best way to handle unknown status of account

[Anonymous]

I am in the middle of a mortgage refinanace and I have an old account listed as collections with a zero balance and zero past due.

This is scheduled to drop off in April, but the finance company wants to verify if it has been taken care of.

Years back when this account came up, I was in the middle of settling/ making payment arrangements with many creditors due to a loss of employment.

For the life of me, I can not find my old records and dont remember which companies I delt with. So I cant say for sure if this debt has been taken care of or not.

I am prepaired to pay in full if need be to get this off my report,so my financing will go through. I do know this collections account came from an unpaid credit card that had about 3k on it. The credit amount listed on collections shows the 3k amount as the opening balance, but since it shows a zero balance and I havent heard from them in at least 6 years, I assumed it was taken care of.

I know you guys say to never call the collection companies. So, should I send a letter asking for a DV or is there a better way to confirm the actual balance without letting them know that I dont remember if this was paid or not?

I would have waited until it dropped to refinance if I knew this would be an issue, since it doesnt show a balance owed. but the ball is rolling and i have money invested in the appraisal ect... so I have to make due for now.

any comments/ suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as this is a critical issue for me now that I have to take care of asap!

thx

[Anonymous]

Others can chime in here, but if you pull your credit report (1 free each year) the creditor will be listed with an address.  i would send a GW letter requesting it be deleted.

[Anonymous]

I have been tracking my credit for quite a while and the creditor is Palisades, I have their contact info ect..... I have known about it being on my report, but like I said, it always reported a zero balance, so I really wasnt concerned about it. Now the bank wants me to have proof from them that the balance has been paid. Now I am just doubting myself that I actually paid it or not. I just know that if the debt is still there, I dont mind paying it, but I dont want 6 years of lates, reaging the account, then the harrassment on top of that.

So my question is, what is the best way to contact them, and find out what the balance is on it? Is it safe to call the CA for this scenario or should I write some letter of some sort?