Rebuilding Your Credit

[Baconman]

Hello,

So I have a recent medical collection for $24.00 and I want to pay.  I sent a PFD to CA for full payment with no response from them.  I called them today and asked if they were considering?  And they said all they could do was update to Paid in Full.  I told them I did not agree with debt so I would have to reconsider my options.  So my question is should I pay the CA and then dispute the validity or just dispute first?  My thought is once paid they may not respond or validate.

Baconman.

[guiness56]

Is the debt yours?

If it is you can try to contact the OC and see if you can pay them and recall the debt from the CA.

[Baconman]

Thanks for the response,

I called the OC and they only said that they had transfered the account to collections (not internal collections).  I called them and they only want full payment.

I suspect that it is mine it may have been something that the insurance company didnt pay.  Maybe I should call the OC again?

Baconman

[guiness56]

If you can, it is always better to work with the OC.  When they say transferred, if they sold the debt to the CA, legally, the OC cannot take your money.  If they still own it, they can.

Is this a new collection?

You can always send the CA a DV letter. 

[Baconman]

Yes it is new since September 2012.  The bummer is that it is for $24.00.  I will try calling the OC and find out if they still own it.

Baconman

[RobertEG]

Dealing with/paying the OC wont address the reporting of the collection, as the OC has no authority to agree to or grant deletion of the reporting of the collection by the debt collector.

If deletion of the collection is your goal, then dealing wth the OC is not, in my opinion, the way to go.  I would deal with the party who has authority to delete their reporting

Additionally, if the debt collector wont accept a PFD, you will probably be relegated to asking for their GW deletion after payment.

Paying the OC is not apt to promote a feeling of GW on their part.

As for disputing,  I would not pay a debt that I did not owe, so I would dispute prior to paying the debt.  Up to you.

In all likelihood, if you dispute, they will verify the accuracy, and are not required to document their reason. 

So a dispute is likely to result in verification with no actual resolution of differences in opinion.  Give it a go, but it is similarly not apt to promote GW on their part should you ultimately request a GW deletion.

[montana586]

i have a couple of these that im currently debating on how to approach (small medical bills) listed on my CR

[raisinitup]

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montana586 wrote:

i have a couple of these that im currently debating on how to approach (small medical bills) listed on my CR

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I would suggest trying to reason with the medical provider. I had a couple of these (one for $25 !) and I tracked down the office manager at the doctor's office and concluded that in 2 cases, the dr's office didn't transmit my change of address info to the lab. Well the lab sent the the bill to my old address and i never received it. The doctor's office felt so bad that they called and worked with the lab, who then contacted their collection agency on my behalf and had it removed. This happened twice  - try this route, hope you have success with it. 

[beb86]

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RobertEG wrote:

Dealing with/paying the OC wont address the reporting of the collection, as the OC has no authority to agree to or grant deletion of the reporting of the collection by the debt collector.

If deletion of the collection is your goal, then dealing wth the OC is not, in my opinion, the way to go.  I would deal with the party who has authority to delete their reporting

Additionally, if the debt collector wont accept a PFD, you will probably be relegated to asking for their GW deletion after payment.

Paying the OC is not apt to promote a feeling of GW on their part.

As for disputing,  I would not pay a debt that I did not owe, so I would dispute prior to paying the debt.  Up to you.

In all likelihood, if you dispute, they will verify the accuracy, and are not required to document their reason. 

So a dispute is likely to result in verification with no actual resolution of differences in opinion.  Give it a go, but it is similarly not apt to promote GW on their part should you ultimately request a GW deletion.

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+1 but I have seen an instance on this forum where the OP contacted the OC about a debt that had been sold to a CA and offered to PFD in full so the OC actually bought the debt back from the CA...I might add it was a few thousand dollars and is highly unlikely in your case. I would just pay it and start a GW -a-thon...you really have 0 leverage in a $24 debt.

[rckstrscott]

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RobertEG wrote:

Dealing with/paying the OC wont address the reporting of the collection, as the OC has no authority to agree to or grant deletion of the reporting of the collection by the debt collector.

If deletion of the collection is your goal, then dealing wth the OC is not, in my opinion, the way to go.  I would deal with the party who has authority to delete their reporting

Additionally, if the debt collector wont accept a PFD, you will probably be relegated to asking for their GW deletion after payment.

Paying the OC is not apt to promote a feeling of GW on their part.

As for disputing,  I would not pay a debt that I did not owe, so I would dispute prior to paying the debt.  Up to you.

In all likelihood, if you dispute, they will verify the accuracy, and are not required to document their reason. 

So a dispute is likely to result in verification with no actual resolution of differences in opinion.  Give it a go, but it is similarly not apt to promote GW on their part should you ultimately request a GW deletion.

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I love nearly 99.9 percent of Roberts advice; but I do not agree with this.

everything Robert states is accurate, but I have had 3 medical collections deleted by working with the OC and having them reach out to the CA to delete the tradeline, the so-called 'recalling the debt' -- since the OC has hired the CA, the CA will often do what the OC asks because the OC pays their bills; and they likely get the commission no matter who you pay.

-scott