Collection account and Original Creditor......can they do this?

[doeblinv]

A utility company billed me for some cable equipment........ Once the equipment was returned to the original creditor ( the lady said it was perfectly fine to deal with her even though it went to collections) the CA said that they owned the account and the account was still due to them.... Is this the case? Why would the OC say it could be dealt with them? Is this something the two creditors need to figure out or am I just screwed and still owe the debt to the CA? Since I have a receipt can I dispute to the CRA? 

[RobertEG]

If the OC accepted payment, they were only authorized to do so if they still owned the debt.  So reliance on their act of acceptance is totally proper and reasonable on your part as affirmance of their ownership. 

If the debt collector asserts ownership of the debt, they are in fact saying that the OC acted improperly in accepting payment not due to them.  So you have a factual issue of ownership that you are not in an independent position to determine.  It is their problem.  As far as you are concerned, you have paid the debt.

With the debt now paid, there is technically no longer a debt for the debt collector to continue collection upon.  So I would file a direct dispute with the debt collector for inaccurate reporting of a satisfied debt.  Include proof of your payment to the OC, and make the debt collector verify ownership.  It puts them under a 30-day period to verify ownership.  If they verify ownership that is in fact not theirs, that is fraudulent, and would subject them to legal action.  I doubt very much that they would do that, especially when they have to deal with the OC relating to other business.  Use a diirect dispute to pit them against one another.  Make the debt collector update their collection account to show $0 balance.

[doeblinv]

well here is the deal though, there is still a 50.00 balance.... I do not know who to pay?..... I want to get this account off of my credit completely so how can I go about doing this if the CA will not PFD? The OC says I can pay them, but if I do pay them, I know the CA will only update as paid collection... But I am just so confused because the CA says I can't pay the OC and the OC says I can..... So what advice for getting the item removed completely.... I do not want my credit hurt over 50.00!!

[RobertEG]

You have two separate issues:  paying the debt, and getting  CR removal.

If the OC is willing to accept payment, Iwould just pay the OC and ignore what the debt collector is asserting.

Once paid, the OC is required to notifify their debt collector that the debt has been satisfied.  Let the debt collector argue with the OC.  That is their problem, not yours.

Payment, regardless of to who it is made, does not remove any accurate credit reporting that has occured.  If you get a PFD from either party, that only compels that one party to delete their credit reporting. Any payment to the OC, with or wthout a PFD acceptance by them, does not compel the debt collector to delete their repporting.

You would have to get the debt collector to delete their reporting by their good-will.  After all the arguing, I would suspect that the debt collector most likely will not be in a spirit of good-will.

Since a collection is usually, but not always.more serious than derogs reported by the OC, it is usually more beneficial to obtain PFD deletion from the debt collector than from the OC.  However, an OC may be more disposed to a PFD acceptance than a debt collector.  Thus, it is difficult to give firm advice on the route to take.

[doeblinv]

I called the oc back and the person on the phone now says the debt was sold. So I don't know why they accepted the equipment and wanted a payment when I returned the equipment. The only item on my report is from the ca so of course I would like a pfd. If they tell me there company policy doesn't allow deletions should I continue to ask for one? I haven't read too many good stories with credit management d doing pfd If

[RobertEG]

They probably accepted payment because you were dealing with a front-desk person who knows nothing than "take the money."

They should refund the payment.

If any party refuses to accept a PFD, there is really nothing you can do to force the issue.  It is part of their reporting agreement with the CRA not to delete prior, accurately reported nformation based on payment of the debt.   In fact, that stipulation is repeated several times in their credit reporting manual.