What do I do next?

I've read and read and read and finally decided to jump into the battle of getting one thing corrected on my credit report. It stems from an electric service provider. On August 31, 2001, I moved into a new residence. I had been a customer of the electrical utility for several years and had a satisfactory payment history. On Sept. 5, 2001, I was forced to move from the residence due to a misunderstanding between the landlord and myself. I notified all the utilities of my decision. Thereupon, I moved to a new county and have never returned. I have never received any notice of a delinquent account prior to the following.

After finding this forum and reading for several days, I ordered credit reports from all three CRA's. Each of them showed a collection in the amount of $283.21 being reported by a CA. I disputed the report with all three CRA's and waited. Within a few days I received a letter from the CA demanding immediete payment in full or blah, blah, blah. They did however, list the OC which I recognized as the electrical utility I had in fact had an account with. I responded to the CA with the letter provided in the forum demanding they leave me alone and I would contact the OC to resolve the debt, which I did simultaneously with the notification to the CA.

I wrote to the CA and disputed the debt but offered an amicable settlement of $100.00 using the letter from this forum that specifies the offer does not admit liability and requires that the report be removed from the CRA's. The OC recently responded, demanding full payment and threatening me with further credit report filing with the 3 CRA's and possible civil action.

Now, having read this forum for some time I realize the following:

1. They may sue me.

2. Should they do that, I could use the SOL to avoid payment, (I am in Georgia and the SOL for open-ended contracts is 4 years.)

3. I actually do owe them money. However, the amount I owe should be computed from Aug. 1 - Sept. 5 2001; not until Nov. 1, 2001.

4. I would like to pay my just debt.

What should be my next step?
1. Contact the OC and offer full payment without the promise of it being removed from my credit file?

3. Re-state my offer, reminding them that the SOL has elapsed?

3. Do nothing at all. I believe the report will clear itself in November of 2008 unless it is renewed.

Thank you for any advice/ideas.

Johnr1945
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What do I do next

Reply to init2winit . . .
In the letter from the CA, they stated that I had moved and they could not contact me. So, I contacted the OC (as you suggested), and they stated that they had sent a final bill to the service address (that I had vacated). Because of the short time I had been at that address (5 days), I did not file a change of address from the service address, but from my old residence - to the new residence in a different county. So it is possible that they sent a bill to the service address and it was not delivered.

Incidentally, after reviewing my original post, I noticed that I stated that I made an offer to the CA. NOT SO. I made my offer to the Original Creditor. I have not, nor will not deal with the CA.

Thanks again for your interest.

 

Update

I have received advice from a friend who states that I should have no further contact with the OC or the CA. That I should simply file a comment with each of the three CRA's stating that this debt has been disputed with the OC and they have refused to consider the merits of the dispute and have been unwilling to negotiate an amicable settlement.

Is there anything else I should or could do? I realize the SOL has long passed and there is nothing they could collect in court.

I don't believe they could add additional negative reports based on the disputed debt.

Please let me know if my thinking is correct.

Thanks,

Joss1943

 

Thanks for your follow-up Init2winit. I have read the Georgia law on SOL and believe I have not re-started the SOL. Here is the body of the letter as suggested by the letters in this blog.

btw . . . the disputed amount is $284.00

"Dear Sir or Madam:

I have received the attached letter from a collection agency claiming to represent you. I have notified the sender that I do not wish to deal with collection agencies and prefer to deal with the original creditor. Therefore, I am contacting you in an attempt to resolve an issue regarding a disputed amount owed.

I am not responsible for this bill. However, I will offer to amicably settle the above account. It is not to be construed as an acknowledgment of my liability for this debt in any form.

I will pay your company the amount of $100.00 as full settlement of this account.

If you accept this agreement, I will send you a money order or certified cashiers check for the settlement amount of $100.00 in exchange for a full deletion of all references regarding this account from my credit profile and full satisfaction of the debt. This agreement is binding and will be void should you not hold up to your end of the agreement. Furthermore the debt will be deleted from my credit profile at all three credit bureaus, or the bureaus your company regularly reports to in the course of doing business.

If you agree to the above, please acknowledge with your signature and return a copy to me. Upon receipt of this signed acknowledgment, I will promptly send you a money order or cashiers check in the amount stated above.

Notice: This agreement is restricted. This is not a renewed promise to pay, but rather a restricted settlement offer only. By not signing below, you agree that the debt has not been renewed nor have any concrete written agreements been exchanged.

Thank You. I look forward to resolving this matter in the best interest for both of our parties."

So, should I re-submit the letter with stronger language such as "You may pursue collection of this debt in court but be advised that my defense would include reference to the Georgia Statute of Limitations?

Thanks for all you do.

jross1945