Verizon bill gone to collections

[Anonymous]

Any suggestions where to start????? 

In November of 2007, my husband and I were at our local Verizon store.  Long story short, we ended up closing the cell phone account that was in my name and started on in my husband's name to get a good discount on our plan (due to where my husband works). 

Everything was great until February 16, 2008.  I got a letter in the mail from a collection agency for a Verizon bill for $29.16.  I hadn't gotten a bill any time before this - the original sales clerk told us that the account was done and we didn't need to do anything with it.   I paid the bill right then. 

My problem / question - how much should this collection hurt my credit score?  My husband and I are trying to refinance our house to lower our P&I as well as get rid of our PMI.  While starting that process today, the loan originator gave me a call and told me that I didn't qualify for the best rate because of my credit rating. 

My credit score before this Verizon/collection fiasco (approximately Feb. 1st, 2008):  837

My husband's credit score before this Verizon/collections fiasco(approximately Feb. 1st, 2008):  810

My credit score today:  708

My husband's score today: 798

I am ABSOLUTELY floored that my credit score could be lowered 123 points over a $29.16 Verizon bill.  I asked our loan originator if there was anything else on our credit history that would contribute to the lowering of this score and she didn't think so.   This Verizon/Collections issue was the only negative mark on the report.

Is there anything that I can do?  Where do I start?   I never received a bill from Verizon for this $29.16 and the store clerk even said that there was nothing that I needed to do with this closed account.   I even asked the collections agency person - that since I am paying this off the day that I received the letter that it should not go against my credit history - and they told me that it would not.

Any suggestions on what I can do would be greatly appreciated!!!   THANKS!!!!!

[Anonymous]

If your account was "just assigned" to collections, I would immediately call Verizon and pay the balance in full and ask them to recall the account and not report. Usually there is a small window time before it gets reported. But if they sold your account, that is a different story. But I am sure VZ still owns your account.

[Anonymous]

I am under the assumption that I am to late.....  All of this happended in February 2008 - now it is December 2008 - some 10 months later...... 

I am assuming that VZ sold the account to a CA - however I do not know for sure.  As soon as I got the letter from the CA back in Feb. 2008, I called them (the CA) and paid the amount due - to the collections agency and not VZ directly. 

Is there anyway to get this "Bad Debt" off of my credit history since I did pay the CA the full amount?

[Anonymous]

Oh sorry, didin't read that part. If you already paid the balance in full to the CA, usually it is a tough one to remove from the reports. Since you PIF, the "Paid as agreed or full" status will remain on your reports for 7 years. The only thing I can recommend is write to the CA and ask if they can delete. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Any suggestions on how I can get the "Bad Debt" from Verizon off my CR?

Also just realized that I needed to post this question in the "Rebuilding My Credit" part!!   Yes  -  I am a newbie!!!!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Any suggestions on how I can get the "Bad Debt" from Verizon off my CR?

Also just realized that I needed to post this question in the "Rebuilding My Credit" part!!   Yes  -  I am a newbie!!!!

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Well that's the thing, the debt is valid, you paid as agreed in full to the CA without a PFD, and now its part of your credit history since it depicts accurate information. Once again, you can write a letter to the CA to delete it (if they reported it) or Verizon (If they did not sell your account). But I doubt VZ will delete if you paid the CA.

[Junejer]

Hi Thies, and welcome to the forums. I don't expect anything like this to happen to you again, but if it does, never talk to a CA over the phone, get everything in writing. This is an expensive lesson. Your only option is to get the CA to delete it. You don't have the leverage of a balance any longer, so the chances of it happening lessens. It's worth a try though, you have nothing to lose.

Those credit scores--did they come from myfico.com or elsewhere?

[Itsmeagain]

If this debt is indeed NOT valid, as you indicated in your original post, it can and should be disputed with both the Credit Bureaus and Verizon.  Have you contacted Verizon to find out why they charged your account after telling you there was nothing else due?  Did you ever receive any statement from Verizon prior to the collection?

Your dispute could be the amount of the debt.  After all, if the debt wasn't valid, the amount can not be correct.

Creditors are required to report CORRECT information.  If the information is not correct it must be removed even if you've paid the money, it does not forfeit your rights under the FCRA and FDCPA. I would NEVER accept a bogus collection being reported.