I have a 53.00 collection on my credit report. I can easily argue I do not owe this money. The problem is, the original creditor is out of business. There is no one to talk to, no records to access. Only what the collection agency has. And no, I do not have a receipt. I simply did not receive the services I contracted for from the original creditor. I disputed this with the CRA and they verified it. It must have been verified with the collection agency, because there is no original creditor any more. It's like "catch 22". They can't prove I owe it, and I can't prove I don't. What the hey!
Why don't you just dispute it and see what happens. It's only 53.00. You never know it may get deleted ! Keisha "Waking up out of a credit nigtmare"
Thanks for reply - as I noted, this was verified by one CRA already. Ticks me off! Where do I go from there without contacting the collection agency, which from where I am is an expensive long distance call.
I love replying to my own post! Anyway, this collection is the only difference between my Equifax and Experian reports. My fico score difference between these two is about 65 points! The CRAs claim that a collection is the most damaging thing on credit reports.
You need to ask the collection agency for verification of the debt. If they can't verify it by absolute proof, then they must remove.
Why not asking the collection agency for a validation and seeing if you can back them off. Also ask for CRA proof of verification. That way you'll know for sure who they talked with (or didn't). Odds are they didn't even bother verifying.
