I have been contacted by Genessee Valley Associates who has recently purchased the debt originally owed to Cap One. However, my CR shows Elite Recovery still owning the debt and Genessee Valley is not on my CR. I have the money for a settlement but I don't know who to pay! Should I send a PFD to Elite Recovery since they're the one on my CR, or to Genessee who has been the CA calling all my friends and ex-inlaws???
1) dispute the Elite Recovery entry with the CRA. If Elite no longer holds the account (e.g. they sold it to Genessee) then they will delete the line. 2) contact Genessee and get it in writing that they won't report this account to a CRA if you pay within 30 days. When you get that letter, send them the money. They'll probably want a check-by-phone, but try not to do that because it doesn't give you a solid paper trail. Remember that their one and only goal is to get your money. They'll say anything to make that happen, so you'll have to stay firm (and polite) in your request to get something in writing from them. If you do that, you'll have cleared the account and got it off your report. HOWEVER, send the payment CMRRR, keep a record of the canceled check and the agreement from the CRA. Even if you pay them, these things have a way of coming back to haunt you and you'll want all the records of your payment and agreement to help protect you if (when) they do.
Since you were contacted by GVA I assume that Elite Recovery sold the debt to them. The fact that GVA is not on your CR is probably because some collection companies do not report to all three credit reporting agencies - some to only one, some to two, some to all three. If You have a valid settlement agreement IN WRITING with GVA - pay them.
If they don't have a subscription to report and it has been sold twice already, I'd request validation first before paying.
