Rebuilding Your Credit

[Jlp550]

Hi Everyone!

Not sure what to do about the current situation:

I have 1 tradeline for NATIONAL GRID for $407 and then the Collection account from NATIONAL RECOVERY AGENCY.  This is the last baddie on my report. The National Recovery Agency will continue on my report until Feb 2017 and the National Grid tradeline will continue on my report until July 2015. (Yes, these are for the same amount due)

What should be my action plan:

• Whom should I pay? National Grid or National Recovery?
• Should I ask for a PFD and if so to which tradeline?
• Will the other tradeline remain if I get one deleted?
• and finally, should they be both reporting?

Thank you for any help you guys can provide.

[Jutz]

Sounds like your debt was sold.  Both would report.  I doubt National Grid would accept payment if they sold the debt, someone with more knowledge could probably provide more insight.

[Autumnslight]

Both can report, but only one can be reporting a balance if the debt was sold. The OC should report zero, and the CA would report the balance. It's unclear if your debt was actually sold though. The CA might just be collecting on behalf of the OC.

I'd start with the OC, National Grid. Contact them, and see if they can pull the debt back from the CA and agree to delete the reporting, in exchange for you paying them directly. If they sold it, they might not be able to do this.

If you have to deal with the CA, then offer them a PFD. In that case, you'd then also have to try to goodwill the OC into deleting their reporting.

Good luck!

[Jutz]

Can both be reporting if the CA is just collecting on behalf of the OC?  I was under the impression in that scenario just the CA would be reporting.  I guess the balance in this scenario would be the deciding factor.

[Jlp550]

Thanks! Both are reporting a balance. I am going to try to get National Grid to pull back the debt and deal directly with them. Is there something I should do to get only one to report a balance?

[Shogun]

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Jlp550 wrote:

Thanks! Both are reporting a balance. I am going to try to get National Grid to pull back the debt and deal directly with them. Is there something I should do to get only one to report a balance?

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+1  If both are reporting a balance then the CA is only being assigned the debt.  Try to get the OC to pull the debt back and do a PFD with them.  There is no guarantee that either of these will work, but it's your best possible outcome so try it first.  Good Luck!

[RobertEG]

Its not double-reporting of debt. 

The owner of a debt can report the remaining balance owed to them.  If they choose to assign collection to a debt collector, what the debt collector is actually reporting is not debt owed to them, but rather the amount of debt owed another that they have been assigned responsibility to attempt collection.  Thus, both can report the amount, as they reflect different things.

If the debt collector then purchases the debt, the amount they are reporting continues to be the amount they are authorized to attempt to collect, and additionally becomes the amount of debt owed to them.  The actual debt is only reported by one party, so if sold, the OC must update their reporting to $0.

You cannot base ownership of debt on the fact that a debt collector is reporting a balance they are attempting to collect.