Mixed result on TU credit file dispute. Need Advice!!!

[Anonymous]

I have been on a mission to clean up my credit reports since March of this year. Yeah I probably should have started earlier rather than waiting 2 years from my Ch7 discharge (May 2015), but nonetheless I've been working to clean them up like it's a second job!!!

First I disputed and got $13.5k in judgement accounts and 1 collection account removed that were actually against my dad and not me. Now I'm working to get my my remaining collection accounts (all medical) removed because they were either included in bankruptcy, or were paid directly to OC and CA still has them open.

I disputed with TU the following 7 medical collections accounts reporting as unpaid/in collections and just got the results. 3 of 7 were removed which is good, however I'm trying to get advice on the remaining 4 collection accounts.

Transunion	Agency	Amount	Placed for Collection	Result
ACCOUNT 1	Transworld Systems	$107.00	10/9/2013	Verified as Accurate
ACCOUNT 2	American Medical Collections	$60.00	3/10/2014	Deleted
ACCOUNT 3	Remex Inc	$239.00	1/16/2015	Verified as Accurate and Updated
ACCOUNT 4	Phoenix Financial Services	$59.00	2/19/2017	Deleted
ACCOUNT 5	Phoenix Financial Services	$131.00	2/19/2017	Verified as Accurate and Updated
ACCOUNT 6	Remex Inc	$396.00	8/18/2015	Verified as Accurate and Updated
ACCOUNT 7	American Medical Collections	$66.00	4/14/2014	Deleted

 Account 1 was paid directly to the OC. It has been disputed twice and came back twice verified as accurate by the CA. The first time I just said in the dispute it was paid to OC. The second time I attached to the dispute a printout from the OC which showed the amount sent to CA was $22 not $107. It also showed I paid the OC and do not have any outstanding charges. I don't know what more evidence they need that this account is not in collections and has no open balance. Should I call and talk directly with TU about it and ask what proof they need???

Accounts 2 and 7 were included in my Ch7 and were deleted when I sent the list of debtors to TU without any issues.

Accounts 3 and 6 were accounts for my wife and were included in her Ch13 which was filed for just for her (i.e. I'm not included in the bankruptcy). I sent TU her list of debtors like I did for accounts 2 and 7, yet the CA still says verified as accurate. Any suggestions to get this removed?

Accounts 4 and 5 were accounts for my wife and were included in her Ch13 (which was filed for just her debts). I sent TU her list of debtors and the CA deleted one of the accounts and listed the other as verified as accurate. Not sure why they would delete one and not the other???

FYI accounts 4 and 5 weren't placed on my credit file until a few days after her Ch 13 confirmation hearing and they never filed a claim with the court. So I'm wondering if they figured they can't get money from her so they'll see if they can get it from me.

Any advice for dealing with these remaining medical collections would be greatly appreciated!!! 

[medicgrrl]

You can try sending a DV to them and see if they send you proof

[Anonymous]

***Update*** 6/14/2017

I got to reading about the eOSCAR software that the CRAs use for verifying debts and handling disputes with OC/CA; and noticed that quite a few articles said how this system is automated and communicates with dispute codes to CA, often without much human intervention. Therefore, you could have submitted very solid proof and if the system doesn't use the right dispute code it will come back as verified valid debt. 

Thinking back to some earlier disputes I had success with I remembered that I called and started the dispute over the phone with a customer service rep (CSR) and made sure they marked the correct reasons why I was disputing an item. Then after this phone call I sent in the supporting documents with attention to the department the CSR gave me.

So last Friday I called TU and explained I had received dispute results that I felt were inaccurate. The CSR opened a new dispute and verified with me why I was disputing each account. She also requested that I send in the supporting documents by mail this time instead of fax.

I sent the documents overnight on Tuesday 6/13 and already today, Wednesday 6/14 one of them has been removed 

I'm thinking maybe the key here is having their CSR open the dispute and mark why you're disputing before you send in anything, especially since I didn't have luck twice when I tried just doing an online or dispute by fax. At least it seems this way with TU.

I'll update as more get removed (hopefully)

[RobertEG]

If you send additional information in support of a dispute after the initial date of dispute, that resets the permissible reinvestigation period for the dispute from the normal period of 30 days to an extended period of 45 days.  See FCRA 611(a)(1)(B).

If your dispute entails need for accompanying documentation, I would file the dispute in writing to the CRA along with your supporting documentation.

As an aside, the CRAs have recently, in response to civil action brought by the state AGs of New York, and subsequently followed by the AGs of 31 other states, agreed to revise their use of the e-Oscar system, and ensure that they include all documentation provided by the consumer in their referral of the dispute to the furnisher for their requried investigation.  The prior issue of the CRA not forwarding your supporting documentation with your dispute is being addressed by the CRAs.

The problem with delaying the filing of documentation until after you file your dispute is that the CRA may already have forwarded your dispute to the furnisher, and thus must begin the process anew once they receive your documentation.  It does not ensure a clean dispute process.

I would file all documents with your initial dispute, both to ensure a smooth dispute process and to avoid an extension of the reinvestigation period to 45 days.

