My story starts like this: After about a 5 year hiatus, I received a bill from afni collection agency stating that I owed $267.29 on an old Verizon bill. Verizon had never sent me any notices, and it was never reported on my credit report. I immediately called afni and request a copy of the billing. A few days later, I received a basic finalized bill. I called verizon to verify the delinquincy, in which they concurred. I then, called Afni and requested a Pay For Delete. The woman kinda chuckle and stated that they don't grant PFDs. I tried to explain to her, my situation, and she still denied my request. I told her our conversation was concluded- she immediately ask can she put me on hold so she could talk to her supervisor. After a 2-3 minute wait, she stated that she cant give a PFD but they were willing to erase the collections if I paid the bill in full, first. I told her no thank you, and the rep became non professional in attitute- I hung up. I called again later that evening, and talked to another rep. He pretty much said the same thing, but much more professional in demeanor. I told him I request a PFD, and he recanted back to my earlier call- and said he couldn't. I hit him with paragraphs from Fair Debt Collections Practice Act(FDCPA), Federal Trade Commission(FTC), stating I refuse to make payment, and that I no longer wish to be contacted in reference to the collection, and I would be sending him a notice in writing. I then asked him, what is my date of last activity- NOT THE DATE THEY RECEIVED AND APPLIED THE COLLECTION. He said he wasn't sure. I made him aware that by law, he is required to make me aware of the DLA and/or send me billing as proof-or I would contact the credit bureaus for an answer. He wanted to put me on hold, I quickly replied May 2003, which meant 2010 would be my 7yr mark, and I was willing to wait until then. He put me on hold at least 5 times while consulting with his supervsor. After getting the feeling that I was being toyed with- I hung up. Today, I received a signed notice in the mail stating that, the collections has been deleted, and I confirmed it to be true. I immediately made payment in full and everyone is happy, which leads me back to the topic of this blog. Don't get me wrong, I don't make it a habit of starting trouble with creditors, but there were several factors, or discrepancies on Verizon and Afni's behalf that put me in "the right", and I was willing to sacrifice my scores for the next year or two, to make my point. Anyway, I hope you all win, or have some type of satisfaction from resolving your own credit battles.