topic Re: Collection agreed on 'pay for delete' then no action so far in General Credit Topics

Collection agreed on 'pay for delete' then no action so far

Anonymous — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 23:59:25 GMT

Hi dear myFico users,

This forum was really helpful and I recently succeeded in getting written agreement for

'Pay for Delete' from my baddie collection agency. However after a month or so, there was no update in my credit file, so I guess they are too lazy to honor the agreement to remove the items yet. In this case, what should I do for them to remove? Write another letter to collection threatening legal action against them or send a letter to CRAs with copy of Pay for delete agreement asking removal of bad item?

Thanks for your help!

Re: Collection agreed on 'pay for delete' then no action so far

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 01:19:40 GMT

what did THEY agreed to?

Re: Collection agreed on 'pay for delete' then no action so far

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 04:59:47 GMT

They agreed to remove items from three credit bureaus upon receipt of full payment, and I sent money order. This is the actuall letter they sent to me after my pay for delete offer

"As per our agreement, you will pay the account in full and the account is completely settled.

Also all three credit reporting agencies will be advised to remove the relevant records from files. "

Re: Collection agreed on 'pay for delete' then no action so far

Geordi — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 11:19:43 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
They agreed to remove items from three credit bureaus upon receipt of full payment, and I sent money order. This is the actuall letter they sent to me after my pay for delete offer

"As per our agreement, you will pay the account in full and the account is completely settled.
Also all three credit reporting agencies will be advised to remove the relevant records from files. "

I am no expert but have you considered disputing with the CRAs and including a copy of the letter the CA provided?

Re: Collection agreed on 'pay for delete' then no action so far

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 15:02:14 GMT

I would not dispute with CRAs - that's always the last resort, and can lead to protracted reporting.

Unless pressed for time (applying right now for a loan) I would wait up to 45 days from the date they cashed the payment - if not gone by then, send the CA a notice of Breach of Contract and give them 7 days from receipt to remedy or else (get a copy of an ITS letter on this site and adjust it).

Re: Collection agreed on 'pay for delete' then no action so far

Anonymous — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:36:11 GMT

Today I found they merely updated it as 'PAID'. They didn't honor the agreement. I'm going to send 'Notice of Breach of Agreement' to them

Re: Collection agreed on 'pay for delete' then no action so far

Junejer — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:54:38 GMT

For all who will read this now and in the future, this is precisely why we state never talk to a CA over the phone, and to always get everything in writing. Good for you junyea. You did it right.

Re: Collection agreed on 'pay for delete' then no action so far

Anonymous — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:32:54 GMT

there are great examples on this site, and if necessary, this is what I used recently (amended to protect the innocents). Should be adapted to reflect a particular situation.

August 30, 2008

Evil CA or OC
Hell's Way
Burning Place, HL, 66666

Re: Settlement of account #1234567890

N O T I C E O F B R E A C H O F C O N T R A C T

To Whom It May Concern:

On July 16, 2008, Evil CA, LLC agreed by letter to remove all references to the above account from my credit reports upon payment of $666.66.

Evil CA, LLC has received payment in certified funds per this agreement on August 4, 2008, and cashed such payment on August 11, 2008.

25 (TWENTY-FIVE) days have passed since your receipt of certified funds and the account #1234567890 HAS NOT been deleted from my credit files at the three major Credit Reporting Agencies (TransUnion, Equifax and Experian), and I have not received any notices stating that this alleged debt has been satisfied.

Furthermore, the three Credit Reporting bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax and Experian) are all stating that recent reporting activity has been performed on this account, as recently as August 25, 2008.

Evil CA, LLC has not performed its obligations and further reporting of this account appears in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

This letter is formal notice of Breach of Contract.

EVIL CA, LLC has 5 (five) days from the receipt of this letter to cure its breach by fulfilling its obligations, summarized as follows for your convenience:

Evil CA, LLC must delete ALL information regarding account #1234567890 and the Evil CA, LLC collection account from my files at the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) and will not discuss the terms of this settlement with anyone. If contacted by any third party, including credit-reporting agencies, Evil CA, LLC will not acknowledge that any settlement offer was made, accepted or executed and will, in fact, deny knowledge of any such account.

