No credit card required
Browse credit cards from a variety of issuers to see if there's a better card for you.
The short story: For several years I've had various collectors trying to get me to pay a $4k+ loan that was (supposed to be) paid in full to NCO Financial Systems 11 years ago. How do I get them to leave me alone?!
The long story, if you have a few minutes: I took out a private student loan from Chase Bank back in 2000 when I was 19/20 years old. Used some of it to buy a computer, then my car took a dump so I used the rest for that (I was commuting 45 mins each way). I was supposed to get a payment book or monthly statement or something but I never did, so my young dumb self thinks "heyyy, if I'm not being billed, I don't owe it yet, right?" WRONG. I suppose at least 6 months went by that I didn't pay, then I started getting collection notices from NCO on behalf of Wells Fargo (who in the meantime had bought some of Chase's loans including mine). I tried to set up a payment plan but they wanted the lump sum of the elapsed months plus I suppose what was collection fees and/or interest on top of that, and I didn't have it, so I just ignored them. More time passed, and one night they called me at work and tried the scare tactic ultimatum (what I now know is illegal, but I can't go back in time 11 years): pay us ~$4100 (and they gave me a ridiculous deadline of under a week) or you'll go to court and be thrown in jail. Well I hung up in hysterics, so someone from work called my mom, who came to work where I explained the story. She didn't have 2 nickels to rub together, so she called my dad. The only possible way he could get that much money was to take it from his Savings & Security (like a 401k), which he did just inside their deadline, with the understanding I would make monthly payments to pay him back. Fast forward to now: I'm STILL getting notices from collection agencies (seems like a different one every 6-12 months) for the original balance of the loan! Where the $#&@ did my money go, and how do I prove this over 10 years later?! I'm 31 years old and have finally worked my way up to "fair" credit (624) after making stupid money decisions when I was 19-22 and then being hounded by creditors for years, and I want this GONE! What can I do?
This sounds like a zombie debt. Doesn't matter if it's paid or not. It's waaaaaay past the SOL. Is it showing on your CR? I seriously doubt it is. You could send them a cease and desist letter. Always make sure it's outside the SOL before sending one of these (which I'm sure this one is).