Clarifying logic behind OC instead of CA

[Anonymous]

I want to make sure I understand the logic behind paying the OC instead of the CA. I have 2 collection accounts with local utility companies. I called them because of advice from this board, and they told me i could pay them and they would report the debt as paid to the CA. My questioin is, why would I pay the OC when the CA is the one reporting it? Is the idea that if you pay the OC, then you can dispute the CA report because you never paid THEM? I mean can a CA update a collection to report as paid if they weren't the one to receive the payment? I want the collections GONE, and PFD to the OC doesn't seem to be the way. If I pay the OC then dispute the CA as not mine, since I don't owe them any money, is that the idea? I have no problem paying and both companies said they would accept payment from me. I'm afraid that if I pay the OC that I won't have any way of persuading the CA to remove, but everyone here says that you always pay the OC. I'm not sure what to do...

[Anonymous]

The main logic here is this-

If the CA does not own the debt 99% of the time they can not delete it-

The OC has the delete power- they just have to tell the CA it was sent to them by mistake- and they delete.

You are PFDing the OC- The OC gets paid in full - agreeing to remove the CA.

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orhippychic wrote:

I want to make sure I understand the logic behind paying the OC instead of the CA. I have 2 collection accounts with local utility companies. I called them because of advice from this board, and they told me i could pay them and they would report the debt as paid to the CA. My questioin is, why would I pay the OC when the CA is the one reporting it? Is the idea that if you pay the OC, then you can dispute the CA report because you never paid THEM? I mean can a CA update a collection to report as paid if they weren't the one to receive the payment? I want the collections GONE, and PFD to the OC doesn't seem to be the way. If I pay the OC then dispute the CA as not mine, since I don't owe them any money, is that the idea? I have no problem paying and both companies said they would accept payment from me. I'm afraid that if I pay the OC that I won't have any way of persuading the CA to remove, but everyone here says that you always pay the OC. I'm not sure what to do...

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[Anonymous]

ok that makes sense i guess, but what do I do when I call the CA and they tell me they don't have any info other than my name and the amount, and that I need to call the OC? Then I call one OC and they have no data because they switched to new computer system, but if I pay they will tell the CA that I paid. The other OC had the info but said the same thing. I feel like I'm getting ping-ponged back and forth. I could pay either the OC or the CA at this point but I don't know who has the power to remove it. Should I PFD both? Ack!

[Anonymous]

First - Never call the CA

PFD the OC and dispute the CA.

[Anonymous]

I swear i'm not trying to be contrary, but there seems to be a divergence of opinion on the board so I'm hoping to get some more input. I did a search to see if I could fine a PFD letter to an OC that worked, and I found several threads in which it is suggested that you PFD whoever is reporting the debt. In my case that would be the CA. Those comments actually came from Tuscani on more than one thread. Help!

[Anonymous]

bump

[Ausfarm]

If the CA is reporting it, I think you should PFD the CA.  It's only if you get no response from the CA, should you alternatively pay the OC. 

The only other situation that I can think of where you should pay the OC is when you receive the  original collection letter from the CA.  When that occurs, I think it's best to pay the OC in full and dispute the CA w/in the 30 days you have to DV the debt.  The idea is that the CA can't verify or report b/c the debt it is paid.   

Seeing as the collection is being reported, sounds like you're not in that situation.  Who is the CA?  Have you searched on their name and PFD?  If you can't find anything on the forums, try googling the same information.  You can find out people's success rate w/ the CA that way.

[Anonymous]

the CA is a local company Cascade Collections with 1 office here in Salem. most people on this board would have never heard of them. they mostly handle local utility and medical collections. It seems to me that PFD the CA is the best choice in this particular situation, but there is so much good info floating around this board that I want to hear all sides before I decide what to do. These collections are new enough that removal of them will likely increase my score a lot, and would remove the "recent collections" flag from my reports. very important to me so I want to be careful.

[Ausfarm]

I can answer one of your questions.  If you pay the OC, the CA can/will update to reflect a paid status.  It doesn't matter that you paid the OC rather than CA.  Often times in the agreements between the OC and CA, the OC has to agree that even if they are paid directly they'll send the CA their percentage.  The OC will notify the CA and the CA should update your report.

That said, there's actually one other alternative that I'm testing out w/ my fiance.  We've actually asked the OC (and they agreed) to pull/withdraw the account from the CA.  Once we're confidant that the account has been pulled, we're going to dispute.  B/c the CA will no longer have the account we're betting they won't be ablel to verify the debt and (crossing-our-fingers) it'll be deleted.  We just got the OC to agree today.  Still waiting on them to fax us the agreement. 

Perhaps, you should call the OC, ask if they're willing to withdraw the account from the collection agency and you'll pay them in monthly installments.  There are factors that will probably affect this like (1) whether made an effort to pay them in the past and (2) how long the account's been in collection.  If they just sent it to collection, they'll probably be more willing to pull it back.

[Anonymous]

I aready spoke with OC and the most they'll do is report it to the CA as paid. That's why i'm thinking PFD the CA is best. The total of the 2 debts is less than $200 so I plan to PIF.