Removing a collection account

[Anonymous]

Hi All,

In negotiating with the collection agency they agreed to remove the collections record from my credit report if I paid in full. This agreement was not in writing, though I have notes of the date and person that agreed to it. After having paid the full amount, I noticed it was still on my report and disputed it. However, in the results of the investigation (from TransUnion, the others are still pending) it merely says "verified" and leaves the collection charge on the record.

Do I have any recourse here? What should my next steps be?

Message Edited by bob1967 on 07-06-2007 07:00 PM

[sl]

How long ago did this happen?

I would call the CA and speak with a supervisor and give her the information on the call.  A lot of times the calls are recorded and they save the tapes.  If that does not work, I would write a letter to the reporting agencies with the information on this...date called, who you spoke with and you tried to resolve with the CA and that did not work.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Boswd]

You can try but good luck,  always get everything in writing. 

[Tuscani]

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS get it in writing.. it is now your word against theirs. Guess who the CRA tends to side with?

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice. The CA gave me the brush off saying only the original creditor was authorized to remove the item. I contacted the original creditor and after being passed around several times spoke to someone who had a clue/authority to make a decison. They said they would not communicate the decison over the phone but would let me know. A few days later I receive a letter signed by the President of the CA. Amongst other things it says... "Any derogatory credit rations reported to Equifax, Experian and Trans Union will be deleted."

I am taking this as a good sign! Is that being too optimistic?

In anycase what should my next steps be? Should I file a dispuite with the CRA's and enter this letter into evidence. Or should I ask the CA to provide me specific proof that they have requested the removal of the collections record?

Message Edited by bob1967 on 07-06-2007 07:00 PM

[Neblett]

This is what burns my hide - same thing happened to me with Credit Collection Services (CCS) [see this post -
http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=generalcredit&thread.id=20870] -
and until I resolve the issue and get something in writing stating that they will honor their oral agreement with me, they are not getting another cent, and I will report them to the State Attorney General. In my initial inquiry with CCS when I agreed to settle the account with them on the condition that they would not report the account to the CRA, as they stated in correspondence with me (call us now, and avoid CRA reporting), I asked for it in writing, and they said they would send me a settlement letter after I had paid, but they explicitly stated (and I questioned them twice each time I spoke with them, so if they do keep phone recordings, there is no denying this if they review the recordings) that under no circumstances would they report me to the CRAs, as long as I kept the terms of the arrangement.

Message Edited by Neblett on 07-06-2007 09:15 PM

Message Edited by Neblett on 07-06-2007 09:15 PM

[Anonymous]

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bob1967 wrote:

They said they would not communicate the decison over the phone but would let me know. A few days later I receive a letter signed by the President of the CA. Amongst other things it says... "Any derogatory credit rations reported to Equifax, Experian and Trans Union will be deleted."

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Since you're going on GW right now, I would just sit tight and wait. Save anything they send you or ever sent you and anything you send them. This letter sounds promising, and could be used as leverage to delete. But for now, I would wait.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for your help. The collection line item got removed. The most important thing I learnt from talking to both the CA and OC is that  persistence pays off.