Should I continue to deal with the CA?

[iamdetermined]

I have been working with a collection agency to settle an old utility bill - I called to make a payment & when I asked them how much was my balance they are giving me an amount that is $100 more than what it should be since I've been making payments for a few months now. The lady put me on hold & when she came back to the line she told me there are $100 in finance charges from the OC. I didn't make the payment & called the OC. The OC said they don't add finance charges & they do not see any on my account so now I am 100% skeptical about dealing with CA. The OC said they can't pull the account back...the only thing I can do is stop paying the collection agency & they will refer it back to the OC & then I will be able to make payments directly to them. Of course I do not want the CA to wind up on my CR so how do I go about this??  I went online a few minutes ago & re-registered my account online with the OC, and I am still able to make payments directly to them but where will this leave me with the CA? HELP PLEASE!!!

Should I call the CA back? Should I ignore them? Should I call the CA back....and say what?? Should I start making payments to the OC? 

I've worked so hard this year repairing my credit...I don't want this account to ruin it

[guiness56]

Did the CA agree not to report if you paid them?

When the OC said refer it back to them, did she mean the CA would send the account back?  Meaning no longer collecting on it?

[iamdetermined]

To be honest I didn't work anything out with the CA...I didn't do much research before dealing with them...when they contacted me, I started making payments b/c I was scared it would wind up on my report (it's not on there now). Yes, the CA would send the account back to the OC. The OC said they don't know if the CA bought the account & if it would affect my CR

[guiness56]

Wow.  The OC should know if the CA bought the account or not.  If they did, the CA can't send it back as it no longer belongs to the OC.

ETA:  I would also get an agreement with the CA for not reporting.  You can ask for an itemization of the debt.

[iamdetermined]

I called the OC just now - they sold the account to the CA

[guiness56]

That means you have to deal with the CA.

Ask the CA if they will not report to the CRAs if you pay the debt. 

How old is the debt?

[iamdetermined]

Ok, I will try that..thanks. The debt is about 2 years old

[RobertEG]

In the meantime, in dealing with their charges, the FDCPA stipulates that it is a violation for a debt collector to attempt to collect any amount that is either not explicityly authorized in your original account agreement with the OC, or not otherwise permitted by law.

Since they are asserting the additional charges are based on the OC account, I would dig out a copy of your account agreement with the OC, and determine what charges are authorized undr that agreement.

[iamdetermined]

Thanks very much for the information. I called the CA agency back & - GET THIS- they apologized for the "error" & credited my account. Ha! Glad I keep track of every payment I make. I am dealing with the CA because the OC said it will take longer to remove if this hits my CR. The CA is going to "try" to send me an itemized document...they claim they don't usually send anything out until after the debt is satisfied. They also haven't & won't report to the CR. I still don't trust them but if they haven't reported yet, as long as I keep up my end of the deal, I should be "safe." I'm glad I only have a few more payments & they are out of here.