Ok. Newbie here. Searched but could not find anything that really relates. I checked my 3 in 1 credit report recently and was shocked to find an account that had been submitted for collections. I have no recollection of this account at all and the amount was a piddly $70 dollars. It was back in December of 2000. I have the creditors information and was planning on giving them a call. My questions..... Do I ask for proof from them aka Validation? Is there a way to simply pay off the debt contingent upon them petitioning the credit agencies to remove it? Can it be removed or will it simply show up as satisfied 4 years later? It has not prohibited me form getting any sort of credit so its really not a big deal. Basically I want it gone and want to know the most efficient way to get there. Need to know how to deal with these people. I have excellent credit with the exception of this one little blurb. But the more I read these forums the more I realize that you want to have all your ducks in a row before proceeding with anything. Any help or direction would be great. Thanks in advance.
Do I ask for proof from them aka Validation? ====================================== In order to reply I need to know who is OC and who is CA. and which one is listed on your reports. Which one of them is trying to collect. *************************************** *************** GET THE BASICS HERE. http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttalk/board/showthread.php?s=&postid=410243#post410243 ***************** >Have you read these?
Thats just it. I have no idea with wonm that original debt is with. Is it ok to call the phone number that is associated with the debt on in the credit file or should I do my own research first and figure it out. I don't want to tip them off that I am planning to dispute this. Yeah I have read through the majority of the threads as well as everything in the library. It seems that the nature of the problems that people run into are a little more drastic than my situation.
Probably a CA. Their contact info should be listed with their name right on the report. If not call the CRA and tell them you want the Mailing Address. You don't want a phone # because you never talk to a CA on the phone.
Yeah it is a CA. http://www.pcacollect.com/ I do have a mailing address for them. So are you suggestiing that the best way to approach this would be through a letter as opposed to simply calling them and asking them to look me up. DOn't get me wrong, I would DEFINATELY go through the motions of disputing this entry if they were unable to give me a satifactory explanation over the phone. Or if the information is truly inaccurate. What I want to know is can any harm be done to my efforts by first giving them a phone call to explain why they have entered this under my name. Thanks again for all the replies!
NEVER call a CA. They'll twist your words, they'll send you a letter saying you made a verbal agreement to pay, or any number of things. Mail them a very simple letter stating that you pulled your credit report and saw that they were listed. State that this is not your account, and you are requesting validation that it is, in fact yours. State that you would like to see the original document with your signature.
