Compucredit?

[Anonymous]

Just when I thought I had things taken care of and all I needed was time, I get a letter from a CA.  They say the OC is Compucredit and that I owe them $1520.80.

I have no idea who these people are and cannot imagine what this might be about.  It is also addressed in my x-married name and I've been divorced for 8 years. 

Do I check to see if it is showing on my CR?  If so do I dispute it or contact the letter writer directly?

I don't know what sort of action to take. 

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Just when I thought I had things taken care of and all I needed was time, I get a letter from a CA.  They say the OC is Compucredit and that I owe them $1520.80.

I have no idea who these people are and cannot imagine what this might be about.  It is also addressed in my x-married name and I've been divorced for 8 years. 

Do I check to see if it is showing on my CR?  If so do I dispute it or contact the letter writer directly?

I don't know what sort of action to take. 

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I would check all three of my reports to see if this is reported yet. I would also send this CA a DV letter. Unless you live in Texas a CA never has to respond to a DV but until they do all collection activity must stop.

Do you know what the SOL (Statute of Limitations) is for your state?

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 10/10-813, TU - 10/10-774

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[JM-AM]

+1

You also have to ask yourself if you had any joint accounts with your ex. Also the possibility that some one used your married name to obtain credit.  

[RobertEG]

DONT pick up the phone and call the CA!

I would send a DV letter, and iN that letter, make SURE you specifically include the statement that, in addition to validation of the debt, they provide the "name and address of the original creditor."  That is not an automatic requirement on their part, and must be specifically requested in your DV letter.  See FDCPA 809(b).

If there now is, or even better, never was any posting to your credit reports by this alleged original creditor, that would lead me, as a very first action after sending out your DV letter, to pick up the phone and call the collection dept at Compucredit, and ask them what their account records show.  Do they assert a debt?  Did they ever assign or sell a debt attributable to you  to a debt collector?

If you hit the jackpot, and they tell you that they have no account records to show aq debt with you, then ask them very, very cordially, if they would send you a letter to that effect.

If you can get that far, then you have an extremely sttrong case for filing a direct dispute under FCRA 623(a)(8) with the debt collector.  The item of information you would dispute is their reporting of a debt they have no verifiable authority to collect.   Your letter from the OC documents that there are no records upon which to verify this debt,  This would then require them, under FCRA 623(a)(8)(E)(iv), to promptly notify the CRA to delete this unverifiable information from your credit file

As a last step, you can alternately ponder the additional option of asserting by legal declaration that this collection posted in your credit report is not related to any transaction you have ever authorized.  You make such a declaration by filing a police report with your local police dept.  Once you have that, it is considered under the provisions of FCRA 603(q), as what they call an "identity theft report."  Armed with that, you can then file a request under FCRA 605B to have their reporting blocked from your credit report, unrelated to the outcome of your direct dispute.  No involvement of either the OC or the CA is necessary.