Crazy Collections Reporting Question

[Keith_Strohm]

   Hey All!

   Before I found MYFico, I had signed up with Credit Expert's Credit Watch program. I was just checking the full report from them and comparing it to the info that comes from MyFico's stuff, and I stumbled on something that seems a little crazy to me.

   According to the report I downloaded through Credit Expert (I pulled it from all 3 CRA's), only Equifax is reporting that I have a Medical Collection that was opened in 1/1/2001 for $234. The weird thing is, when I checked on the reports I bought from MyFico, the $234 collection was reported by TU and EX and NOT by EQ. What's more, the MYFico reports list an Account Open date of 04/07.

   Now, I didn't really catch this discrepancy before, as I do have a Medical Collectiond for $279 that I've been dealing with recently. The date opened for that (according to MyFico CRA reports) is 04/07.

   So, now I'm wonderig how to proceed. I've tried to deal with the OC before on the $279 account and they were unwilling to pull it away from collections even though I wanted to pat the OC in full for deletion. Should I contact the OC and verify the actual date the $234 account went to collections? Should I DV the CA and see if that will take care of the ding on my rating? Shouldn't the account fall off my report soon if it was opened in 2001? Why is it reporting only on EQ in the Credit Expert version of my credit reports and the reverse (reporting on TU and EX, and not reporting on EQ) on MyFico's?

   Your thoughts on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated. 

[Keith_Strohm]

*Bump*

[azsassycat]

The "Account Open Date" of April 2007 may be the date the CA first starting reporting the collection account to the CRAs - not the date the account became deliquent.

Also, I've noticed different accounts on my reports depending on where I pull them from.  The most accurate reports come from MYFICO or from the CRAs themselves.

***Before you start sending DV or PFD letters be sure to check the SOL in your state of residence and the state in which the debt occured.***  You don't want to be surprised with a lawsuit.

If the OC won't work with you - send a DV letter to the CA who is reporting the account.  They may not validate; especially if the account is very old.  If they do validate, send a PFD letter to the CA.  They'll probably accept.  If they don't respond favorabily to your PFD letter, I'd just wait for the account to fall off in, give or take, November 2008.

Let us know if you have more questions.

Cathleen

[Keith_Strohm]

   Thanks for the advice. I can't believe that a CA would report an account to the CRA's 6 years after it was opened. This wasn't a regular revolving account, but a discrete bill.

   Anyway, I will follow up on your advice.

   Exactly who do I send the DV to? Should I just send it to the CA's address without knowing a specific contact name? Also, is there a website I can find WA state's OL?

   Keith 

[Anonymous]

Cathleen- You have become quite the expert in a short time-

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azsassycat wrote:

The "Account Open Date" of April 2007 may be the date the CA first starting reporting the collection account to the CRAs - not the date the account became deliquent.

Also, I've noticed different accounts on my reports depending on where I pull them from.  The most accurate reports come from MYFICO or from the CRAs themselves.

***Before you start sending DV or PFD letters be sure to check the SOL in your state of residence and the state in which the debt occured.***  You don't want to be surprised with a lawsuit.

If the OC won't work with you - send a DV letter to the CA who is reporting the account.  They may not validate; especially if the account is very old.  If they do validate, send a PFD letter to the CA.  They'll probably accept.  If they don't respond favorabily to your PFD letter, I'd just wait for the account to fall off in, give or take, November 2008.

Let us know if you have more questions.

Cathleen

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[Keith_Strohm]

   Okay, I did some more checking. Apparently, the CA says that I paid this account sometime in September of 2007 and it is closed. Now, I don't remember paying this account, but that doesn't matter--I could just be losing my memory.

   If I paid the account in 2007, does that mean it won't fall off my report until 2014? Or,since it was opened in 2001, will it still fall off in 08? Should I still DV or a this point, am I in GW territory?

   Keith

[Anonymous]

I will drop off in 08

I have heard several sucess stories on people sending DV letters on paid collections-

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Keith_Strohm wrote:

   Okay, I did some more checking. Apparently, the CA says that I paid this account sometime in September of 2007 and it is closed. Now, I don't remember paying this account, but that doesn't matter--I could just be losing my memory.

   If I paid the account in 2007, does that mean it won't fall off my report until 2014? Or,since it was opened in 2001, will it still fall off in 08? Should I still DV or a this point, am I in GW territory?

   Keith

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[Karma2678]

I know I am new to this board, but I am a long time member a other credit related boards.

What I would do at this point is to send the CA a DV letter CMRRR (certified mail return receipt). Once you get back the green card stating the CA has received the DV letter I would then dispute with the CRA's.   It seems likely that the 1-2 punch would work well for this account. As it is highly unlikely that the CA is going to waste their time validating the debt or reporting to the CRA's for a paid collection. This should end up being deleted from your credit files.

In the future I would remember to always get a settlement agreement before paying a CA. Most of the time you can get them to send you a written statement promising to delete upon receipt of payment. Make sure they just don't tell you they will on the phone, make them put it in writing.

Also, if you are looking to correct inaccuracies on your credit files I would start out by pulling hard copies of your credit files with all 3 major bureaus. MyFico is great about pulling your FICO scores, but you really also need a hard copy of your reports so that you can get a complete look at what's on your file. I just pulled my 3 FICO scores and noticed that much of the details regarding the account are not listed on the reports I get from MyFico, so I was glad I also had a hard copy to refer to. However, it is necessary to pull your reports here at MYFICO too because its the only way you will see a true fico score. The other bureaus have their own scoring model which is different and not used by creditors.

Hope this helps you out some!

[Karma2678]

I know I am new to this board, but I am a long time member a other credit related boards.

What I would do at this point is to send the CA a DV letter CMRRR (certified mail return receipt). Once you get back the green card stating the CA has received the DV letter I would then dispute with the CRA's.   It seems likely that the 1-2 punch would work well for this account. As it is highly unlikely that the CA is going to waste their time validating the debt or reporting to the CRA's for a paid collection. This should end up being deleted from your credit files.

In the future I would remember to always get a settlement agreement before paying a CA. Most of the time you can get them to send you a written statement promising to delete upon receipt of payment. Make sure they just don't tell you they will on the phone, make them put it in writing.

Also, if you are looking to correct inaccuracies on your credit files I would start out by pulling hard copies of your credit files with all 3 major bureaus. MyFico is great about pulling your FICO scores, but you really also need a hard copy of your reports so that you can get a complete look at what's on your file. I just pulled my 3 FICO scores and noticed that much of the details regarding the account are not listed on the reports I get from MyFico, so I was glad I also had a hard copy to refer to. However, it is necessary to pull your reports here at MYFICO too because its the only way you will see a true fico score. The other bureaus have their own scoring model which is different and not used by creditors.

Hope this helps you out some!