topic Re: OC Deleted Now CA is going to Sue HELP!! in Rebuilding Your Credit

OC Deleted Now CA is going to Sue HELP!!

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:03:10 GMT

Hi, I have been a viewer for a little over a year now and have had great success repairing my credit. Problem is I think I might have done too good a job. This Attorney Network tagged me b/c I got a new credit card.

I have just been informed of this matter today b/c they sent all the letters to an address that is 8 years old, so I of course did not receive them. Now they are going to sue on Friday if I don't pay the settlement amount of 2400+.

This account was charged off in march of 04 and I live in MN so it is NOT past the SOL. The Clout Financial credit card had a limit of 1500. Got charged off at 2400+ now after all the fees and interest it is up to 4900.

The question I have is the OC is M&I Bank (later bought out by BofA) and I disputed that with the EquiFax and it was deleted. Also, on all my credit reports this account has been deleted. I am sure I disputed it with a CA and it got deleted but I can't find any record of that. But like I was saying the OC was deleted and have no CA's for this account on any credit report.

Since the OC deleted it would that not get me out of responsibility for this debt? If I could find a CA deleting this account would that help since they sold it to another CA and they did not verify it? Does anybody know any good lawyers who are licensed in MN?

I might be grasping at straws here but any help would be greatly appreciated.

Re: OC Deleted Now CA is going to Sue HELP!!

techgirl — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:32:15 GMT

First, I would have them prove that the debt is indeed yours. I would also get the Suze Orman book - I think her show talks about old debt, but this debt is only 4 years old. If they can prove it is yours, then I would write a letter to them PIF and delete all record for full payment or payments.... I don't know any good lawyers out there - sorry.

Hope this helped.

Re: OC Deleted Now CA is going to Sue HELP!!

techgirl — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:36:33 GMT

If they serve you with papers, be sure you Respond and show up for the hearing and make them prove it is your bill.... I am sure they will want to work something out with you, going throug that process and then trying to garnish your wages etc is expensive and even if they get a Judgment they can't make you pay - but then it messes up your credit score - you don't want that. I have a Judgment on someone and I doubt I will ever get payment from it.... their scores are in the 400s and they own nothing...

I am not a lawyer...

Re: OC Deleted Now CA is going to Sue HELP!!

techgirl — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:43:29 GMT

Check out this website: http://www.suzeorman.com/igsbase/igstemplate.cfm?src=MD012&SRCN=aoedetails&GnavID=84&SnavID=20&TnavID=&AreasofExpertiseID=19

Re: OC Deleted Now CA is going to Sue HELP!!

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:45:49 GMT

Hmm, FireFox does not work when trying to reply to your message. Had to go to IE

You don't think it would have any bearing that the original OC was deleted. I did all I was supposed to and now they sue me? They have not sent me papers even proving it is a valid debt. Why are they not giving proper time for due process now that they know my correct address?

If it does go to court do you think the full bill of $4900 would hold up? I think there is also a way to get a judgement and then have it come off once its paid or something like that? Maybe someone could extrapolate on that.

Anyways, thanks for your help. I would be willing to pay the settlement amount but they need it in full by Friday. I cant get together 2500 by then.l That is just simply ridiculous.

Anymore help from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Re: OC Deleted Now CA is going to Sue HELP!!

techgirl — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 23:08:55 GMT

Yes, I do - that is why they should prove you owe it. Anything you can come up with otherwise would be advisable. Also, call your local courthouse and find out when the SOL is up and maybe they can give you name of a lawyer in your area. After reading the Suze Orman some SOLs are up after 4 to 5 years....

Re: OC Deleted Now CA is going to Sue HELP!!

tmacar — Sat, 24 May 2008 19:17:35 GMT

Baseline,

In case this issue is still ongoing -

Whether or not a debt is on your credit report has nothing to do with whether or not you can be held liable for the debt.

