Helping a friend rebuild and have a question

[jrwa81]

After having remarkable success in a relatively sort time rebuiling my credit from basically the ground up, one of my best friends has asked for my help in doing the same for her credit.  She has given me copies of her credit reports so I could see exactly what she has to deal with and I have written emails for her to send to each of the five CA's who are reporting on her credit to try to settle them and do PFDs like I did with mine.  However, we have run into something with one of her collections that I never encountered with any of mine, so I'm not sure how I should have her handle it.  She has a roughly 3-year-old collection on her reports from Jefferson Capital Systems for about $1500.   She sent an email to Jefferson Capital last night requesting to settle for deletion.  However, she got a response from them today saying that they are no longer servicing her account and that it is being serviced by another CA by the name of TrueAccord.  TrueAccord is not reporting on her credit, but Jefferson Capital is. 

Before I have her reach  out to TrueAccord, I'm wondering if I should have her dispute this collection from Jefferson Capital that is on her reports since they are no longer servicing the account.  I'm not sure how they can be allowed to continue reporting if they are no longer even servicing it.   I don't want her to poke any bears by reaching out to this other CA that's not reporting if she can get Jefferson Capital removed with a dispute by sending the bureaus a copy of the email that she received from Jefferson saying that they are no longer servicing the account.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

[OmarGB9]

First find out how long ago they stopped servicing it. They may have only recently sold it/lost collection authority, so the bureaus need time to catch up. But you're absolutely right that they can no longer report once they no longer have collection authority. Just give it time, maybe a month and it should drop off.

[jrwa81]

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@OmarGB9 wrote:

First find out how long ago they stopped servicing it. They may have only recently sold it/lost collection authority, so the bureaus need time to catch up. But you're absolutely right that they can no longer report once they no longer have collection authority. Just give it time, maybe a month and it should drop off.

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Thanks!  I thought that would be the case.  We have no idea how long this new CA has been servicing it, but I just asked my friend if she knew how long Jefferson Capital has been on her reports and she said it has been there for at least a couple of years.  I think I will advise her to dispute this and send the bureaus a copy of the email from Jefferson Capital stating that they are no longer servicing the account.  Hopefully, this will get it deleted!

[OmarGB9]

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@jrwa81 wrote:

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@OmarGB9 wrote:

First find out how long ago they stopped servicing it. They may have only recently sold it/lost collection authority, so the bureaus need time to catch up. But you're absolutely right that they can no longer report once they no longer have collection authority. Just give it time, maybe a month and it should drop off.

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Thanks!  I thought that would be the case.  We have no idea how long this new CA has been servicing it, but I just asked my friend if she knew how long Jefferson Capital has been on her reports and she said it has been there for at least a couple of years.  I think I will advise her to dispute this and send the bureaus a copy of the email from Jefferson Capital stating that they are no longer servicing the account.  Hopefully, this will get it deleted!

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NO! I would highly advise AGAINST disputing, as it may only create more problems since like I said, the bureaus may already be in the process of deleting it. Disputing may create further delays. That's why I said give it another month or so. Even then, I'd suggest contacting Jefferson Capital first and ask that they delete themselves since they no longer have collection authority.

[Slowlyrebuilding]

I had a collection with True Accord and they offered me a settlement of about 30% of the debt paid over 3 months. It was a great offer and they never reported to any CRAs

[Anonymous]

Jefferson is seen around here fairly often and seems to play by the rules. They'll come off your friend's reports. @OmarGB9 is absolutely right in that disputing is the wrong path. Save disputes for what they are meant for - if they're still on there in three months, then go for it, but not now.

What your friend should do is contact TrueAccord and get out in front of this. A member above mentioned never seeing them on their reports but that's not global gospel, and if they show up for your friend, her scores are going to take a solid punch in the face. Contact them, verify that they have the account, and offer a payment for not reporting, where she agrees to pay off the debt and they agree to not list on her reports. She may need to pay the full amount, but that is minor compared to trying to save a few bucks and having a collection added. CA listings should be avoided at all costs if possible. Agree on a payoff for not reporting, handle the debt, and then it's history forever.

[jrwa81]

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@OmarGB9 wrote:

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@jrwa81 wrote:

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@OmarGB9 wrote:

First find out how long ago they stopped servicing it. They may have only recently sold it/lost collection authority, so the bureaus need time to catch up. But you're absolutely right that they can no longer report once they no longer have collection authority. Just give it time, maybe a month and it should drop off.

