National Credit Systems - A Collection Nightmare

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone, been lurking on here for quite a bit, thought I would share the story of my phantom collection account and see if anyone had any insight or advice.

At the beginning of this year, all I had on my report was 4 years of student loan accounts that I still haven't paid a cent on. At 22, I recently started building a credit history in April by opening a small unsecured card with CapOne, and another small one with the credit union I work at.

It was around this time that I noticed a strange discrepancy in the two scores I got - Capital One gave me a TU Fico8 score of 634, while my Credit Union gave me an Experian Fico8 of 691. When I looked into it, it turned out there was a 2 year old $300 medical bill that was freshly reported to TU and EQ as collections that month. I had no physical evidence of it. By some miracle they never reported to Experian.

This is where the trouble started. I called the collectors, not disputing, not asking for validation, with my account number. I told them I never received any notice. They told me to call the doctor's office.

The woman at the doctor's office, who was actually very helpful, informed me that they only had a record of a late payment that was made that year, but nothing that should be in collections, let alone still due. She asked for a copy of the collection notice that she could use to contact them with so they could clear it up. Simple enough, right?

I contacted the collection agency, once again, not asking for validation, not uttering the word "dispute", simply asking for a notice, a bill, or anything. They flat out refused to send me a collection notice, told me my address, and claimed that they already sent me 5 notices, which is their "limit", the last of which was sent in 2016. When I tried to call them out on how ridiculous this was, they just put me on hold.

This is what I don't understand. I haven't seen any other people online encounter this. How do they even expect people to even pay them if they can't have a notice, a bill, or anything in writing? At that point they're just wrecking people's credit for no gain. Luckily I'm not in any urgent need to purchase anything on credit, I'm just trying to set myself up for an auto loan and maybe a rewards card down the line.

Is there any specific way I should proceed? Will a normal dispute through the TransUnion and Equifax websites work?

[RobertEG]

A debt collector is not required to send any prior notice to a consumer before reporting to a CRA.

They can immediately report after they have received collection authority, either by assignment from the current creditor, or by their purchase of the debt.

Thus, lack of prior notice is not basis for asserting removal of the collection.

FDCPA 809(a) requires a debt collector to send a collection ("dunning") notice within 5 days after an initial communication with the consumer.

While reporting to a CRA is not explicitly stated in section 809(a) as an action that triggers requirement to send dunning notice, some courts have interpreted the reporting to a CRA as being a form of "initial communication with the consumer" that does trigger requirement to send dunning notice.  It depends upon the relevant case law in your jurisdiction.

Nothwithstand the issue of whether they were required to have sent prior dunning notice, the debt collector is apparently asserting that they did send prior notice, so you have a factual issue that must be resolved should you assert that they have violated their dunning notice requirment.

The debt collector could, if they stick by their position that they sent prior dunning notice, hold any DV request that is now sent past 30 days from their dunning notice to be untimely, and thus that it imposes no cease collection bar on them.

However, even if you send a DV that is timely, it does not impose any requirement relating to deletion of their reported collection,and does not impose any period for or requirment to send validation.  It would impose a cease collection bar, which would remain in effect until such time as they chose to send validation.

A dispute sent to the CRAs, unlike a DV request, requires the identification of an asserted inaccuracy in their reporting.

If your basis is that you never received the asserted medical care, do you have some documentation to support that assertion, such as a confirmation from the doctor's office that you have no debt with them, and that they did not assign or sell and debt pertaining to you to any debt collector?

[Anonymous]

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@RobertEGdo you have some documentation to support that assertion, such as a confirmation from the doctor's office that you have no debt with them, and that they did not assign or sell and debt pertaining to you to any debt collector?

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The doctor's office confirmed to me that I had no debt with them. I did receive the care, but whatever is being reported was paid off before even reaching collections. Should I ask them to provide me with something in writing that says something to that effect?

[RobertEG]

Absolutely.

In order to have a collection, there must by definition be a delinquent debt at the time the debt collector asserts they obtained collection authority.  A showing that there was no delinquent debt thus evidences the lack of any legitimate collection authority, either by assignment or sale.

[JVille]

Does it occur to you that this is not yours? Why not just tell them you would be happy to pay them if they would just provide proof of what the debt is and that it is yours and still outstanding.....

Get in writing from the Doctors office that you have no outstanding bills with them and they have never turned you over to collections. To me this sounds like an error.

[Anonymous]

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@JVille wrote:
Does it occur to you that this is not yours? Why not just tell them you would be happy to pay them if they would just provide proof of what the debt is and that it is yours and still outstanding.....

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I gave that a shot, as I said before they have some sort of insane rule about not giving people notices. Most other debt collectors shove them down your throat, but these guys prefer the approach of secretly ruining credit reports. Seems like a terrible business model to me.

Thanks for the advice, I'll get in contact with the doctor so they can give me something in writing.