[Anonymous]

Doing disputes over the phone is lazy AND dangerous.

I do all my disputes over USPS mail, CMRRR, and I write them properly so the CRAs address them properly.

Some random call center employee answering the phone may not understand what you want done, and may just key in the closest multiple choice answer.  This can have the added effect of confirming an account is yours and keeping it on there for 7 years.

Don't dispute online or over the phone except for addresses.

[Anonymous]

***Update*** 6/30/2017

Ok got the final results from TU for those last 4 accounts I disputed by having CSR open over the phone and enter my reasons for dispute, to which I mailed in supporting documentation.  

3 of the 4 were deleted !!!   

Keep in mind these had previously been disputed online with no success even though I sent in the same supporting documentation as I mailed in.

So from my experience, and YMMV, the two times I called TU to open a dispute and explained exactly why I was filing the dispute, then followed up with sending in the supporting docs has resulted in deletions for items previously returned as verified or valid.

In one way yes it is a victory, however it also demonstrates how convoluted, inaccurate, and inconsistent the credit reporting/disputing process is!!!

That being said it still leaves me with that one dispute (Account 1) where the OC concurs I paid them and there's no balance or amounts out for collections, but CA keeps saying it's valid. My plan is to call OC's corporate offices and have them contact CA directly to request removal. If that doesn't work I'll hand it off to my attorney, yes I know it's only a $107 medical collection, but the point is it's a bogus collection for an account I do not owe anything on and it's hurting my credit.

All in all I started off in March with 5 Judgements/Public Records and 9 Collection Accounts, as of today I have 1 PR (Ch7 BK from 2010) and 1 Collection Account. It's been a roller coaster of a journey getting these removed, but a ride worth taking and one I couldn't have done without the knowledge I've gained from these forums

[RobertEG]

Paying a debt that has a reported collection is not basis for removal of the collection.

That applies regardless of whether the debt was paid to the creditor or to the debt collector.

Reporting of a collection is the notification that a debt collector was used during the attempt to collect on the debt.

If paid, the debt collector must update their reporting to show paid, $0 balance, and close the collection.

Lack of proper update of any of those items is basis for a dispute of accuracy of that item of information, but is not basis for deletion of the collection.

CRA policy instructs that a collection is not to be deleted based on payment of the debt, regardless of whether paid to the OC or the debt collector.

What specifically remains inaccurate?

Has the debt collector and CRA verified the accuracy as reported or corrected so as to overcome the asserted inaccuracy?

[Anonymous]

I’m actually disputing the reporting of this collection account in its entirety and requesting it be deleted.

Looking back at the description of my dispute reason in my original post, I don’t think I explained it very well. Hopefully the below information will better explain why I feel it should be deleted:

The CA (Transworld Systems Inc.) is claiming an account was placed for collection on 10/9/2013 from the OC (MedExpress Urgent Care) in the original amount of $109 and there is still an open balance of $107.

According to the OC there is no record of me ever having an amount due of $109 that was sent out to collections.  When the OC checked my account history around the time period (Oct 2013) that the CA is claiming an account was placed for collection, this is what they came up with:

9/1/2013 – Office Visit for $140.

9/17/2013 – Insurance Paid $18 leaving $122 balance.

9/25/2013 – Patient’s Credit Card charged $100 (I had given pre-approval for charges up to $100) leaving $22 balance and billing statement was generated for $22.

12/25/2013 - $22 balance was internally marked as being sent out for collections by the OC (I had actually paid this balance, however their system was never updated until 11/15/2016 when I provided a bank statement showing I had paid the $22 back in 2013). The $22 collection never appeared on any of my credit reports because it was just marked internally and not actually sent to a collection agency.

To summarize my dispute reasons for this collection account as to why it is not my account and should be deleted:

1. The OC has never sent my account to collections in the amount of $109 or $107 before, during, or after Oct 2013. This was confirmed by OC checking my complete account history.
2. The only amount OC ever marked for collections, granted it was mistakenly marked internally as in collections (see above explanation), was for $22 on 12/25/2013. This is a full 2 ½ months after the date of 10/9/2013 that the CA is claiming my account was placed in collections. Keep in mind the original bill for $22 was generated on 9/25/2013 and the CA is claiming the account was placed in collections for $109 on 10/9/2013, which is only 14 days after the original bill was generated.
3. The OC has provided documentation that my account has no outstanding charges or amounts in collections. In fact my account balance is $0. I have submitted this documentation to the CRAs with my disputes.
4. The account number the CA provided does not match the account number the OC has for me. It is not even remotely close to my account number. ***I am not sure that I specifically spelled this out in my disputes though.
5. If you go by the reported fall off date of 5/2020 this would indicate a DoFD around May 2013, and the OC doesn’t have any record of me getting services around that time period. In fact they didn’t even open and start seeing patients at the location I go to until March 1st 2013 and I didn’t become a patient until Sep 2013.

So far after 3 disputes for this account the CA and CRA are still reporting a collection account for $107 placed in collections on 10/9/2013 as verified accurate. Which is why I’m so frustrated that it keeps coming back as such.