Trying to pay off an old debt.... HELP!

[Red_0023]

Hey everyone! I'm new here but bare with me. So now I am finally trying to do something about my credit. I had paid of most of my collections but one. It is a Macy's Store Credit Card by Citibank. I call them to attempt to pay the collection because its been reporting on my account for some time. When I called, they informed me that they cannot accept a payment from me. I was confused on what to do. I really wanted to just get the debt paid but the rep stated that due to "statute of limitations" they cannot collect on an old debt. The rep didn't seem to be very helpful on my options. Anyways I was wondering if any of you rebuilding your credit have ever ran into this type of situation, also what can be done about this, since it is still being reported one my credit report. Any help would greatly be appreciated! Thank you! 

[Anonymous]

How old is the debt? Has it been sent to a collection agency? If so you'd most likely have to deal with them as opposed to Citi.

[Red_0023]

The account has been closed since 2014, but its still reporting on my credit report as if its still a late payment. It shows in collection/charge-off. It hasnt been sent to a third party collection agency. 

[RobertEG]

There are two normal and possible reasons for the creditor to decline to accept payment.

First is if they have sold the debt, they can no longer legally accept payment on a debt that they do not own.

You would need to contact the new owner.  Does the OC account show update of the current balance to $0?

Sale of a debt does not mandate deletion of their reporting, it mandates update of the remaining balance to $0.

Second, they may have an assignment to a debt collector, under which the terms of that assignment may require all payments to be made via the debt collector.  Creditors often hire debt collectors in order to remove the hassle of collection activities, and is a common clause in such contracts that any payments be made via the debt collector.

It is doubtful that the rep was correct in referencing SOL as a reason preventing payments directly to them.

[Red_0023]

Gotcha, thanks for the info. I’ll call Macy’s again to confirm if they have sold it to another company.