Mysterious collection on my CR, guidance needed

[mizvalentine]

Hi all, I am really stumped here and hoping you can help.

I posted a couple weeks ago about a collection for 'medical' from NCO Financial that showed up on my credit report and cost me 80 points (OUCH). Just before that, I realized I'd missed a bill from Quest Diagnostics around the same date with a similar amount, so I paid Quest and wrote to Quest and to NCO to see if I could get the mark removed. However, in the meantime, I got a response from Quest saying that they *HAD NOT* sent my account to collections, and since I paid, I was totally square with them.

Long and short: I have NO CLUE where this unpaid bill came from! There's not much info in my ScoreWatch notification either:

In 8/1/2013, the collection agency NCO FINANCIAL SYSTEMS was hired by creditor Not Reported to collect $88 in debts on account number XXXX1135.
Original balance:     $88     Agency name:     NCO FINANCIAL SYSTEMS
Current balance:     $88     Agency number:     862YC00047
Status (as of 11/1/2013) :     UNPAID     Agency industry:     Not Reported
First delinquency:     5/1/2013     Original creditor:     862YC00047
Last payment:     Not on Record           
Description:     Medical

I wrote a note to NCO via their website explaining that my previous inquiry had been in error, and asking them to elaborate as to the nature of the bill... no response yet. I've checked back thru all my mail, email, bills, etc and can't find a single thing this could be. No medical bills, no correspondence from NCO, and no accounts ending in 1135. I am just totally at a loss.

My question is, what do I do next? I feel like I muddied the issue writing to NCO in the first place. What kind of letter do I write to them now? Or do I write to Equifax? If I really missed a bill, I'd like to square it, but I don't want to pay something I don't owe.

Any guidance would be much appreciated!!

[Involver]

From my recent personal experience I would suggest disputing this account through the CRAs on which it shows up on.  

I had a collections account for ~ $1400 show up recently on TU/EX that was illegitimate and within two weeks of my dispute the TL was deleted from both CRAs.  

It was nice to let someone else handle the dirty work for a change.  Use that to your advantage. 

[mizvalentine]

Thank you for the advice. Would you send the dispute via snail mail, or via email? And would I even ask the nature of the original debt, or just state that I believe its illegitimate? I guess its possible I missed a payment somewhere, though I find it really odd that I never got any notice! Just wondering what tone is best.

[Involver]

I disputed the TLs through the CRAs web services.  You are allowed to view a copy of your report (for free) to dispute information on your CR.  I believe I chose the option "I have no knowledge of this account" and offered a brief explanation (never received correspondence, etc...).  The CRA will then take on the responsiblity of contacting the CA / creditor to determine the validity of the debt / your dispute.  

[mizvalentine]

Thank you very much!!

[Involver]

No problem.  I've received so much help on this board I'm happy to give back even a little bit.  Good luck!

[guiness56]

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@mizvalentine wrote:

Hi all, I am really stumped here and hoping you can help.

I posted a couple weeks ago about a collection for 'medical' from NCO Financial that showed up on my credit report and cost me 80 points (OUCH). Just before that, I realized I'd missed a bill from Quest Diagnostics around the same date with a similar amount, so I paid Quest and wrote to Quest and to NCO to see if I could get the mark removed. However, in the meantime, I got a response from Quest saying that they *HAD NOT* sent my account to collections, and since I paid, I was totally square with them.

Long and short: I have NO CLUE where this unpaid bill came from! There's not much info in my ScoreWatch notification either:

In 8/1/2013, the collection agency NCO FINANCIAL SYSTEMS was hired by creditor Not Reported to collect $88 in debts on account number XXXX1135.
Original balance:     $88     Agency name:     NCO FINANCIAL SYSTEMS
Current balance:     $88     Agency number:     862YC00047
Status (as of 11/1/2013) :     UNPAID     Agency industry:     Not Reported
First delinquency:     5/1/2013     Original creditor:     862YC00047
Last payment:     Not on Record           
Description:     Medical

I wrote a note to NCO via their website explaining that my previous inquiry had been in error, and asking them to elaborate as to the nature of the bill... no response yet. I've checked back thru all my mail, email, bills, etc and can't find a single thing this could be. No medical bills, no correspondence from NCO, and no accounts ending in 1135. I am just totally at a loss.

My question is, what do I do next? I feel like I muddied the issue writing to NCO in the first place. What kind of letter do I write to them now? Or do I write to Equifax? If I really missed a bill, I'd like to square it, but I don't want to pay something I don't owe.

Any guidance would be much appreciated!!

---

Send NCO a DV letter.

[starry1]

Agreed, DV them right away.

[RobertEG]

I agree, send a DV.

They were already required to have provided you most of the info contained in a DV request, and are apparently in violation of FDCPA 809(a) if they did not do so.

Reporting of their collection triggered a requiement that they send dunning notice within 5 days, which requires disclsosure of the current creditor.

Sending a DV will compel them to cease collection until they provide the requested verification, but wont require them to respond within any set period of time.

A DV does not compel a response, and thus the requirement for dunning notice is critical to providing the basic info you need.

You might file a formal complaint with the CFPB for violation of their required dunning notice requirement if they dont promptly respond to your DV.

As for disputing with a CRA, the CRAs are not a party to the debt collection practices issues of either dunning notice or debt validation.

A CRA dispute would requre identification of a specific error in their credit reporting.  Thus, the basis for the dispute would be reporting of a collection contrary to your doucmetation from the OC that they never provided collection authority to the reporting debt collector.  No authority = deletion of their collection.

[mizvalentine]

Hi all, so--the plot thickens. I pulled my TU and EX reports to see where the collection was being reported. On my TU report, I discovered the name of the creditor, which was my doctor's hospital, for an ultrasound which I did have in the spring. So the debt seems legitimate after all. That said, they NEVER made me aware of the debt or the collection. I've gotten mail from them before and since but for some reason, never regarding this bill. I called the hospital and the woman was extremely unhelpful. I did pay the debt (it was so small, I felt like it was the right thing to do--hopefully that wasn't a mistake) but they insist they mailed me notification. They didn't, I'm not an idiot! But now I don't know what to do. Is the next step to GW NCO? Or still dispute the hospital? This would be the second billing error in 3 months I've had with them, and they're somewhat notorious for this kind of thing.