Updated: how to wipeOff adverse info in credit report completely (not just "account paid")

[Anonymous]

Today found my credit score dropped by 60 points due to a so called "Adverse account" added by a collector called C.P.A (I used to have near perfect score before this).  The "Adverse account" was a Comcast cable bill for my old address.  I have never been contacted by Comcast or C.P.A. for this debt (I have not even received a final bill from Comcast).  The only thing Comcast did was adding multiple late fee charges and sent me to its collector.  I do not use Comcast anymore after I moved.

All I want now is to remove the "Adverse account" in my credit report, leaving no trace of negative information (i.e. Not just "adverse account" paid).  But the bureaucracy created by Comcast and C.P.A. makes it impossible.  Although I want to pay whatever they claim (including all the accumulating unresonable late fees etc) just to get this mess over, I cannot. What more do they want from me?!? 

The current situation:

1. C.P.A. said that they never accept pay-for-deletion (PFD) letters, and they never delete "Adverse account" UNLESS formally requested by Comcast.  Comcast never accept pfd letters either, and its billing department can only try to send informal request-to-delete to its accounting department with the hope that its accouting department will find a way to nonrountingly forward that informal request to C.P.A.  Comcast billing department can try this only if my payment is made to them directly. 

2. C.P.A. said the "Adverse account" in my credit report was automatically deleted weeks ago due to bad address (C.P.A. used my old address when adding the "Adverse account" in my credit report).  I called the 3 reporting agencies but they insist that never happened.  Because I was very polite on the phone, C.P.A. representative seemed coorperative and was willing to send me a copy of the "Deletion request due to bad address" letter to my email address.  They said that I can forward this letter to the reporting agencies to make sure the adverse account will be deleted.  Did not receive the email, I had to ask them to send agin.  Even gave them another email address and begged them to send all together four times, two to each email account. The representative assued me that I should receive the emails and "it could take upto 24 hours due to their slow emailing system".  Its been 2 days, not a single email received from them!

Which of the following 2 solutions works better now?  

Solution 1.  Pay Comcast directly and sincerely wish that they would and could send informal request-to-delete to C.P.A., and wish C.P.A. would honor that informal request. 

Cons: Comcast may just take the payment (so I lose the only leverage) and C.P.A. just update the adverse account as "paid", but the "paid-off Adverse account" will still remain in my credit report and has almost the same negative impact to my credit score for 7 years.

Pros: I may pay Comcast directly and never have to deal with C.P.A.(which seems to be purely liars per comments on the web, and my own experience).  Then I can file dispute with all 3 credit reporting agencies that the "Adverse account" with C.P.A. is invalid.  And hoping C.P.A. will remove the "Adverse account" since they will not be able to validate the already-paid-off debt with Comcast.

Solution 2. Send payement to C.P.A. with the PFD letter (although they don't honor it). Then GW letter.

Cons: Comcast will not even try sending any request to C.P.A. because the payment is not received by Comcast directly.  And C.P.A. will only update "Adverse account" as paid.  The negative effect of the "Adverse account" to my credit score remains.

Pros: If the letter happen to be processed by a not-too-evil C.P.A. representative (assume such rep exists), then its the most direct and efficient way. 

Could anybody share the experience with this debt collector or similar experience with Comcast?  Any suggetsions will be highly appreciated!   

Please help!

Note: C.P.A.: "Credit Protection Association 13355 NOEL RD, STE 2100, DALLAS, TX 75240.

Please refer to the related post:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/Collection-Closed-Need-help-to-remove-this/m-...

[RobertEG]

An OC cannot restrict the ability of a debt collector to report their collection activity to a CRA, and cannot compel them to delete any reporting they may have made.

That is the debt collector's business.

If you pay the OC directly, what would then be the basis for disputing the accuracy of the debt collector's reporting?

Reporting of a collection is valid provided the debt collector had collection authority.  I dont see that as an issue.

How is the collection "invalid?"  A dispute requires some assertion of inaccuracy.  Unlike the debt validation process under the FDCPA, it is not a process in which you can just request "validation of the debt."

Even if they were required, or decided, to provide validation, at this point, it would be simple.  "We validate that the debt under collection is $0."

[JuJuBee84]

I would first try sending them a PFD letter. I will PM you some email contacts. If all else fails and they refuse to do PFD you can always pay the account and then send a GW letter asking them to remove the account.

[Anonymous]

Thank you RobertEG for your insight!  So you mean it is TOTALLY up to the collector's mercy for a complete deletion of the negative information in my credit record, even if (just an IF) they reported a $0 balance debt at the first place?  

My Comcast bill was just 1+ month overdue, do I deserve a letter or email from either Comcast or its collector C.P.A. to let me know before they put all the negative information into my credit record?

Any solutions or suggestions? please hlep!  