However, time does have something to do with it. Each state has a time limit on bringing a civil suit against someone. Check what that limit is in your state. If, for example, it is 3 years, and the debt in question went delinquent 3 years and one day ago, nobody can sue you for it even though they'll often threaten to do so.

Be aware, however, that the SOL for lawsuits has no effect on credit reporting. Bad debt listings are supposed to go away 7 years after the Date of Last Activity, which is USUALLY the same as the debt's Date of Last Payment. But if the creditor sells the debt to another company, that new owner gets to list it on your reported and a new 7 year clock starts. Theoretically, if it is never paid, a debt could stay on your reports literally forever. Of course it's unlikely that the every owner could keep on finding a new buyer; I'm pretty sure that when a debt reaches some certain age nobody will want to purchase it anymore.

Is this debt already on your report? If not, if the original listing is gone, be aware that the current owner can list it. In fact, even if you pay them they can still list it. And they'd probably list it as a collection, the worst kind of listing you can get for an account. Also, if you "settle", they can note in the listing that you paid less than the full amount.

If they have not yet listed it, try to get them to agree, in writing, NOT to report the debt to the credit bureaus in return for your paying them. If it's past the SOL, so they can't sue you, they MIGHT be willing to agree, just to get the money.

By the way, if it IS past the limit, and they try to sue you anyway, you just ask the court to dismiss the case because they did not bring suit within the time frame required by that state's laws.

Another option, especially if it is still soon enough for them to really sue you, is to offer full payment in return for their not reporting the account or, if they've already reported it, in return for them deleting the collection listing from your credit reports. Many customer service operators will say that it is illegal, or that their company never does that, or something similar. In many cases, the operator thinks that this is the truth. But it is not. Almost any collection company will agree to s deletion in return for full payment, because it gets them more money with no more effort. But you may have to get to a supervisor or a manager before you get someone who has the necessary authority.

If you do get an agreement to not report in return for settling, or an agreement to delete in return for full payment, make sure you have it in writing before paying. If the agreement is to delete a collection, make sure it says "collection account", NOT "trade line". If the agreement is to not report in the first place, make sure it says "trade line and/or collection account". and make sure a time frame and exact amount are mentioned for a deletion, something like "creditor agrees to delete the collection account listing for this account from all 3 of debtor's credit reports, immediately upon receipt of verified funds in the amount of $XXX.XX."

Remember, a collection hurts your score worse than any other type of account, and even if you pay it, it remains on your reports for 7 years after the Date of Last Activity on the original debt. And THAT is only if it is being collected for the original creditor. If the original creditor sold the debt, then the new owner gets a new start date for that 7 year period. Because the negative effect of a collection is so very severe, and because it can last so long, it is most often well worth the extra money spent on a payment in full, if you can get an agreement to either not report or to delete the existing report.

Good luck.

Re: OC Deleted Now CA is going to Sue HELP!!

Anonymous — Mon, 26 May 2008 01:28:08 GMT

If the OC deleted it and the CA is suing I would say that the CA owns the debt.

Nothing gets you out of the responsibilty for paying your debts.

tmacar wrote:

But if the creditor sells the debt to another company, that new owner gets to list it on your reported and a new 7 year clock starts. Theoretically, if it is never paid, a debt could stay on your

This is NOT a true statement. Selling a debt to another agency does NOT restart the 7 year time period. That 7 years is based on the DOFD and is determined by the OC. IT CAN NOT BE CHANGED. If the DOFD was 2001 it will remain 2001 even if the debt changes hands 100 times.

Message Edited by guiness56 on 05-25-2008 06:28 PM

Re: OC Deleted Now CA is going to Sue HELP!!

tmacar — Mon, 26 May 2008 01:48:56 GMT

Guinness,

Sorry, but yes, it IS a true statement. If a collection company is working for the original creditor, their entry on your report has to expire acccording to the dates on the original debt. BUT if the debt gets sold, another rule seems to apply.