After this term, I shall file suit against you without any further notice. At that time, you will also be responsible for any attorneys fees incurred.

I shall also immediately file complaints with the BBB, the AG offices in my and your home States, and the FTC. Should any further violations of the FCRA and FDCPA occur in relation to the handling of this account after receipt of this letter, I will not hesitate to pursue all legal remedies available to me.

Sincerely,
Your Name
Your Address
Your City

Re: Collection agreed on 'pay for delete' then no action so far

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:52:04 GMT

$666

Re: Collection agreed on 'pay for delete' then no action so far

RobertEG — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 04:55:22 GMT

I see no basis upon which the CRA will delete without first receiving a request directly from the CA. The CRA is not an arbitor of private party legal agreements. It is the CA who made the agreement, and thus it is the CA obligation to fulfill it.

Their letter to you is a legal "meeting of the minds," with tangible acceptance of benefit by both sides. They agreed to take your money in exchange for their promise to report an update in your credit file. It is a legal contract, for which the CRA is not the enforcer.

I would simply send a letter to the CA, asking them to fullfil their terms of the contract with the same haste that you have done so.

But, unless your "contract" with them included specific time limits for each of you to fulfill its terms, I would not, at this point, accuse them of "breach of contract." Just an unreasonable delay in fulfilling its terms.

Message Edited by RobertEG on 10-27-2008 09:55 PM

Re: Collection agreed on 'pay for delete' then no action so far

Junejer — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 05:35:49 GMT

I think that the CRA can be "used" to force the proper reporting of an item. If they give it in writing, breach the agreement, and then ignore subsequent attempts to enforce agreement, then the CRA might be able to facilitate the request. It has happened before.

RobertEG wrote:

I see no basis upon which the CRA will delete without first receiving a request directly from the CA. >

Re: Collection agreed on 'pay for delete' then no action so far

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 07:51:24 GMT

I side with Robert on this - the CRA normally considers CA's letters like this case forgeries by the consumer. period.

But, recourse is only by tackling the CA with breach of contract because it shortens the period for them to respond - you have a written letter, they don't execute on it, they don't act on your 1-week notice, you go to small claims and in about 4-5 weeks you get a judgement.

If you were to request a reinvestigation to the CRA, the CA might cancel then and there or could validate after 30+5 days - then you can only slap them with a lawsuit. but you have wasted time.

A slightly more effective message would be to send a notarized copy of the CA's letter, a notarized copy of the check receipt, a notarized copy of the bank statement showing the check cashed, to the CRA and tell them you dispute the reporting and if they don't remove you sue them for failing to act upon your notice of incorrect reporting with notarized proofs. The big caveat is that I'm still not sure the CRA would cave, it costs more in notarization than filing a claim against the CA in the first place.

Notice of breach with a clear remedy is a very crisp message and 99% of recipients act on it or respond why they won't honor it - that could give you further ammunition or help you change your tack more rapidly. Also sets the clock for action, you don't have to file suit immediately, you still have a year or two.

Re: Collection agreed on 'pay for delete' then no action so far

Anonymous — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 19:37:50 GMT

The collection finally deleted the record today.

It took about 2 months to get it done. Here is what I did after posting here

1. I sent 'Notice of Breach Of Agreement' to CA and gave them 15 days to fix it

2. CA didn't do anything for that 15 days

3. I sent complaint letters to BBB, AG offices of NYand NJ, and FTC

4. AG of NJ referred my letter again to FTC

5. FTC simply sent me guideline of fair credit act w/o contacting CA

6. BBB actually contacted the CA and helped me fix the problem.

7. CA removed the record today!!! Thank you BBB!!

Re: Collection agreed on 'pay for delete' then no action so far

fused — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 20:19:01 GMT

Congrats!

Re: Collection agreed on 'pay for delete' then no action so far

clocktick — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 01:49:42 GMT

Wow, congratulations! This is just another example of one's persistence resulting in success. Great job!

