Hi all, Recently I have been trying to restore my credit (thanks to all of you and your great advice). I have been applying for some new credit as well as paying off some recent bills that have been past due. Today in the mail, I get a letter from a company called Creditrust. They state in their letter "that a review of their records indicates a relatively small charge-off balance remains on your Creditrust account. We are prepared to offer discounted settlements at this time. Please call to resolve your unpaid balance of $2675.61. Upon completion of your settlement or payment plan, we will notify the national credit bureaus that your account is paid" This account is an old Citibank account I had over 10 years ago (I was in college; too young and too stupid). Should I contact this company? I assumed that since it no longer appears on my credit report that they had given up pursuing the matter since the statute of limitations had likely passed. Will it reappear on my credit report? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks, CR
RE: Old Citibank Chargeoff fro If it is too old to collect and the item is no longer on your credit report, why are you even thinking of paying it?
RE: Old Citibank Chargeoff fro dave, will it be put back on my credit report and am I to assume it's too old to collect? CR
RE: Old Citibank Chargeoff fro Ten years is too old to collect in most states. You should ask an attorney in your state about that. It shouldn't go back on your report since bad debt can only be reported for seven years under federal law.
RE: Old Citibank Chargeoff fro I am in the same situation with an old Brooks Brothers account. I had the stupid card in college and never paid it - that was also about 10 years ago. Derogatory information like that GENERALLY is reported for 7 years, then falls off. This information was being reported and then I dispouted it a couple years ago and the CRAs deleted it because it had become outdated. I recieved a letter (numerous letters, actually) from a collection agency this year offering a settlement and saying they'd update the information they are reporting to the CRAs. I ignored the letters becuase the information is not being reported on my credit reports - I just had them pulled to make sure. It is a deceptive way to scare people into re-paying. Besides, if the information is being reported, you could dispute it with the CRAs because they cannot report outdated information and they know it.
RE: Old Citibank Chargeoff fro Yes, but aren't the collection agencies violating federal law by even attempting to collect it?
RE: Old Citibank Chargeoff fro I think, but I am not sure, it is against the law to make a claim without intending to follow-up. In other words, it would be illegal for them to say "We will pursue this in court if you fail to pay us" or something like that. These people merely are telling me they'll update my credit records and report the debt settled and paid in full (and most likely start the reporting clock all over again). Their strategy is to prey on a person's fear of the possibility this may be reported, when in fact it's not bacause it can't. I know it's not being reported, and can't be reported, so I am ignoring their stupid little efforts to collect. Poor judgement on their part to buy this debt. Consumers are more educated thanks to the internet (and this board).
