Collection Agency pulling credit

[Anonymous]

Hello all, first post here and just started using MyFICO about a week ago...on the long road to credit recovery. The reason I'm posting is that I called a collection agency, professional credit services, earlier today to ask if they would delete a settled account off my report as it's been paid in full. Of course they said no, quite rudely intact, but not long after the phone call I noticed an inquiry on my report which I refreshed today. I didn't think they could pull my credit unless I owed them money, am I wrong?

[Anonymous]

If you don't owe them any money, and your account with them is closed,  they should not be pulling your report.

File a complaint with the FTC and the BBB.

[PBAJ]

I would dispute it with whichever bureau you have it on EX EQ or TU. The credit agency is the only one that can remove it off of your report. I have had good success doing it that way. I would also explain in the dispute what they did and 9 times out of 10 they will take it off. If they do not wait about a month or so and dispute it again.

[RobertEG]

+1

Permissible purpose is provided under FCRA 604 for a party to pull your CR for the purpose of collecting on a debt.

Once a debt that was under collection is paid, the debt no longer exists, and thus the collection authority of the debt collector automatically terminates.

With that, so does their permissible purpose of collecting on a debt.

If they do so, the debt collector must have provided an incorrect permissible purpose to the CRA, asserting they were still collecting on a debt that no longer exists.

File a dispute with the CRA over accuracy of an inquiry in your credit file, with the basis of the dispute being thier lack of permissible purpose under FCRA 604 to have accessed your credit report.

[p-]

File a dispute, and consider freezing your credit.  That will prevent them, or anyone else from adding a hard inquiry while you are repairing.

[Anonymous]

Freezing only stops those that you do not currently have credit and or collections with..  If a CA holds a debt, whether it is reporting or not, they would still have PP to do so.   You can't apply for new credit unless you unfreeze them

[p-]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Freezing only stops those that you do not currently have credit and or collections with..  If a CA holds a debt, whether it is reporting or not, they would still have PP to do so.   You can't apply for new credit unless you unfreeze them 

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I didn't know that.  When they try to inquire, does it stop and notify them, or just immediately add the inquiry to your file?  Even if legally they have PP, wil freeze not affect it at all?

[Anonymous]

A freeze only stops new creditors from obtaining your CR.  Your existing creditors, including CAs, still have access.  No a freeze would not affect them at all.

This is from EX:

A security freeze generally does not apply to circumstances in which you have an existing account relationship and a copy of your report is requested by your existing creditor or its agents or affiliates for certain types of account review, collection, fraud control or similar activities.

From EQ:

Keep in mind that even with a Security Freeze, your credit file will still be disclosed in certain situations. For example, companies that you do business with (such as your mortgage, credit card, or cell phone company) will still have access to your credit report, as would collection agencies that are working for one of those companies.

[p-]

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guiness56 wrote:  A freeze only stops new creditors from obtaining your CR.  Your existing creditors, including CAs, still have access.  No a freeze would not affect them at all.

This is from EX:

A security freeze generally does not apply to circumstances in which you have an existing account relationship and a copy of your report is requested by your existing creditor or its agents or affiliates for certain types of account review, collection, fraud control or similar activities.

From EQ:

Keep in mind that even with a Security Freeze, your credit file will still be disclosed in certain situations. For example, companies that you do business with (such as your mortgage, credit card, or cell phone company) will still have access to your credit report, as would collection agencies that are working for one of those companies.

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I'm curious how it works internally at the CRA.  I would assume that if credit is frozen, not all requests for inquiry are honored.  The assumtion is that they would have to pass some sort of hurdle, such as a matching open account.  In the OP's situation, the account is closed, settled, and no money is owed.  Is that really still a permissable purpose?

[Anonymous]

No, as I stated in my first post, they do not have PP and should not be pulling OPs report.