Re: Collection agreed on 'pay for delete' then no action so far

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 18:53:26 GMT

While I realize I am new here and this issue was resolved to the OP's satisfaction, I wanted to comment about the wording of their agreement. Some may disagree with me, but this is my opinion and I hope to engage in dialogue that may help others.

The CA was quite sneaky in the wording of their agreement. It was left open for interpretation!

They agreed to remove all "relevent" information and as a result they only updated as PAID. Technically, they didn't agree to delete the entire account. They only said they would take action on "relevent" entries.

What is an entry? Is it a field within the account? Is the entire account an entry? Perhaps to them it is the former and not the latter. This is where it gets muddy and ambiguous.

Whatever THEY considered relevent was corrected, deleted or updated. There is a big difference.

My guess is they felt it was relevent to remove the entry that said "past due" and updated with PAID.

So for future reference I would be VERY specific on what an acceptable PFD agreement really is when getting one from a CA. Make sure that the CA agrees to DELETE ENTIRE ACCOUNT in full. Don't agree to let them "delete affected entries" or "update negative entries" in any way than a complete deletion. They can get quite creative and never have lied to you.

See how it's not open for interpretation by doing it that way?

Message Edited by OIFWoundedWarrior on 12-21-2008 10:53 AM

Re: Collection agreed on 'pay for delete' then no action so far

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 19:04:49 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
The collection finally deleted the record today.
It took about 2 months to get it done. Here is what I did after posting here

1. I sent 'Notice of Breach Of Agreement' to CA and gave them 15 days to fix it
2. CA didn't do anything for that 15 days
3. I sent complaint letters to BBB, AG offices of NYand NJ, and FTC
4. AG of NJ referred my letter again to FTC
5. FTC simply sent me guideline of fair credit act w/o contacting CA
6. BBB actually contacted the CA and helped me fix the problem.
7. CA removed the record today!!! Thank you BBB!!

What does AG mean? Since I am in the state of North Carolina I just need to send letters to the BBB and AG of my state? What does FTC stand for?

Thanks

Strong

Re: Collection agreed on 'pay for delete' then no action so far

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 19:19:47 GMT

Guide to Common Abbreviations

This thread is the guide to the common abbreviations.

Yes, you contact the AG for your state. In addition I have heard that you can also contact the AG for the state the CA is located.

FTC is the Federal Trade Commission.

I hope that helps!

Message Edited by OIFWoundedWarrior on 12-21-2008 11:19 AM

Re: Collection agreed on 'pay for delete' then no action so far

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 19:29:18 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
While I realize I am new here and this issue was resolved to the OP's satisfaction, I wanted to comment about the wording of their agreement. Some may disagree with me, but this is my opinion and I hope to engage in dialogue that may help others.

The CA was quite sneaky in the wording of their agreement. It was left open for interpretation!

They agreed to remove all "relevent" information and as a result they only updated as PAID. Technically, they didn't agree to delete the entire account. They only said they would take action on "relevent" entries.

What is an entry? Is it a field within the account? Is the entire account an entry? Perhaps to them it is the former and not the latter. This is where it gets muddy and ambiguous.

Whatever THEY considered relevent was corrected, deleted or updated. There is a big difference.

My guess is they felt it was relevent to remove the entry that said "past due" and updated with PAID.

So for future reference I would be VERY specific on what an acceptable PFD agreement really is when getting one from a CA. Make sure that the CA agrees to DELETE ENTIRE ACCOUNT in full. Don't agree to let them "delete affected entries" or "update negative entries" in any way than a complete deletion. They can get quite creative and never have lied to you.

See how it's not open for interpretation by doing it that way?
Message Edited by OIFWoundedWarrior on 12-21-2008 10:53 AM

Useful information

Strong

Re: Collection agreed on 'pay for delete' then no action so far

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 19:34:22 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Guide to Common Abbreviations

This thread is the guide to the common abbreviations.

Yes, you contact the AG for your state. In addition I have heard that you can also contact the AG for the state the CA is located.

FTC is the Federal Trade Commission.

I hope that helps!
Message Edited by OIFWoundedWarrior on 12-21-2008 11:19 AM

Thank you!

Im writing this down

Strong