Collection accounts have fallen off reports....but now I worry...

[Hopingfor700s]

A few collection accounts have fallen offreports, but how do i know they just aren't being reassigned?  And I am afraid if they are being reassigned, I won't get notified properly and they will just show up on the credit report again before I can take care of them before they hit.

What should I do?

[Anonymous]

If by "fallen off" you mean that the collections have aged past the 7-year(ish) reporting life based on the DoFD of the original debt, then no, they cannot reappear.

They may be reassigned, sure, and anyone owning the rights to collect on them may send you letters or try to contact you to pay, but they cannot be reported if they are past that mark - 7 years +180 days after DoFD on the underlying debt.

If you simply mean they inexplicably disappeared for no known reason (as in, they are not yet past the 7-year reporting age) then it is entirely possible they could reappear, up until the DoFD on the original debt passes the mark.

[Hopingfor700s]

No they are not past the 7 year mark.  So I would like to know how do I find out if they have been reassigned, since most of the notices were going to my address from 5 years ago.

I don't want them to reappear.

[RobertEG]

Call the debt collector and ask whether they still have collection authority.

If a new debt collector obtains collection authority, either by way of assignment or purchase of the debt, there is no requirement that they provide you any notification prior to reporting to a CRA.  Notification is only required after they initiate communication with the consumer.

You thus would need to make your own determination as to current collection authority in order to take an action to prevent reporting, such as by making a pay for not reporting offer to the new debt collector.

[Anonymous]

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@Hopingfor700s wrote:

No they are not past the 7 year mark.  So I would like to know how do I find out if they have been reassigned, since most of the notices were going to my address from 5 years ago.

I don't want them to reappear.

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Who were they with and who was the original creditor?