Jefferson Capital sold debt to another company, says they will not PFD. Help!

[Anonymous]

My husband and I are in the process of trying to get a mortgage. We're working on the collections on his account and he recently settled with Direct TV which should be off of his report this week, according to them. Well today we were told that it might not be enough to get his mid score up to 620 and we should settle with Jefferson Capital, the other collection. When my husband called to settle they told him they sold his debt to another company, would not accept PFD, and even if he paid in full they would not remove the tradeline from his report. This is our only shot at getting his score up to 620. What do we do now? I've read about filing a complaing with the BBB but I'm not sure what I should say in the complaint or if this will help.

Any advice is appreciated!

[RobertEG]

If a debt collector sells an unpaid debt, they no longer have collection authority.

CRA reporting policy, as clearly stated in their common credit reporting manual, is that a debt collector delete their reported collection if they no longer have collection authority and the debt remains unpaid.  That policy is to prevent two collections from simultaneously being reported on the same debt.

I would first contact the debt collector and request they delete per CRA policy.

You can, if they fail to do so, send proof that they no longer have collection authority to the CRA and request deletion per CRA policy.

[Anonymous]

The first time my husband called is when they said they sold the debt and transferred him to the other company. When he called Jefferson again, they claimed they DID still own the debt and have a third party handle it. And that's when they said they will not remove the collection even if he paid in full. What?! I'm so confused, how can they say they sold the debt and then connect us to the other company, and then say they do own it afterall?!

[Anonymous]

This is why I'm confused and have no idea what to do to resolve this.

[Anonymous]

I went ahead and filed a complaint with the BBB, pretty much just stating what happened. I really hope this can get them to remove the tradeline. The entire thing is frustrating.

[medicgrrl]

Call the third party and ask them if they own the debt or if they are collecting on behalf of someone else.  If they are only collecting on behalf of Jefferson Capital, and they are not reporting to the CRA then neither of them are doing anything wrong.  If your goal is to take care of this and get it paid then I would make the phone calls and figure out who to pay.  You can search the forum and see if anyone has had any luck with GW requests after an account has been paid.  Is the SOL up?

[Anonymous]

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@medicgrrl wrote:

Call the third party and ask them if they own the debt or if they are collecting on behalf of someone else.  If they are only collecting on behalf of Jefferson Capital, and they are not reporting to the CRA then neither of them are doing anything wrong.  If your goal is to take care of this and get it paid then I would make the phone calls and figure out who to pay.  You can search the forum and see if anyone has had any luck with GW requests after an account has been paid.  Is the SOL up?

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From everything I've read here on the forums, JC are notoriously difficult to deal with, and complaining to the BBB is the best way to deal with them. They told my husband there is no way they will remove the tradeline, and I've read stories on here of people who have gotten it removed. After they complained to BBB, lol. So I really hope it works.

[medicgrrl]

Has the SOL expired on this debt?  If not, do you have all the funds to pay.  I only ask because if the SOL has not expired and you make a complaint that has no basis, you may find yourself being sued for the debt.  If you have the funds ready to pay then that would be a non-issue because you could PIF before a lawsuit led to a judgement.

[Anonymous]

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@medicgrrl wrote:

Has the SOL expired on this debt?  If not, do you have all the funds to pay.  I only ask because if the SOL has not expired and you make a complaint that has no basis, you may find yourself being sued for the debt.  If you have the funds ready to pay then that would be a non-issue because you could PIF before a lawsuit led to a judgement.

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I'm not sure? I assume not, the debt is from 2013 and my report says it was assigned to Jefferson Capital in April of last year. Pretty sure it was updated, it's been on his report a lot longer than that/

[medicgrrl]

Research the SOL for your state just so you know for sure.  You should be able to Google it and find the information.  Some CA won't tell you that it has expired and will try and scare you with lawsuits.  Knowledge is power when it comes to dealing with some of them!  Good luck with your rebuild.