Comcast & Stellar Recovery, DV - Help Needed!

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone, first post here! 

I've been trying to rebuild my credit after basically not paying attention to it for a few years. I had raised it nearly 70 points in the last 6-12 months and was on the way to raising it even further. Well while monitoring my credit, a collections account - Stellar Recovery - was added to my report that dropped it 48 points. It was for a $118 bill that I ws never sent, but apparently they sent to collections. Anyway, I called Stellar, they told me that if I paid with Comcast, they could delete it from my credit, which Comcast confirmed when I spoke with them. So I did the right thing (or so I thought) and paid the account off in full. I just wanted to get it taken care of and if it was going to be removed, $118 wasn't a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. Fast forward to today and I get a new alert on my credit. Well, Stellar is now reporting that the collections account was paid in full, therefore still affecting my credit negatively. I called Comcast, they said they filed a ticket to contact Stellar to have it completely removed, but now I'm extremely worried that this is stuck on my credit after all of this hard work. Has anyone had luck with Comcast/Stellar removing these accounts? At this point, will a DV to Stellar do anything? I'm so stressed, frustrated, and nervous that I've worked so hard to get my score up so that I can get a decent interest rate on a car next and now it's all back down the toilet.

Any help is appreciated! 

[gdale6]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi everyone, first post here! 

I've been trying to rebuild my credit after basically not paying attention to it for a few years. I had raised it nearly 70 points in the last 6-12 months and was on the way to raising it even further. Well while monitoring my credit, a collections account - Stellar Recovery - was added to my report that dropped it 48 points. It was for a $118 bill that I ws never sent, but apparently they sent to collections. Anyway, I called Stellar, they told me that if I paid with Comcast, they could delete it from my credit, which Comcast confirmed when I spoke with them. So I did the right thing (or so I thought) and paid the account off in full. I just wanted to get it taken care of and if it was going to be removed, $118 wasn't a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. Fast forward to today and I get a new alert on my credit. Well, Stellar is now reporting that the collections account was paid in full, therefore still affecting my credit negatively. I called Comcast, they said they filed a ticket to contact Stellar to have it completely removed, but now I'm extremely worried that this is stuck on my credit after all of this hard work. Has anyone had luck with Comcast/Stellar removing these accounts? At this point, will a DV to Stellar do anything? I'm so stressed, frustrated, and nervous that I've worked so hard to get my score up so that I can get a decent interest rate on a car next and now it's all back down the toilet.

Any help is appreciated! 

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welcome to the board

I would do nothing and just wait to see if this is dropped, if after 60 days its still around your next move is to file a BBB Complaint against the reporting entity for shoddy business practices indicating that they agreed to remove it. A DV has no effect on paid off collection.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi everyone, first post here! 

I've been trying to rebuild my credit after basically not paying attention to it for a few years. I had raised it nearly 70 points in the last 6-12 months and was on the way to raising it even further. Well while monitoring my credit, a collections account - Stellar Recovery - was added to my report that dropped it 48 points. It was for a $118 bill that I ws never sent, but apparently they sent to collections. Anyway, I called Stellar, they told me that if I paid with Comcast, they could delete it from my credit, which Comcast confirmed when I spoke with them. So I did the right thing (or so I thought) and paid the account off in full. I just wanted to get it taken care of and if it was going to be removed, $118 wasn't a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. Fast forward to today and I get a new alert on my credit. Well, Stellar is now reporting that the collections account was paid in full, therefore still affecting my credit negatively. I called Comcast, they said they filed a ticket to contact Stellar to have it completely removed, but now I'm extremely worried that this is stuck on my credit after all of this hard work. Has anyone had luck with Comcast/Stellar removing these accounts? At this point, will a DV to Stellar do anything? I'm so stressed, frustrated, and nervous that I've worked so hard to get my score up so that I can get a decent interest rate on a car next and now it's all back down the toilet.

Any help is appreciated! 

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I actually just did this with my SO. Comcast bill from something, Stellar trying to collect. When to a local Comcast office and paid the bill. Stellar only updated it to reflect the zero balance. I did a online dispute with TU and EX saying that it was paid at the original creditor, essentially calling back the account, therefore Stellar had no right to report on the account. Along with that I uploaded a copy of the paid receipt.

9 days later the updates came in from the investigation with the account removed.

[RobertEG]

You were lucky.

Paying does not recall the collection, it simply terminates further collection activities, as there is no longer an active debt.

Their reporting of having had collection authority is not negated by payment of the debt.

All the debt collector was required to do was close their collection and report $0 balance.

[Anonymous]

If you paid the original creditor, then all you have to do is dispute the paid debt on all 3 credit bureaus. The CA can't keep a debt on your CR if the OC already got it. 

[Anonymous]

I had success!!! Basically it took nearly two months for some reason mine only dissapeared from Experian but was still on Equifax and Transunion..... I waited the whole 30 days and contacted Stellar recovery once again.... Being super nice about it, telling them I believed there was some sort of possible misunderstanding by the CBs. I spole to a supervisor and around max 2 weeks after it was deleted from the other CBs as well. They will do it, just call them and be nice about it

[Anonymous]

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@RobertEG wrote:

You were lucky.

Paying does not recall the collection, it simply terminates further collection activities, as there is no longer an active debt.

Their reporting of having had collection authority is not negated by payment of the debt.

All the debt collector was required to do was close their collection and report $0 balance.

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While that is true, if Stellar does not remove as they said they would do, they have violated FDCPA by lying to him in order to collect a debt.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the help, everyone! Comcast said it could take up to 30 days, but that I could go into a Comcast store, get a print out showing I owe nothing and send it to Stellar to help speed up the process, so I'm thinking I'll do that. And it they don't budge, I'll dispute it through the CB's.

[Anonymous]

Just an update - I filed disputes through Experian and TransUnion, and within a few days, Stellar Recovery was removed from my CR and my score was restored back to where it was! I called Equifax (they couldn't verify my identity online), and they told me that Stellar wasn't even on their report. I'm so happy that this has all been taken care of, and hopefully I'll be able to get the interest rate I want/need come tax time! 

Thanks for all the help!

[RobertEG]

I agree with Norman as to it being a misleading collection practice under the FDCPA.

Failure to delete after a promise to do so is both a prohibited collection practice as a misleadingdeceiving tactic, and a violation of an oral contract.

One could pursue as a violation of the FDCPA or as a breach of oral contract issue.

In such cases, I would first contact the debt collector and remind them of their agreement, and your intent to report it to the CFPB as a misleading collection practice, to your BBB as a poor business practice, and to consider a breach of contract suit.  

If they fail to delete in their next regular reporting cycle, I would then pursue one of those options as opposed to filing a dispute with the CRA.  Deletion based on payment of a debt is contrary to CRA policy, and thus a dispute on that basis is asking the CRA to intervene for a reason contradictory to their policy.