Random collection on my report today....

[Sheridan]

So I get a Score Watch alert today a a $258 LVNV collection is now reporting but my score also increased by 1 point. I always thought any new ding on your report would cause a decreased FICO. The bad part is that I really don't know what this collection is coming from. I have been really, really good this past year and my score just seems to keep going up no matter what happens! Lol

[Anonymous]

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@Sheridan wrote:
So I get a Score Watch alert today a a $258 LVNV collection is now reporting but my score also increased by 1 point. I always thought any new ding on your report would cause a decreased FICO. The bad part is that I really don't know what this collection is coming from. I have been really, really good this past year and my score just seems to keep going up no matter what happens! Lol

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Try calling them up and ask them to remove them if you are 100% sure this is not your debt.

You can also dispute this entry with CRA

[llecs]

Don't dispute if accurate. Get some facts first and send a DV and pull your EQ report directly from EQ. That report will list the DOFD and the OC which might be of some use. They've been purchasing old debts lately. I too got hit with them and send a DV and they dropped. They were collecting on a debt at 6.5 years old.

Per SW, the addition of the CA didn't increase your scores by 1. Something else major happened that gave you a herd of points, only to be offset by this CA with a net loss of 1. Maybe a baddie dropped. Maybe util improved. Maybe accounts aged. But something else happened.

[Booner72]

llecs and OP  - are you Opted Out?

[llecs]

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@Booner72 wrote:

llecs and OP  - are you Opted Out?

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I opted out around 7/2009 for both DW and myself. We opted back in the week we closed back at end of January.

[Sheridan]

Well, the DOFD is from 2006 which was a horrible year for me so I wouldn't doubt if it's legit. The OC isn't named so I will definitely have to do some digging to find out who it's from. I'm pretty sure it's not a credit card so it must be a utility bill or medical. Ughhh... I was doing sooo good! One step forward, two steps back...

[Booner72]

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@llecs wrote:

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@Booner72 wrote:

llecs and OP  - are you Opted Out?

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I opted out around 7/2009 for both DW and myself. We opted back in the week we closed back at end of January.

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Why did you guys opt back in?

[llecs]

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@Booner72 wrote:

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@llecs wrote:

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@Booner72 wrote:

llecs and OP  - are you Opted Out?

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I opted out around 7/2009 for both DW and myself. We opted back in the week we closed back at end of January.

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Why did you guys opt back in?

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We started with some terrible CCs that either charged a fee, wouldn't grow, and/or had high APRs like Target, HSBC-Discover, HSBC, Orchard, Barclays SeaMiles, Best Buys, etc.. I wanted to replace them, but I don't want a zillion inquiries reporting. Once we opted back in, we figured that we can selectively choose better CCs often at the cost of a soft inquiry vs. a hard inquiry. We are on a credit hiatus for the first year after the mortgage, but come this spring, we'll start accepting some of these CC offers.

[llecs]

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@Sheridan wrote:

Well, the DOFD is from 2006 which was a horrible year for me so I wouldn't doubt if it's legit. The OC isn't named so I will definitely have to do some digging to find out who it's from. I'm pretty sure it's not a credit card so it must be a utility bill or medical. Ughhh... I was doing sooo good! One step forward, two steps back...

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If you pull your CR from the CRAs, you'll find the OC listed. Third-party reports like myFICO, freecreditreport, TC, and others won't list them usually.

[RobertEG]

FDCPA 809(a) exists primarily to avoid such "submarine" activity by a debt collector.

Posting to your CR is considered an act that triggers their obligation to send you a collection (dunning) notice within 5 days of that action.

In that letter they must identify the currrent owner on whose behalf they are collecting on the debt.  It may or may not be the OC,but at least it tells you something to refresh your recollection of the source of the debt.  Further, if they did not send you timely dunning notice, they are in violation of the FDCPA, and causing you credit scoring damage that would have continued but for your fortuitous notice of their action.  Their FDCPA violatation may give you some leverage if you finally resort to a PFD offer.

In the meantime, if you know their address, dont wait for the overude dunning notice.  You can DV at any time, and thus place them under a cease collection bar until such time as they provide validation.  Additionally, the DV process gives you the right to request the name and address of the OC, which is not required of them when sending dunning notice.