Collection Deleted, CA Still Seeks Money, Apartment BACK on Friend's Credit Report

[youngc]

Hi there. Thank you to everyone who posts here regularly! You all have helped me a lot!

Let me start by saying, this week my wife and I were preapproved for 250k for our mortgage! We have both been working hard to improve scores. This situation is wrecking my brain. I will keep the story as short as possible...

In College (back in 2009-2010) , my best friend and I had an apartment. We resigned to stay another year, but ended up breaking the lease before that year started. Apartment told us then, we would be responsible for rent until it was rented. We never heard from them, until about a year ago when a collection company began calling us both saying we owe $2,000 (collectively).

Early this year I disputed with the 3 CRAs as I was never given any time of validation. The account was deleted from all 3 reports.

A month later, my friend also disputed... and account was deleted from his reports.

The calls, however, NEVER stopped. They continued to call us both. We ignored the calls.

My friend is also getting a mortgage with his wife... to his surprise, the account has been back added to his experian report. It is not on his other 2. It currently is not on ANY of mine.

His bank says he must take care of the collection. He has since called the company and they told him the following:

- pay 1500 and they will report as setted/paid in full

- pay the entire 2000 and they will delete

So here are the questions...

First, I do not want this collection on my credit, as it will for sure lower my scores and put me at risk of no longer qualifying for the loan So...

Do I/we

a) offer to pay the 1500 (with my friend)? My fear however, is that they report it as a paid collection to the 3 CRAs and the CRAs add it as a collection that has been closed. CAN THIS HAPPEN? DO YOU THINK THIS WOULD HAPPEN? WHAT IMPACT DO YOU THINK THIS WOULD HAVE ON MY SCORES? OR ON MY MORTGAGE?

b) Do I offer to pay half of the 2000 to get the account "deleted" even though it is not on any of my reports?

c) Do I do nothing since it has not been added to my reports by now? aka... should I take the approach that if is hasnt been added by now, do not fear it being added in the future?

PLEASE PLEASE help and offer any insight you may have. I am leaning towards paying the 1500 with my friend but I DO NOT want any trace of this account reappearing on my credit report.

What to do???? 

Thanks in advance for your help

[Anonymous]

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@youngc wrote:

Hi there. Thank you to everyone who posts here regularly! You all have helped me a lot!

Let me start by saying, this week my wife and I were preapproved for 250k for our mortgage! We have both been working hard to improve scores. This situation is wrecking my brain. I will keep the story as short as possible...

In College (back in 2009-2010) , my best friend and I had an apartment. We resigned to stay another year, but ended up breaking the lease before that year started. Apartment told us then, we would be responsible for rent until it was rented. We never heard from them, until about a year ago when a collection company began calling us both saying we owe $2,000 (collectively).

Early this year I disputed with the 3 CRAs as I was never given any time of validation. The account was deleted from all 3 reports.

A month later, my friend also disputed... and account was deleted from his reports.

The calls, however, NEVER stopped. They continued to call us both. We ignored the calls.

My friend is also getting a mortgage with his wife... to his surprise, the account has been back added to his experian report. It is not on his other 2. It currently is not on ANY of mine.

His bank says he must take care of the collection. He has since called the company and they told him the following:

- pay 1500 and they will report as setted/paid in full

- pay the entire 2000 and they will delete

So here are the questions...

First, I do not want this collection on my credit, as it will for sure lower my scores and put me at risk of no longer qualifying for the loan So...

Do I/we

a) offer to pay the 1500 (with my friend)? My fear however, is that they report it as a paid collection to the 3 CRAs and the CRAs add it as a collection that has been closed. CAN THIS HAPPEN? DO YOU THINK THIS WOULD HAPPEN? WHAT IMPACT DO YOU THINK THIS WOULD HAVE ON MY SCORES? OR ON MY MORTGAGE?

b) Do I offer to pay half of the 2000 to get the account "deleted" even though it is not on any of my reports?

c) Do I do nothing since it has not been added to my reports by now? aka... should I take the approach that if is hasnt been added by now, do not fear it being added in the future?

PLEASE PLEASE help and offer any insight you may have. I am leaning towards paying the 1500 with my friend but I DO NOT want any trace of this account reappearing on my credit report.

What to do???? 

Thanks in advance for your help

---

I would do option 2. You both were responsible for it, so its only fair to split it, and try and keep it off your buddies reports.

[youngc]

Thanks  Norman

I should point out that my friends wants to pay the 1500. He isn't concerned about have one credit score show as paid in full (its currently not on his other two). He is concerned with it being added to the other 2 reports as paid in full however.

But to your point, it seems the safest route is option 2 for both of us.

[RobertEG]

There is no prohibition under either the FCRA or FDCPA against reporting the collection after the debt is paid.

However, debt collextors report their collections primarlly as an additional measure to place pressure on consumers to pay the debt.

That business purpose no longer applies after the debt is paid, so it most likely wont report, but others regularly make posts here on the site related to first reporting after the debt is paid.

You can contact them and make a pay for not reporting offer.  Be prepared to pay the full amount.

The fact thst they deleted after your prior dispute substantially decreases the chance of their reinsertion of the collection, but again does not prevent it.

To reinsert after deletion based on a prior dispute, they must first submit a certification of accuracy of the information to the CRA before the CRA can reinsert, and the CRA must then send you formal notice of their reinsertion.  Based on that additonal hurdle, the debt collector may not report reinsertion if the debt has been paid.

As a side note, did your friend receive a notice of reinsertion from the CRA when they reinserted in his credit report?

If not, then the required reinsertion provisions may not have been followed (i.e., they may not have provided the required certfificaiton of accuracy to the CRA).

[youngc]

Hi Robert

No they did not notify him. He actually had to call them. When he talked to Experian on the phone, they said something about procollect (the CA) sending something validating the debt.

He (and I) did not know about him deserving to get something in writing telling him. If he called experian tomorrow and complained about that, do you think they would delete it for him?

Also, what do you make of them adding it to one of his accounts but none of mine? I fear that I wake up one morning, and BAM there it is back inserted on mine.

It is making me lose sleep with all the money and time I have invested into credit rebuilding.

And while I did in fact sign the lease, the charges they have "listed" to my friend are ridiculous. They do not even related to "Rent" charges.

Once again, thanks