Hello all, This board is great. A lot of good information here. Thank you all for your contribution. I have been lurking for a while now trying to soak it all in but on this one issue I am a little confused. I have an old medical collection listed on my credit report for $700. The listing on my report is from a collection agency not the original creditor. I tried disputing the listing as inaccurate and they verified it on 8/06 by sending me the itemized bill from the hospital. The original date it was placed for collection is 8/05. This SOL has passed for collecting this debt based on what I have read....now, my question...what is the best approach to get the CRA's to remove this from my reports? My understanding is that once the SOL has passed, the CA cannot come after me in court or they can but I have a defense against it but is there anything I can do to get them to remove it? I tried to call them a negotiate a pay for delete but they want $1100 to "close the account" due to "fees" ... any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
If it's out of SOL (and you're sure of it) then you might want to let them know that you know that. In that case, any amount they get is a gift from you. Right now, you're at an impasse: you don't have to pay and they don't have to delete it. They are going to play the "hard line" (e.g. fees, interest, etc.) for as far as they can. That doesn't cost them anything so they have no reason to let up. They can send letters, call you day and night, etc. until they drive you nuts or get your money. So, you need to put them in the hot seat and want to deal with you on your terms. That'll require some skillful negotiation and maybe baiting them a bit, but it can be done. If it were me and playing nice doesn't get you anywhere, then I'd look for whatever microscopic violation of the FDCPA or your state's consumer protection laws and prepare a well-written complaint (as in the kind you file in a law suit). I'd also prepare a payment agreement that included a non-disclosure clause. In the cover letter, ask them which they want to proceed with and either way works for you. If they don't sign your agreement, then you file the lawsuit, if they sign your agreement, then you abide by your terms and if they don't abide by theirs, you sue them. If they do, then you dispute the entry a month later and it should go away a month later. If not, you sue them. You have to be ready and willing to play hardball or just wait until 2012 when it falls off all by itself.
