New here - Have a collections question?

[Anonymous]

Reader's Digest version - planning on refinancing mortgage in the very near future, so I pulled credit reports last week. In the process, I discovered an account in collections I didn't realize that the account was in collections ... I found the most recent bill I had from the doctor's office and immediately overnighted them a check. As of this past Friday (25 Jan) the check had posted and the account is paid in full.    When I spoke to the billing dept, I was told that they'd call the collections office and take care of removing the account. I have every reason to believe that they will, but I have no idea how quickly that happened/will happen.

I have had NO contact with the CA at all. Would it be inappropriate or a bad move to call/fax to check on the status of things? Or should I call the OC and see if they've spoken to the CA to remove the account from collections?

I should add that the collections notation only shows up on TU. I pulled EX and EQ today, and nothing.

Thanks so much for any advice. I've been lurking a while and learned a lot!

Message Edited by Cecilia39 on 01-27-2008 08:11 PM

[Anonymous]

Only communicate with the OC.  Do not call the CA, they will just lie and try to get money out of you, plus they'll probably say they can't lookup your account information unless you give them your SS# or other information that you should not give them.

If you can, see if the OC will send you a copy of their request to the CA for deleting the collection.  OC's are always the route to go, especially since yours seem to be cooperative.

btw - TU is the worst CRA when it comes to updating credit report files.

[Anonymous]

I spoke to the OC billing office this morning, and the account is shown to be in good status and out of collections. I should have a fax in my hand this morning saying that.

Given TU track record, what will be the fastest way to get the notation off that report? Fax them a copy of the fax and hope for the best? And in the end, how important is it that I get this negative off ASAP, when it's my lowest number. My other scores are in the 760 range. TU is reporting nearly 100 lower I'm looking at a home refinance.

One other thing I noticed on my TU report, that I thought was strange. My account history is too short? Huh? Maybe it isn't strange, but it seems to go against the other reporting agencies:

1. You have a short credit history.

Your oldest account was opened
17 years agoFICO High Achievers [?] opened their oldest account 19 years ago, on average. Average age of your accounts
8 yearsMost FICO High Achievers [?] have an average age of accounts between 6 and 12 years.

1. Your FICO score measures the age of your oldest account and the average age of your accounts. In your case, either your oldest account was opened recently or the average age of your accounts is relatively low. People that do not frequently open new accounts and have longer credit histories generally pose less risk to lenders. Therefore, as your credit history lengthens and you pay your bills on time, this factor should have less of a negative impact on your score.

Message Edited by Cecilia39 on 01-28-2008 06:10 AM

[danikasmom]

Maybe they don't know how to read, or do math.

[Anonymous]

LOL! That must be it - because 17 years not being long enough is verrry strange to me.