Disputed Collections Account Reappearing

[Anonymous]

Hello,

In July of 2017 I successfully disputed a $1,200 collections account on my Transunion report from a collections company (T-Mobile was the original creditor) on the basis that the balance was incorrect and that there were fraudulent charges. The collections account has popped up once again on my Transunion today, this time with a new collections company. Is it allowed to re-sell a collections account like that after a dispute has been won? Besides paying for it (I refuse to, given that it is not my debt), is there a way to make it go away permanently?

Thank you in advance.

[Anonymous]

Just because a dispute results in the removal of the item, does not mean the debt itself is invalidated. Until you get Tmobile to admit the debt is not valid, it will continue to go from one collector to another. What is the nature of the alledged fraud?

[RobertEG]

Results of a dispute apply only to the investigation of the accuracy of the specific information that was the subject of the dispute.

Assertion of an incorrect balance would not mandate deletion of the entire collection.  It would mandate either verification of the accuracy of the reported balance, or correction of the balance to overcome the asserted inaccuracy.  If the dispute did not find that the entire debt was not verified, then the dispute would not mandate deletion of the collection.

A voluntary deletion by the debt collector that was not based on lack of verifiability of the legitimacy of the debt per se would not be a mandated deletion.

What specifically was the finding in the Notice of Results of Reinvestigation?

Additionally, even if the prior dispute was an assertion of lack of validity of the debt per se, and the CRA found a lack of verifiabiltiy of any debt, deletion would still not be absolute.  Any finding of lack of verifiability of disputed information can be overcome at a later time if the furnisher provides a Certification of Accuracy.  See FCRA 611(a)(5)(B).

As for potential fraud, there is no prohibition against sale of a debt by a debt collector that has previously been the subject of a dispute.

However, there is a prohibition against sale by a debt collector of a debt for which the consumer has obtained a block of their credit reporting under the identity theft process of FCRA 605B.  See FCRA 615(f).  Have you also obtained a block by sending a police report to the CRA?