PRA no dunning... help!

[GA8080]

My husband has a cap one charge off that we found out was sold to PRA the week before we called cap one to pay it (about a month or two ago). We have not received any correspondence from PRA until yesterday, when we received a settlement offer dated 4/6/17. PRA was not showing on my husbands credit reports as of yesterday. He just called PRA to ask if they would agree to not report the collection if he paid on the phone and they said they don't do that and it's on his credit report already and will remain until 2022. He paid it. What do we do now? Has it just not updated with the CRAs yet or was that guy wrong? Also if they said they are reporting, and sent us a settlement offer without sending a dunning, isn't that a violation of the FCRA?

[rmduhon]

They aren't required to send a dunning notice before reporting the account to the CRA's. In order to know if it's on his reports you need a new copy of the reports or you can call the CRA's and ask them.

[GA8080]

Aren't they required to send it before first correspondence?

[rmduhon]

I think it's within 5 days of first correspondence. And I'm not sure, but a settlement offer could be considered a dunning notice since it does say you owe.

[A1Credit]

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@rmduhon wrote:
They aren't required to send a dunning notice before reporting the account to the CRA's. In order to know if it's on his reports you need a new copy of the reports or you can call the CRA's and ask them.

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I don't understand this.  What if this was a medical bill that you thought was paid by the insurance company or you never received a bill?  Why shouldn't the collection agency give you a chance to correct an honest mistake or clear up an error before just putting something on your credit report?  What if the collection actually does not belong to you?  Now you are stuck trying to rectify something that should not have impacted you in the first place.  I think collection agencies should be required to give the information to the consumer first before just inserting something that can have devastating affects on something so vital, such as credit.

[GA8080]

Another sketchy thing... when my husband was on the phone to pay them he was going to give them his debit card number. The PRA lady said "we don't take debit cards, do you have your checking account number?" My husband said "I don't have my checkbook, I'll have to call back later" PRA said "wait hold on, we can do the debit card, umm let me just get my supervisor". What in the world was that all about???

[RobertEG]

A collection ("dunning") notice is not required to be sent prior to reporting to a CRA or prior to any initial communication with a consumer.

FDCPA 809(a) requires a debt collector to send dunning notice no later than 5 days after an initial communication with the consumer.