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Collection Agencies repeatedly reporting debt

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Collection Agencies repeatedly reporting debt

Greetings:

 

   I have been monitoring my credit reports and am working to pay off some debts I owe. I am, however, noticing something both interesting and disturbing: that some of the collection agencies have been repeatedly reporting the same debts, sometimes on a yearly basis, other times on a monthly basis.

 

   I am seeing debts that I incurred several years ago as having been reported to the credit reporting agencies as recently as 2 days ago. It is as if the collection companies are doing an end run around the laws governing when a debt is supposed to be removed from people's credit report, as a result making all my debts appear to be recent (and screwing up my credit score in the process).

 

   Is this legal?  I am seeing debts that I know I incurred 10 years ago being reported again and again as if they were incurred last month. Is there some way I can stop them from doing this?

 

   Someone please advise.

 

Message 1 of 3
2 REPLIES 2
RobertEG
Legendary Contributor

Re: Collection Agencies repeatedly reporting debt

A debt collector is entitled to make updating reporting of their collection on a regular basis.

Some will defer updating for months or years, while others will continue to update monthly.  That is permissible.

 

Technically, if a debt remains unpaid, the period of effective delinquency of the debt is being extended, similar to a 30-late reported by an orginal creditor later being updated to show that the delinquency has extended to 60-late, etc, in subsequent months if it remains unpaid.

The extent to which FICO considers updated reporting as effecting scoring of the collection is not a reporting issue, it is a credit scoring issue.

 

The period of delinquency for derogs on an OC account is based on the period since the initial delinquency occured, and the exclusion of the reported derogs must occur no later than 7 years from the date of initial delinquency, and no later than 7 years plus 180 days from the date of initial delinquency for a reported charge-off.  Updating reporting that the debt remains delinquent is not the same as reporting that the debt is new.

 

Unless the creditor is reporting a later and incorrect DOFD, updated reporting is not extending the credit report exclusion period.  Such improper updating of the DOFD is what is commonly referred to as illegal re-aging, and does not apply to simply making updated reporting that the debt remains delinquent.

Message 2 of 3
Zolomon
Regular Contributor

Re: Collection Agencies repeatedly reporting debt

Dispute the collections by refering to your date of first deliquency (DOFD) with the original creditor. Nothing should be on your report past 7 years and 6 months from your first deliquency. If the DOFD is wrong, dispute that.

 

Collections on accounts younger than 7 years that are showing up multiple times on your report, dispute them as duplicates.

Personal cards:

Business cards:

Message 3 of 3
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