Reporting-should I dispute

[SSH0126]

So I had an account like a small loan with a company here in Texas. I was several months past due. I paid 1/2 the loan in November 2015 and paid it off in full December 31th 2015. After I made the payment they said oh its in collections...but I never recieved any collections contact from anyone and I had been paying on the account. So on January 1st I get a notification that they reported the account as a charge off. And then another notification that it was a profit loss charge off or something like that. Should I dispute that it was ever in collections because it was not. It should just be reporting late if anything not in  collections. or is it even worth it. 

[RobertEG]

A creditor can refer a debt to a debt collector for collection assistance the day it beomes late under the account agreement.

A debt collector has no requirment to notify a consumer that they have been assigned collection authhority until they initiate communication with the consumer.

They have discretion in when they choose to initiate collection activities.

Once they have made an initial communication with the consumer, they must send a formal collection ("dunning") notice within 5 days after that initial communication.

The issue is whether the account was delinquent when they referred the debt to a debt collector.

Presumably, that occured prior to the date you finally overcame the delinquency by the November and December payments.

Similarly, if the debt was delinquent at the time they did the charge-off, then it was likely proper.  Whether or not they reported the CO to the CRAs is optional on their part, and does not affect the legitimacy of that accounting measure.  Additionally, the CO is separate from any issue of whether it was also referred for collection.

There is no basis for dispute of any collection referrral, as the collection is not reported to the CRAs.

There would only be basis for dispute of their charge-off is you can show that you paid the debt prior to the time they did that accounting measure.

[SSH0126]

There would only be basis for dispute of their charge-off is you can show that you paid the debt prior to the time they did that accounting measure.

I made the final payment on December 31/2015. They reported as profit loss on 01/01 or 01/03/2016.

[driftless]

Absolutely you should dispute it. If you do nothing it will linger for 7 years. Given that the debt has been paid off you should at least ask to have it removed from you CR..

[EAJuggalo]

Did they cash the check on the 31st?  Or did you pay online that day? 

[driftless]

Doesn't matter whether they did or not. They only way you will clear the record is to challenge.

[driftless]

I don't mean to be abrasive, but I would like to make my point. If you just read the statues, you feel that you can do nothing. Real attorneys, not credit repair firms that just send out form letters, argue, engage, inform; and, persuade. So do the the posters on this board when they send out GW letters, emails, and phone calls. IMHO - the OP's position is still unsettled so her deliberate engagement with the creditor and CA might have positive results. It is a positive that final payment was made. FWIW - I think that giving advice that she does not have a recourse is absolutely wrong. I suggest that she engage both the creditor and the CA. - David who graduated law school in '87

[RobertEG]

The consumer rarely, if ever, knows when a creditor did their actual accounting that then constituted a charge-off.

The date they report to a CRA that htey have done a CO is not represented as the date they did the actual CO.

There is no requirment to or provision for reporting the actual date a creditor conducts their accounting activities to the CRAs.

The fact that they reported a CO in 1/2016 is not a statement that they conducted the CO on that date, or any specific date.

Reporting to a CRA then triggers the requirment that the creditor also provide the DOFD to the CRA no later than 90 days after having reported the CO.