I've gotten stuck with something staying on my report longer than it should be based on the original account's dates, AND I've been flat out informed by a law firm that does nothing but debt related things (negotiating payments, repairing the credit report, etc.)that if the original creditor sells a still unpaid debt before the original 7 years is up, the new owner gets a new starting date.

I think it stinks, but think about it - If a debt is over about 3 years old, I don't think there's a state in the union where the debtor could still be sued (I THINK that's the longest SOL for civil matters, but I'm not sure).

The ONLY leverage a creditor has after that is threatening your credit via your credit report. If a new owner couldn't report the debt past the expiration of the original 7 year date, nobody would buy a debt that was more than 5 or maybe 5 1/2 years old, but companies DO buy debts that old. And we all know that the creditor companies really control what gets passed in Congress - just look at the current bankruptcy law.

Meanwhile, despite the fact that I've been told all this by a law firm that ought to be expert in the area, I've decided I'm going to get a copy of the FCRA and do my own research. If it turns out that new owners DO have to live with the original expiration date, I'll post it here. I HOPE that I DO find that out - it'll help me get rid of something on my report.

Re: OC Deleted Now CA is going to Sue HELP!!

tmacar — Mon, 26 May 2008 01:50:52 GMT

guinness,

ps: HOW do you get red type into the reply? I don't see a way to tell the reply thing to use HTML, for instance.

Re: OC Deleted Now CA is going to Sue HELP!!

Anonymous — Mon, 26 May 2008 02:54:19 GMT

tmacar...maybe you should look back at your reports...you might need to do some disputes for re-aging...if the OC has sold the account to a CA...both should have the same drop off dates...I have two accounts..with the OC..and the CA reporting...and both have the same drop off dates...and these debts were sold 2+ years after the DOFD...

Re: OC Deleted Now CA is going to Sue HELP!!

tmacar — Mon, 26 May 2008 03:09:06 GMT

slyhouse,

What I've been told by the lawyers is that if the collection agency is handling the collection on behalf of the original creditor, the original dates apply.

But if the collection agency (or someone else - the CA might be working for a 2nd owner) has actually bought the debt, they get a new date, I think when they bought it, is my memory serves.

Then there's an even worse issue - I have a collection agency (they owned the debt, having bought it from the original creditor)using the date I paid THEM as the Date of Last Activity. If that's legal, I'm stuck with the account on my report until December 2012, when the original debt went delinquent in September 2001.

THAT is the largest reason I've decided to try to find a copy of the actual FCRA and find out for myself what dates legally have to be used.

Re: OC Deleted Now CA is going to Sue HELP!!

Anonymous — Mon, 26 May 2008 16:15:05 GMT

The date you paid them would be the DOLA...but the drop of date goes by the DOFD...DOLA determines the amount of time they have to sue you before SOL...and my account were SOLD to the CA..and the drop of dates are THE SAME...when you paid them..you reset the SOL...not the drop off date...

Message Edited by slyhouse08 on 05-26-2008 09:15 AM

Re: OC Deleted Now CA is going to Sue HELP!!

Anonymous — Mon, 26 May 2008 04:32:30 GMT

All of this is untrue. You might benefit from reading the FCRA and the FDCPA. Google them.

FCRA is very clear in stating that the DOFD can not be changed, regardless of how many times the debt has been sold. It is also very clear in stating the fact that this DOFD is the date that determines how long it stays on your CR.

It is not uncommon to find that a lot of individuals, even an attorney, do not know the laws.

DOFD and DOLA are not the same thing. If the account in question went delinquent in 2001 it should come off your report in 2008. It does not matter when you paid the CA and yes, that would be the date of last activity, but it has NOTHING to do with when it comes off your report.

If they are using that date to make it stay on your CR longer, it is considered re-aging and is a violation of the FCRA.

Where are you getting these dates from? The CR should show a drop off date.

