How do I know if a collection was put on me?

[MeCasa]

I have an account with 0 late payments and 0 collections until I got in a fight with Verizon ovr whether $76 was actually owed. I moved to T-Mobile and Verizon charged me for a number they assigned my account after I moved the original number. I was adamant that I didn't ask for a number to be assigned and took for granted that after 15 years of paying bills on time they should grant me this argument. So I blacklisted their emails and ignored the snail mail (half were spam anyway) and moved on with life.

They granted me nothing and one day I log into Chase (Credit Journey) and my score was down 100 points! and the only change said "update Verizon".  I called Verizon and the gave me the name of Convergence  and I flipped out. Convergence said they were hired to collect debt and filed the collection and I flipped out worse. I was ready to dispute but when I added up how much time it would take talking to 3 credit bureaus I decided it was cheaper to pay.

Then I studied my credit report .......it still said 0 collections and 0 late payments

Is there a 'semi collection' to force me to pay without hurting me or is a hammer going to fall

I want my credit back, it is not right to pay bills my entire life and me slammed over $76 that was not actually owed....in my opinion.

Mike

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

Your score shouldn't drop if there's no collections. Utilities don't report. So if there's a score drop, something was reported. 

That being said, one thing I've learned here is fighting utilities, especially communications, is an almost futile process. They rarely back down and they don't recall the debt. I would negotiate with convergent to pay in exchange for not reporting. If they've already started reporting, try negotiating pay for delete. Unfortunately, I don't remember if convergent does either, but I'm sure someone here can confirm. 

[MeCasa]

Convergent cannot delete the collections because they don't own the debt.....Verizon does.

[MeCasa]

They dropped my credit score a full 100 points  :-(

But the lady at Convergent gave me indications that if it is settled in less than 30 days I should be OK. I wonder if Verizon has a way of affecting our credit without actually putting the collection on record?

[MeCasa]

I called TransUnuion and they said that utilities cannot put you into collection but Convergent can. I don't know how that works but it sure sounds that utilities CAN put us in collection and report it.

Next question: How can I get it off of there?

I hate this suff  :-(

[FireMedic1]

Welcome @MeCasa 

You kinda admitted you owed it and didnt want to pay and ignored them. Verizon has an internal collections agency and if they eventually dont get paid. They turn it over. The only time cell folks place things on credit reports is in situations like this. Question is. Did you or did you not port your number? If you did port your number. You could file a complaint with the CFPB for being charged for something you didnt get. The new number.

[MeCasa]

I called them this evening and through myself at their mercy. I told them that I thought I had earned more good will than that and I 'possibly' deserved a whooping but that was overkill. I'm 68 years old and will possibly be dead before the 7 years they were talking.

Luckily I talked to two vwer nice women and both told me the same thing (called dropped on first call).

I hit the criteria for mercy and they were going to forward me to a department called recovery that had the power to remove the dealie and let me live my life in peace. They even gave me the direct number of thr 'Recovery" people and this was only possible since I settled the debt quickly (after they filed)

I feel better but won't know for sure till tomorrow. I learned a lesson. I was pissed off because they assigned me a new number but under different circumstances I might have been pissed if they did not assign me a number to keep my account open.......I see the point and paid the debt. Even so, so many years of paying bills on time and having NO late payments should not be overshadowed by $76 owed. They never should have done this to me.

Mike

[FireMedic1]

@MeCasaEverything is run by computers. Good Luck in your GW.

[MeCasa]

Made the call this morning and they said Verizon does not delete collections. I agree that the computer put me into collections but these are people now. I'm 68 and I want to borrow some money to help my Granddaughter through college. Most of my money is tied up in a rather large home and investments that are hard to break ...I'm cash poor  :-(

That was a computer that put me in collection but these are human beings now and I'm not even sure I owe the money.

A supervisor is going to call me within 48 hours. I'll take any help I can before I talk to supervisor

Mike

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

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@MeCasa wrote:

Convergent cannot delete the collections because they don't own the debt.....Verizon does.

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You're misunderstanding....Convergent can report to the bureaus. They also can choose to not report, or delete the reporting. Verizon owning the debt has no impact on that except for one instance. Verizon recalling the debt would remove their authority to report to the bureaus and all traces would have to be removed.