Collections - help?

[tleventer]

Ran hubby's credit last week and was surprised that it actually isn't hateful given the foreclosure.  However, there are 2 collections on the report.  Can someone give me a primer of the steps to take to get those removed?  Do you pay the collection agency or the original payee (aka Sprint who holds the larger of the 2) and how does it get removed from your CR?

Thanks!!

[Anonymous]

If he legitimately owes those debts, he should pay the collection agency in full-- see if you can negotiate a payment in full in exchange for a deletion off his credit (in writing).  Your husband will need to contact the collection agencies first and give you power of attorney to discuss the account, otherwise they will not talk to you.

For something like a phone bill, it's highly likely that the debt was sold.  I'd suggest verifying that the agency is still the assignee/purchaser of the account, in order to avoid an issue of paying one collection agency, only to find that it was actually sold to another.

[tleventer]

Thanks.  That was teh concern... paying the folks directly only to find out that it was sold OR paying the collection agency only to find out that the originator is the one who has to take the line off the credit report.

[MarineVietVet]

Concerning any collection you need to find out if the OC (Original Creditor) has assigned the account to a CA or has sold it. If the account has only been assigned sometimes the OC will work with you.

From a BK years ago to:

9/09 EX pulled by lender 802
3/10 EQ- 800
4/10 TU -772

You can do the same thing with hard work

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[tleventer]

So have hubby contact the OC (aka sprint) and simply ask about it?  Do they have to be honest?  Sorry but the pessimistic side of me worries that they'll say they own it only to collect the couple hundred he owes them even if they don't.

[MarineVietVet]

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@tleventer wrote:

So have hubby contact the OC (aka sprint) and simply ask about it?  Do they have to be honest?  Sorry but the pessimistic side of me worries that they'll say they own it only to collect the couple hundred he owes them even if they don't.

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Calling would be the quickest way. I can't say how honest they would be. I respect your cynicism though.

There is another way you can tell if the OC still owns the account. Pull a free credit report from annualcreditreport.com. If it shows the OC with a balance of $0 then you will know it's been sold. The OC cannot show a balance at the same time a CA does.

From a BK years ago to:

9/09 EX pulled by lender 802
3/10 EQ- 800
4/10 TU -772

You can do the same thing with hard work

Credit Scoring 101
Common Abbreviations
Frequently Requested Threads
Whats In Your FICO Score

[Anonymous]

The OC has to be honest with who they assigned/sold the debt to.   Once it is sold though, it can change hands fairly quickly without your knowledge.   Usually your credit report will reflect who it was sold/assigned to, as it will show under the OC "Sold/transferred to another lender", or in the case of the collection agency mark, if it was assigned, it will reflect "assignee of OC" or  if it was sold "OC: Creditor name".  I'm not sure if the credit report you are pulling shows that, but I'm fairly certain the free government annual credit report does.

What I've seen is that on large cell carriers, they will sell the debt to one agency, and if the bill is significant, the agencies usually don't resell it.  If they do, it happens before they begin reporting on your credit.  YMMV though.  How old is the debt, and what is the amount?

Also, congratulations on repairing your credit and getting your husband on the right track to becoming debt free!

[tleventer]

I have the printed report in front of me and yes, it does list a collection agency and says that the agency was hired to collect the debt.  However, "701yc00488" is the name of an agency???   Or "682yc04711"?  (yes he has 2 - grumble).  Assigned on Oct 2009 and May 2009 with last active dates of March 2006 and Feb 2007 respectively.  How do you find out how to contact the agencies?

[Anonymous]

In the annual credit report and under the collection agency reporting name is their subscriber number, you can corroborate that subscriber number/code with the telephone numbers listed with all of the subscribers who have requested your credit report in the past.  I've never heard of an agency with a weird name like that, looks like some kind of computer error.  Best would be to give the OC's collection department a call, good luck!

[MarineVietVet]

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@tleventer wrote:

I have the printed report in front of me and yes, it does list a collection agency and says that the agency was hired to collect the debt.  However, "701yc00488" is the name of an agency???   Or "682yc04711"?  (yes he has 2 - grumble).  Assigned on Oct 2009 and May 2009 with last active dates of March 2006 and Feb 2007 respectively.  How do you find out how to contact the agencies?

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Is this a report from a third party site or a full report from one of the CRA sites or annualcreditreport.com? Usually the full reports will have the name of the CA although I think (could be wrong) that if it is a medical collection the information will be scrambled like that.  Don't hold me to that though.

The OC could still tell you who it is and just because it says a CA was hired to collect does not mean the account was sold. There is still a chance it was simply assigned. Ask the OC.

From a BK years ago to:

9/09 EX pulled by lender 802
3/10 EQ- 800
4/10 TU -772

You can do the same thing with hard work

Credit Scoring 101
Common Abbreviations
Frequently Requested Threads
Whats In Your FICO Score