I contacted one of the crediting reporting agencies and the representative said that I should pay the debt then she can help me start the dispute process to see if the collector (C.P.A.) is willing to remove all the negative information.  The representative was not sure whether it is better for me to pay Comcast directly or the collector.

[Anonymous]

Thank you very much JuJuBee84 for your willing to help!  I just sent an email to the collector ask whether they are willing to accept pfd and give me guarantee letter on deletion upon receipt of my payment.  No response yet.  I searched online and found MANY VERY negative comments about this collector.  Seems lots of people have VERY terrible experience with this collector.  

The debt collector is "CREDIT PROTECTION Association" (i.e. C.P.A) with address 13355 NOEL RD, STE 2100, DALLAS, TX 75240. Comments are almost all negative, and all over the internet.

Eager to get your further help and advice!

[Anonymous]

I have sent 3 rounds of emails (simple a yes/no question on whether they take pfd letter) to 4 email accounts to this debt collector "CREDIT PROTECTION Association" (i.e. C.P.A).   Namely 12 emails within the last 5 days.  No response at all except one automatic return saying one of the email account is no longer valid.  So for the rest of the 3 email accounts, no one is willing to respond to a very simple yes/no question.  

More amazingly, today I finally got hold of someone in C.P.A over the phone, C.P.A said they never honor pdf letters, they will only take payment and add "account-paid" comments and leave the adverse account in my report.  However, the representative told me the Adverse account was automatically deleted from my credit report weeks ago due to the chage of my address.  So I called one of the 3 credit report agency and guess what, the Adverse account is still there in my report and the reporting agency never receive C.P.A.'s request to delete it.  So what the C.P.A told me was simply invalid.   

No wonder all the very negative comments on the web about this C.P.A. collector!

Any help and advice on how to delete this adverse account in my credit report will be highly appreciated!

[pipeguy]

I don't know if your situation with Comcast is the same, but I'll tell you my dealings with Comcast a couple months ago and maybe it'll help.

Canceled Comcast TV-Internet after 25+ years as we got sick of the constant price increases, bad repair service, fees, constant changing of the channels with HD taken away without another price increase, etc. We went with FIOS at $20 less a month and many more channels + HD channels. It felt great to dump Comcast, but we know how they love to stick you with extra costs. We canceled online, then called and canceled, then stopped in the local office the next day to turn in all equipment, get a receipt for the equipment and to confirm cancellation of service. Everything is good ? Nope, 3 weeks later we get a "final bill" for around $35 (we were expecting a refund since you pay a month in advance).

The $35 due final invoice sat around for a couple of weeks, no big deal I'll pay it at the end of the month. Next thing you know we get a "collection notice" in the mail from a CA for a past due Comcast bill of $35, what the ... ? Needless to say I was a bit pissed, this account was not even past due yet and I'd been a customer for over 25 years and Comcast was turning me over to a Collection Agency?

Here's the good part and what might help you out:  My wife noticed that the address for the Collection Agency was the same address we had been mailing checks to for 25 years meaning that the account was NOT actually at a CA, it was just Comcast doing business as "collections". The name on the letter was clearly XYZ Collections Agency (I don't remember what it actually was), but it was just Comcast using the CA letterhead to leverage payment compliance.

We stopped in the local Comcast Office, paid the $35, insisted the local CSR call the number and tell them the account was paid in full and that was the end of the story. Nothing ever showed up on our CR (nothing was ever 30 days late either as far as I was concerned).

My advice is to visit a local Comcast Office, pay anything past due and insist to the local CSR that this account is to be removed from any CRAs (get it in writing). If your account is just 30 days past due, based on my experience, its "in house" with Comcast not actually at a collection agency.

Good luck !

[RobertEG]

If an OC ever plays the game of sending you anything that implies the communication is not directly from them, they become a debt collector under the statute, and you can then exercise all of your FDCPA rights, including DV and cease communications.

FDCPA 803(6) states, in defing the term "debt collector," :

"the term includes any creditor who, in the process of collecting his own debts, uses any name other than his own which would indicate that a third person is collecting or attempting to collect such debt."

They instantly became a "debt collector!"

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Cons: If C.P.A. is not credible or cooperative, by sending them PFD letter itself will confirm the debt and limit my choice for futher actions.

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This isn't necessarily true.  A simple line in your PFD letter that says something to this effect will prevent your offer from confirming your debt: "This offer is not to be construed as an acknowledgement of liability for this debt in any form and is merely to have this item removed from my credit files."

Simple thing to legally cover you from having agreed in a letter that you owe the debt, etc.  

[Anonymous]

To give you some hope, I dealt with C.P.A. back in October.  I had a outstanding collection for around $75 with them that supposedly originated in 2008.  I called them and paid in full in September, then sent a single GW letter to them in October.  They removed the paid collection from all three credit reports before the next month.  Never heard anything from them directly regarding the GW letter.