Also, I have no clue on how to be able to use colored fonts. I am at work and it gives me different options than my computer at home. At home I can convert to HTML and that is all. I think it has to do with the fact I use a different web browser.

Re: OC Deleted Now CA is going to Sue HELP!!

jmbfl — Mon, 26 May 2008 08:46:25 GMT

It is right there for all to see: Font Name - Font Size - A. The "A" is a menu of font colors. Select the type you want to change the color of and you have it.

Now that that is settled - what the attorney told you is total bunk!

Re: OC Deleted Now CA is going to Sue HELP!!

tmacar — Mon, 26 May 2008 13:05:08 GMT

Guinness - And everyone else.

I finally found the actual FCRA, and found something very surprising.

We are ALL wrong (at least partly). AND I found out how they've gotten away with changing the date that starts the 7 years. Don't have enough time now to explain, I'll post it a;ll later today.

Re: OC Deleted Now CA is going to Sue HELP!!

tmacar — Mon, 26 May 2008 13:26:36 GMT

jmbfl,

God, I hate to seem dumb.

Actually, I know what you're talking about - I have that "A" in a toolbar when I'm using my email. But I don't have it anywhere when I'm NOT in email. Can it be that I need to change toolbars? I had to do that once in the past when something I wanted to do was not on the "Navigation" tool bar that I normally use (I'm using Firefox, by the way). I don't see any text controlling stuff on the other toolbars I can put up, and I don't see them in the list of other things I can add to toolbars.

At least not when I'm here, in the FICO FORUM "reply" thing. I DO have text control icons when I'm in G-Mail, but that doesn't help me here.

BUT - I posted this, then clicked "edit" to fix a couple typos. And I saw some HTML coding. So maybe just putting the HTML coding in as you type in the reply box will work. I'm trying it right now. If the word EDIT in the first sentence of this paragraph comes out with quotation marks around it, it works. Then I just have to look up the coding for red colored text, since I don't remember what it is.

Message Edited by tmacar on 05-26-2008 06:26 AM

Re: OC Deleted Now CA is going to Sue HELP!!

tmacar — Mon, 26 May 2008 13:55:37 GMT

jmbfl,

THIS IS A TEST.......

Seriously, I'm going to try assuming that this reply thing automatically reads and applies HTML coding to the text, and all one has to do is type it in as one goes along.

Code for changing color, by the way, in case anyone wants it is:

Open the command by typing a less than sign, followed immediately (no space) by "font color=", followed immediately (no space) by the color you want, in quotation marks, followed immediately by a greater than sign.

Close the command and go back to black by typing the less than sign, followed immediately by a forward slash, followed immediately by the word "font", followed immediately by a greater than sign. "Followed immediately" always means no space.

If all this works like I hope it will, the sentence I'm typing right now will come out red in color.

So - is it red? And has it changed back to black? I guess I'll find out in a few seconds, after I hit the submit button.

Message Edited by tmacar on 05-26-2008 06:51 AM

Message Edited by tmacar on 05-26-2008 06:53 AM

Message Edited by tmacar on 05-26-2008 06:55 AM

Re: OC Deleted Now CA is going to Sue HELP!!

Anonymous — Mon, 26 May 2008 18:42:32 GMT

I don't know what you found but, this is from the FCRA:

(c) Running of Reporting Period
(1) In general. The 7-year period referred to in paragraphs (4) and (6)
(a) of subsection
(a) shall begin, with respect to any delinquent account that is placed for collection
(internally or by referral to a third party, whichever is earlier), charged to profit and loss, or subjected to any similar action, upon the expiration of the 180-day period
beginning on the date of the commencement of the delinquency which immediately
preceded the collection activity, charge to profit and loss, or similar action.

Re: OC Deleted Now CA is going to Sue HELP!!

Anonymous — Mon, 26 May 2008 19:26:52 GMT

So, it's approximately six months after the DOFD? or DOLA?