"New" Collection Same as Collection from 6 Years Ago!

[Alberio]

Hi everyone,

This board was so helpful in rebuilding my credit years ago.  I managed to pull up into the solid 700s and buy a house and car, which was my goal.  I monitor my credit with myfico.com and last week was dismayed to get a notice that a new collection was added to my credit report.  I pulled up the details, called the so-called debtor, and found that it was actually for a debt from 2010, which had been added as a collection in 2011.  I resolved it then, though I frankly don't remember anything about that resolution except being on the phone with them and that it came off two of the three bureaus reports.  It was so old on the third bureau by the time I needed the good FICO scores that I just left it since it wasn't hurting me much and wasn't on the other two reports.  

The collection agency for this supposed-recent collection said they'd been hired in January to collect the debt and we're trying to reach me at an address I haven't lived at since September 2010.  They apologized and said I would need to contact the original creditor, National Grid - a New England utility company.  When I called National Grid, they told me my account was so old they had purged all the notes, and they have no record of conversations from that long ago.

While I believe I resolved this debt so long ago, I am not sure I will find proof of that at this point.  Frankly,  I could care less if there is a collection on my reports reflecting back to the original collection date of December 2010, since it would fall off soon anyway and I have no big purchases coming up, but I think it is patently unfair - and must in some way be illegal - to put a collection on my record now as if I failed to satisfy a debt in 2017 that really dates from 2010.  What are my options here?  My credit has tanked.  I am down at least 60 points on all three bureaus because of this.  

Please help.  Thank you in advance for any guidance suggestions!!

[Anonymous]

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@Alberio wrote:

Hi everyone,

This board was so helpful in rebuilding my credit years ago.  I managed to pull up into the solid 700s and buy a house and car, which was my goal.  I monitor my credit with myfico.com and last week was dismayed to get a notice that a new collection was added to my credit report.  I pulled up the details, called the so-called debtor, and found that it was actually for a debt from 2010, which had been added as a collection in 2011.  I resolved it then, though I frankly don't remember anything about that resolution except being on the phone with them and that it came off two of the three bureaus reports.  It was so old on the third bureau by the time I needed the good FICO scores that I just left it since it wasn't hurting me much and wasn't on the other two reports.  

The collection agency for this supposed-recent collection said they'd been hired in January to collect the debt and we're trying to reach me at an address I haven't lived at since September 2010.  They apologized and said I would need to contact the original creditor, National Grid - a New England utility company.  When I called National Grid, they told me my account was so old they had purged all the notes, and they have no record of conversations from that long ago.

While I believe I resolved this debt so long ago, I am not sure I will find proof of that at this point.  Frankly,  I could care less if there is a collection on my reports reflecting back to the original collection date of December 2010, since it would fall off soon anyway and I have no big purchases coming up, but I think it is patently unfair - and must in some way be illegal - to put a collection on my record now as if I failed to satisfy a debt in 2017 that really dates from 2010.  What are my options here?  My credit has tanked.  I am down at least 60 points on all three bureaus because of this.  

Please help.  Thank you in advance for any guidance suggestions!!

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The OC has no records from that far back and the CA can't manufacture them.  Sounds to me like a VOD demand is called for followed by a FDCPA suit against the CA for making the whole thing up. Let's see if they think it is cheaper to (a) defend against a $1,000 FDCPA lawsuit, or (b) Simply pay you $1,000 for the insult at which time you let the TL age off your CRA file or (c) delete it now permanetly in return for a mutual walk-away from the suit.

[RobertEG]

A debt that has remained unpaid for 6 years is not viewed by FICO as having less impact than a "new" collection on a debt that is only, for example, a year deliquent.

I'm not sure how that is "patently unfair" any more than a 150-day monthy delinquency does not have less impact than a 30-late.

You can, if credit score improvement is needed prior to its exclusion at approx 7 years from DOFD, offer a pay for deletion, which would also discharge the debt.

Otherwise, the collection will be removed from scoring after its exclusion date, and you can choose to leave the issue of the asserted debt unresolved.

You could also send a DV request and attempt to obtain validation, or if you have documentary proof of payment, file a dispute of the accuracy of their reporting.

However, unless you live in a state that has an enhanced DV statute or regulation, the debt collector could choose not to reply, and thus the DV would not mandate any validation.  It would not hurt to try.....

[Alberio]

Hi Robert, 

Thanks for your response. 

What seems patently unfair to me is that they are showing this as a failure to pay a debt from January 2017 rather than December 2010, the true date of the debt.  To me that means that it won't fall off until January of 2024 rather than December 2017 like it should.  And, what is to stop them from "daisy chaining" this to claim a "new" debt in say December of 2023 to tack on another seven years to an elderly debt?

I don't think that I have any records about how this was resolved in 2011, so I am kind of out of luck that way.  I really don't mind if the old collection is on my reports, as it already is on one of the bureau reports.  Being almost seven years old, it does not have much of an impact and will be gone soon anyway. But making it look like I failed to pay a debt owed in January 2017 is just not true and has had a dramatic impact on my credit score.  

Thanks again,

J

[Alberio]

Thank so much!  I will take a look at these options.

[RobertEG]

Exclusion of a collection from your credit report is not based on when the collection is reported.

It is based ONLY on the date that you first became delinquent of the account with the original creditor, and thereafter remained delinquent until the collection was reported.

That is referred to as the DOFD.

Once a debt collector reports their collection, they are required to obtain and report the DOFD to the CRA no later than 90 days after reporting of the collection.

The CRA then must use that DOFD, and that date-certain only, to determine when the collection is excluded from credit reports they issue.

[Anonymous]

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@Alberio wrote:

Hi Robert, 

Thanks for your response. 

What seems patently unfair to me is that they are showing this as a failure to pay a debt from January 2017 rather than December 2010, the true date of the debt.  To me that means that it won't fall off until January of 2024 rather than December 2017 like it should.  And, what is to stop them from "daisy chaining" this to claim a "new" debt in say December of 2023 to tack on another seven years to an elderly debt?

I don't think that I have any records about how this was resolved in 2011, so I am kind of out of luck that way.  I really don't mind if the old collection is on my reports, as it already is on one of the bureau reports.  Being almost seven years old, it does not have much of an impact and will be gone soon anyway. But making it look like I failed to pay a debt owed in January 2017 is just not true and has had a dramatic impact on my credit score.  

Thanks again,

J

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If they do that, you sue them for the FCRA violation of re-aging and for the FDCPA violation of misrepresenting the legal character of the debt. I hope they like paying you $2,000 every time they do that.

[Anonymous]

I had an old collection haunt me for quite a while, it kept getting sold to different collection agencies and they didn't even know the DOFD which they are leagally required to.  CFPB is a great place to go for an issue like this.  My issue went away really quickly when I filed a complaint and it hasn't come back since.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the above.

The CA is already violating here, and given that you believe you settled it years ago and the OC has no records... where did this new CA get the file? 

[Anonymous]

hi alberio. did you try disputing through credit karma? same thing happened to me, a new collection agency bought my debt from years ago and it ended up back on my reports w a different date.i disputed it and it went away. it did come back about 3x each time i disputed it and it has finally stopped returning it took a couple of months but if the debt is bad they will remove it.