How Do I Handle This Situation? Please Advise

[Anonymous]

Here's the deal:

I keep getting collection calls from First National Collection Bureau and they are trying to collect on an old Sprint cell phone account that they are not currently reporting on my Bureau.

I called Sprint and was informed that the account was opend on 12-2-4004 and my last payment was made on 12-15- 2004. The account was officially cancelled/closed in 2006. Based off these dates would this account be past SOL?

If the account is or isn't out of SOL, how do I handle these guys. I'm willing to pay the bill, but I don't want to pay off an account thats not being reported only to have it reported once its paid. Wouldn't that hurt my credit scores?

My current scores are 782 EXP, 721 EQ and 709 TU. I am trying to protect my good scores so please advise my best course of action.

Thanks

[RobertEG]

The ability to have any credit reporting by a debt collector appear in your CR depends upon the date of your first delinquency on the account with the OC.

Once 7 years plus 180 days has expired from the DOFD, the CRAs are barred from inclusion of any information pertaining to a charge-off or collection in any credit report they issue.

With last activity on the account back in 12/2004, the DOFD must necessarily have preceded that date.  The DOFD stands, independent of anything the debt collector does, so it is beyond the maximum statutory credit report exclusion period, and should not see light of day in your CR unless the debt collector reports some DOFD that is after mid-2005.

SOL is entirely unrelated.  It sets the period in which a creditor can commence legal action to get a judgment against you for the debt.  SOL, in most states, runs from the same DOFD as used in credit report exclusion, and has most likely also expired.

So, assuming expiration of both SOL and ability to get their collection into your credit report, it is not going to become known to others by a simple pull of your credit report.

Some will rely upon credit report exclusion as a basis for not paying the debt, while others will choose to rid themselves of any issue of old, unpaid delinquent debt by paying.  It's totally a personal decision.

If you wish them to stop communicating with you, you need only send them a cease communication letter under FDCPA 805(c).  Any communication with you after their receipt of such a letter is a violation of the FDCPA.

[Anonymous]

My biggest question is why aren't they currently reporting the account on any of my credit bureaus and what are the chances of them ever reporting it?

[annielorie]

If the last payment to account was 12/2004 the CA cannot legally report it as it is past CRTP it doesnt matter if the account closed yesterday. DOFD is when the account went negative and according to your post that was sometime after 12/2004 it is already 8 years old. They cant report period reread roberts response

[Anonymous]

According to the Sprint Rep I spoke to about the account, the last payment on the account was 12-15-2004. So I guess that would make make the DOFD right at 8 years.

[annielorie]

Yipe untouchable you!