Do I mess with this collection? HELP

[calihlove75]

I just started looking at my credit reports recently. I have one collection that I am scared to mess with. It has the  date of first delingquincy as 4/2007, but it is only reporting to one CRA. I really want to find information about it and get it deleted if inaccurate or good will / PFD if it turns out to be accurate. BUT, I am worried that I will bring attention to it being on only one bureau and they will throw it on my other two. Do you think I have reason to worry about this happening? What would you do?

[pizzadude]

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@calihlove75 wrote:

I just started looking at my credit reports recently. I have one collection that I am scared to mess with. It has the  date of first delingquincy as 4/2007, but it is only reporting to one CRA. I really want to find information about it and get it deleted if inaccurate or good will / PFD if it turns out to be accurate. BUT, I am worried that I will bring attention to it being on only one bureau and they will throw it on my other two. Do you think I have reason to worry about this happening? What would you do?

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What is the balance listed for the collection ?   Before you decide whether to mess with it, you need to check the SOL for your state of residence to determine where you stand if the CA decides to file a lawsuit.

[calihlove75]

It is for 421.00 and it appears to be a utility bill from Mississippi Power and it was turned over to a collection agency. I was living in Mississippi but moved to Chicago, IL about a year and a half ago. I believe the SOL here is 5 years but I am confused by the wording and what a utility bill would be considered. Apparently it has been on my report since 2007. I have disputed it a couple of times on the CRA website thinking it would trigger an investigation so I would know at least know the billing address and dates of service but it just ends up verified. I have never received anything from the agency but I do know that during this time I was being bounced around alot because I lost everything in Hurricane Katrina. I was displaced for a very long time after the hurricane, so if it is accurate that would explain why I never received anything. I am at a loss what else to do.

[Repo-ed]

Start by sending them a PFD.

[pizzadude]

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@calihlove75 wrote:

It is for 421.00 and it appears to be a utility bill from Mississippi Power and it was turned over to a collection agency. I was living in Mississippi but moved to Chicago, IL about a year and a half ago. I believe the SOL here is 5 years but I am confused by the wording and what a utility bill would be considered. Apparently it has been on my report since 2007. I have disputed it a couple of times on the CRA website thinking it would trigger an investigation so I would know at least know the billing address and dates of service but it just ends up verified. I have never received anything from the agency but I do know that during this time I was being bounced around alot because I lost everything in Hurricane Katrina. I was displaced for a very long time after the hurricane, so if it is accurate that would explain why I never received anything. I am at a loss what else to do.

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I think that it would probably be a written contract rather than an open ended account;  it looks like SOL for written contracts in IL is 10 years.   It's not a huge amount so it's not very likely that you would be sued IMO, although it is always a possibliity.

Based on a DOFD of 2007 it would be due to drop from your reports sometime in 2014.   If you do want to mess with it then probably the first step would be to send a DV to the CA.   

[calihlove75]

Oh I am scared now. Maybe I just pay it and not ask questions. I don't want to be sued ;( I found the president's email address for this collection agency. Do you think I should email her?

[pizzadude]

I wouldn't worry too much if they haven't bothered you about it yet.    If you decide that you want to pay then send them a PFD offer.   Or send them a DV if you are questioning the amount or think that they wouldn't be able to verify it.

[calihlove75]

Do you think I should email this collection agency's president or do you think it would be a bad idea. I just want to get this behind me and hopefully in a way that it will just get deleted.

[pizzadude]

Not necessarily a bad idea, but you could also just mail them a PFD offer in writing first and see what their response is.   If they ignore or decline they try going up the chain.

[RobertEG]

First, I would determine who now owns the debt.

That is relevant for two reaons.  First, it will determine who you could offer any PFD to, and second, it might affect the jurisdiction in which any legal action may be brought, and thus the SOL that would be used at trial.

If the debt collector now owns the debt, they have the option under FDCPA 811 to bring legal action in either the jurisdiction in which the consumer signed the contract that established the debt, or in the jurisdiction in which the consumer resides at the time of initiation of the legal action.  Their statutory choice.

However, the debt collector might be coming into any legal action under the cloud of being in violation of FDCPA 809(a), presuming that they did not send dunning notice within 5 days of reporting their collection to the CRA.  It is apparently unclear as to whether they sent dunning notice.  If they did, any DV at this time would be untimely, and thus invoke no cease collection bar as their incentive to provide debt verification.

I would do a bit more homework prior to deciding on a course of action.  Too many unknowns......