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Thanks!  I thought that would be the case.  We have no idea how long this new CA has been servicing it, but I just asked my friend if she knew how long Jefferson Capital has been on her reports and she said it has been there for at least a couple of years.  I think I will advise her to dispute this and send the bureaus a copy of the email from Jefferson Capital stating that they are no longer servicing the account.  Hopefully, this will get it deleted!

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NO! I would highly advise AGAINST disputing, as it may only create more problems since like I said, the bureaus may already be in the process of deleting it. Disputing may create further delays. That's why I said give it another month or so. Even then, I'd suggest contacting Jefferson Capital first and ask that they delete themselves since they no longer have collection authority.

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Not the case at all.  She disputed it with Experian and it was deleted last night, not even a full 24 hours after she filed the dispute.  That was the only bureau it was appearing on, so now that's one less collection she has to deal with.  All she had to do was upload a copy of the email from Jefferson Capital stating that they are no longer servicing the account and Experian immediately deleted it.

[HowDoesThisAllWork]

That is very kind of you to help your friend.

Attacking the baddies is a smart move (I know, I know - Captain Obvious here).  I see that there has been some movement with respect to the Jefferson CA situation but here is what I would humbly suggest:

1.  Look on her credit reports for the Original Debtor  (let's just use "Capital One" in this narrative)

2.  Is there an account listed on her credit report(s) - keep in mind that there will not necessarily be an account on each of the three CRAs as it it possible that this account could show up only on TransUnion or on both Experian and Equifax or whatever combination -  for "Capital One"?  If so, what is the "balance" and what is the "status"?

3.  Obviously, there is the account listed on at least one of her credit reports for Jefferson Capital (or, since the latest movement was the deletion it will no longer show up on that CRA).  Does this "Jefferson Capital" account show up on the other two CRAs?

I ask Q2 because that will tell you if "Capital One" still owns the debt (and have authorized a Collection Agency to attempt to collect on their behalf) or if they have sold the debt (and now the CA - Jefferson Capital Systems or True Accord or whoever it might be this week/month - actually owns the debt).

Identifying the actual current owner of the debt - as cliche and as obvious as it sounds - is a great Step 1 (and not being condescending with this....please read no tone or anything into this).  And crucial to the successful removal.

Please forgive me if I have asked question to which you have already provided answers....

[mycreditscoreisfair]

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@jrwa81 wrote:

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@OmarGB9 wrote:

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@jrwa81 wrote:

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@OmarGB9 wrote:

First find out how long ago they stopped servicing it. They may have only recently sold it/lost collection authority, so the bureaus need time to catch up. But you're absolutely right that they can no longer report once they no longer have collection authority. Just give it time, maybe a month and it should drop off.

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Thanks!  I thought that would be the case.  We have no idea how long this new CA has been servicing it, but I just asked my friend if she knew how long Jefferson Capital has been on her reports and she said it has been there for at least a couple of years.  I think I will advise her to dispute this and send the bureaus a copy of the email from Jefferson Capital stating that they are no longer servicing the account.  Hopefully, this will get it deleted!

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NO! I would highly advise AGAINST disputing, as it may only create more problems since like I said, the bureaus may already be in the process of deleting it. Disputing may create further delays. That's why I said give it another month or so. Even then, I'd suggest contacting Jefferson Capital first and ask that they delete themselves since they no longer have collection authority.

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Not the case at all.  She disputed it with Experian and it was deleted last night, not even a full 24 hours after she filed the dispute.  That was the only bureau it was appearing on, so now that's one less collection she has to deal with.  All she had to do was upload a copy of the email from Jefferson Capital stating that they are no longer servicing the account and Experian immediately deleted it.

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Agree with @HowDoesThisAllWork.

Jefferson Capital is a debt buyer and debt collector. If they purchased the debt and merely outsourced collection to another collection agency - which is very possible after three years of unsuccessfully collecting - then Jefferson Capital should be able to stay on the credit report(s). 

Often times, credit bureaus delete disputed accounts only for them to eventually come back verified and hurt scores worse than they originally did, since the negative account now looks fresh. Disputing very often backfires. But either way, even if the collection is removed right now, it's only a temporary fix to a problem that's very likely to return.