I have an NCO TL that's currently listed at about $2000 from a checking account I had with Citizens bank from 3 or 4 years ago. The checking account was charged off by Citizens 3 or 4 years ago when it was overdrafted by about $1300 and NCO has since added interest and fees to get it up to $2000. I'm looking to get a mortgage and the guy I'm working with from the mortgage company said that this account is making a big impact on my score, since it's my only collection account. I spoke with NCO briefly and they absolutely refuse to do any kind of a pay for deletion, but they did say they will settle for the original amount owed (about $1300). I really want to get this TL off of my credit report. Citizens didn't put a TL on my CR, so would it be possible to call Citizens directly and offer to settle (preferably) or pay off this account directly through them? If that happens, would NCO have to delete their TL since the debt would no longer exist? Since Citizens themselves never reported this account, I'm hoping this would make it go away entirely. I know I may be able to catch NCO in a violation and sue or threaten to sue, but time is of the essence with the mortgage and all and if I can pay this and get rid of it quickly that would be my preference. Thanks much, Brett
I'd be surprised if Citizens will even talk with you about this debt. They've either sold it to NCO, in which case they don't own the debt any longer, or they've hired NCO to collect it. If the latter is the case, I'm sure part of their agreement with NCO is that they won't speak to the debtor about the account any longer.
Unless you are in a big rush Send nco a validation letter. This will start the ball rolling in your direction.
Looks like you're right. I called Citizens about it and found out it was originally sold to RJM, and RJM sold it to NCO. Not surprisingly, neither Citizens nor RJM would talk to me about it. I also found out that it was originally charged off on 7/04, so it doesn't look like it's getting close to the SOL (I'm in NY). I guess I'll have to work with NCO on this one. Thanks though, Brett
Unfortunately I am in a bit of a rush, however, I did prepare a validation letter and I'll send it out later today. I also disputed the tradeline with all three credit bureaus, so we'll see how that goes. I don't know if any of this will get a response in the time frame I need it, but at least things are moving at this point. Thanks again, Brett
Send a letter today wherein you assert that you are going to institute a civil action against NCO for failure to mark the account as being in dispute. You'll receive a letter from them in about a week stating the account has been closed and that they've informed the credit reporting agencies to delete. It is that simple.
I just wanted to follow up on this. I disputed the NCO account as not mine with the big three and sent NCO a validation letter and asked them to only contact me by mail about this account. The phone calls stopped within a day or two of them receiving the letter and I haven't even seen anything in the mail from them. Also, the TL has already been deleted from Experian and Transunion. Equifax is still investigating, but I have high hopes that it will be gone from there as well. Additionally, it's been taking a little longer than expected to get a contract signed for the house I'm looking at buying, so that's given me extra time as well to get things cleaned up. Thanks again for the advice, Brett
You should also pull your ChexSystem report, Citizens has probably listed this on the "banking" credit report. Try to dispute this with them also.
Actually, I was a little worried about that, but I was able to successfully open both a checking and savings account at Bank Of America yesterday without problems. I didn't even realize that one could pull their own ChexSystem report, but I think I'll definitely go do that now. Thanks again, Brett
That's good that you were able to open the accounts... As for the debt, your best option may be to negotiate the best settlement offer you can. You should speak to your mortgage rep to see what your tradeoffs are on score vs. debt clearing. But in the end, you will have to clear this up to secure a mortgage.
Actually, I just discovered it's already cleared up As I said before, Transunion and Experian had already reported back from their investigation that the NCO TL had been deleted, and I just pulled a copy of my Equifax report, and even though they hadn't finished their investigation yet the NCO TL is gone from there as well. I'm a little worried that NCO will sell the debt to someone else and I'll have to go through this all over again, but I doubt that'll happen before I get the mortgage, and I'll deal with it when I have to. Brett
Good for you on the deletions, but you are correct about the probability of reselling the debt. But...the good aspect of that is if they sell the debt, NCO will have to remove their TL, and with the next collector, if you pay the debt within 30 days of receiving notice, they usually will not report to the Credit Reporting Agencies. So, this may have all worked out for you!
