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cl5776 wrote:
Thank you very much. Here is the breakdown: There are nine (9) bills that I have in my possession that are not listed on my credit report. All of them are from last year except for two that are from last month. I just dug a bit deeper and one of them is from a credit card that I had back in college, almost 15 years ago.
I do not remember exactly when I cancelled or stopped using the card but I know it has been well over seven years. The only problem is that I contacted the collection agency assigned to this bill and the original creditor last month when I started clearing all of this up. Does that start the clock all over again? From what I have read from the site, if the Date of First Deliquency is over seven years, the issue should not be on my report. Am I understanding this correctly?
For that CO, you need to know two things: when was the last EXACT (or as near as you can figure) DOLA (Date of Last Activity)? That determines whether the debt is within SoL or not (meaning, whether or not you can be sued for the debt). We REALLY need to know when the DOLA was and what state you 1) incurred the debt and 2) what state you reside in now.
From there we can figure out how likely it is that they can legally sue you. Trust me, this is FAR more important than knowing when it's supposed to fall off your CRs. Plus, whether or not contacting them (especially either making payment arrangements or admitting ownership of the debt) has reset your SoL (restarted the clock on how long they can take legal action on the debt).
DOFD decides the Credit Reporting Time Period. AKA, how long it can stay on your CRs. It's a double-edged sword, though, since even if the debt falls off your CR, IF the SoL is longer than the CRTP (7.75 years), they can attain a judgment against you in court and therefore replace that old CO tradeline with a spanking new judgment/public record. Essentially, they could file after the 7.75 year CRTP (if the applicable state's SoL allows it) and give you another 7 year's worth of grief in the form of a judgment.
The other eight bills current. The dollar values are anywhere from $8.97 to $529.55. This also includes a settlement offer I discussed in another thread: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=rebuildingcredit&thread.id=49150
I didn't see that one ... I'll take a look-see in a moment and reply in that thread.
The bills vary in style from just a regular invoice to a second notice of collection. For these eight, I do not know if I feel comfortable asking for a Debt Verification since I know all the charges are my own.
Ownership of the debt isn't the only reason you DV. You want to make absolutely sure of several things: 1) IS it your debt? 2) Can the CA contacting you LEGALLY collect this debt, since debts can change hands several times throughout it's life (another regular here got royally *blanked* when he paid the wrong CA for a debt THEY claimed they could collect -- he ended up paying TWICE for the SAME debt) and 3) EXACTLY how much DO you owe?
Only a DV can disclose that information. Never, ever, EVER trust a CA at face value.
If the bills are still in "invoice" stage, I'd call them and pay them. Especially if they've not gotten to the CA stage yet. If they ARE in a CA's hands, DV them immediately. Then pay them in exchage for NOT reporting.
You should receive a "dunning letter" at some point that will threaten to plunk this debt on your CRs within a specified amount of time (can't remember if the threat is 5 days or 30 days). When you get THAT letter, pay them ASAP if you can -- but AFTER you've DVed. That's the best way I know to keep their grubby hands off your CRs.
If a creditor or a collection agency does not respond to a Debt Verification letter, especially if the debt is not on any of my credit reports, do I deem these amounts not verified and do not pay them?
Yup. But you have to keep copies of EVERYTHING and send all DVs CMRRR (Certified Mail, Return Reciept Requested). Always, always, always, keep a paper trail.
I am already tailoring the Pay for Delete letters to fit my specific situation. Since a creditor or a collection agency does not have to respond to or accept a Pay for Delete letter, what is to stop them from taking the information that they now have and throwing the amounts on my reports?
Unfortunately, nothing stops them. However, if the debt is really old, it's usually in their best interests to accept a PFD. Their biggest concern is getting their money. And if the debt's not large enough tobe worth taking to court over and they feel that you don't really care THAT much about it being on your CRs, they'll usually accept. Some will, some won't.
The rule of thumb is that credit card OCs (original creditors) won't PFD. CAs often will.
Again, thank you for the information. I read your signature line and I would like to be in your (and your husband's) shoes one day.
Well, it wasn't easy bringing his scores up, but we were renting for soooo long and the market here had declined so harshly, that it was the perfect time to buy. So I worked my tail off. 
And if **I** can do it, so can YOU!!! 