Up!!" Assuming you didn't get violent, your first reaction might be, "Who the he!! are you? What makes you think I owe you money? When did we ever do business? Do you have any signed receipts to back up what you are saying? SHOW ME!!!" That's a Validation letter. Learn it. Live it. Love it. It's your best friend. Grab one of the templates from the Sample Letters forum and run a search on the term in this forum to get yourself educated quickly. The law is on your side here, but only if you take the time to utilize it.
