Interesting. We were just on the phone yesterday with Verizon who referred us to this EOS CCA entity who claim they can't do anything because they don't own the account. It is beyond me why Verizon would not want to accept a PFD over the phone with us and simply shoo us away for their collection department to deal with us.
For us, the only ones who are reporting on my husband's CR is Verizon. The first person my husband spoke with at EOS CCA ended up a heated argument over what reason we would have to pay if they didn't promise a delete in exchange? This is past the SOL in our state so there really isn't any reason to shell out $300 for nothing. It's already on the report and based on others' experiences with Verizon or paying off collections in general (without a deletion) actually causes scores to suffer.
My husband called EOS CCA again a few hours later, hoping to get a different manager on the phone. The second person was definitely more pleasant to deal with, and agreed to see if Verizon will approve our request to delete the TL from his CR in exchange for full payment of the balance. Which by the way, they had added roughly $40 in "collection fees" and when we called them on the fact that adding collection fees is illegal, suddenly those fees turned into "interest." Funny how the OCs/CAs stand firm on their obligation to report correct information, but are willing to bend the rules for themselves. Just goes to show that it definitely pays to educate yourself on your rights BEFORE you attempt to deal with creditors. They bank on us not knowing what our rights are and making an easy buck.
Anyway, we're still waiting to hear back on whether Verizon will take our PFD. I'll keep you posted. Making a ton of headway this week.
Starting Scores: EQ 582 TU 584 EX 615 (FICO - Lender Pulled) 1/4/2012