How should I handle this bad debt?

[lindsaydruart]

Former Enrollment Counselor here. If you cancelled the class before the end of the first week, it's valid and you can fight that with Finance. You need to write a letter to finance and explain the problem. Give the date the class started and the dated the class cancelled. Your open date is likely the date you started classes and your delinquent date should be right behind that so yes, this is Zombie Debt. Don't pay it. As long as you followed the guideline, you can fight it. It will take some letter writing and you may have to visit your nearest brick and mortar campus to press the issue.

[MyLoFICO]

Its been so long I couldnt even begin to guess those dates. I know the school would have it but I have been afraid of calling them for fear of reopening that wound. Think I should call them? And what if they have different dates? Then its my word against theirs. I was in a bad time in a bad marriage when all this happened so I have no records of any of this, proof that is. 

[lindsaydruart]

Can you still log into your online account? You should be able to see it there.

[RobertEG]

They have reported a date opened in 2007.

That alone, in my opinion, would be basis for supporting a direct dispute of their reporting that no derlinuency occured for three years.

If you assume, without admission, that they have a debt, then concede that you must have been delinquent when not paid when not timely dropped.

Ergo, if you have a debt, then you have a DOFD of when the debt was alleged to have opened..... back in 2007.

That would, in my opinion, be substantive basis for requring their investigation of the accuracy of the reported DOFD, and thus a decision on your direct dispute within 30 days.

[MyLoFICO]

That is a great question. i think I can. I will try when I get home in about an hour and a half and let you know. 

[MyLoFICO]

RobertEG, Are you saying I should dispute its accuracy and see if they will remove it through the bureaus? I would probably have to attach a letter to explain that I imagine. 

[RobertEG]

The credtior does not remove, or report exclusion of, their reported derogs.

The CRA monitors the required exclusion date, and does the exclusion based on the requiired exclusion period.

The credtior's involvement in removal from your credit report ends with ther reporting of the derog.

In the case of a charge-off, they are required, upon reporting of a charge-off, to provide the DOFD to the CRA no later than 90 days after reporting of the charge-off.

The CRA then takes over, and montiors time from the reported DOFD.

Thus, to get credit report exclusion, you can send a direct dispute to the creditor, challenging the accuracy of the DOFD that is of record in your file,

If your dispute results in change of the DOFD to a date that is more than 7 years plus 180 days ago, then the CRA will exclude the charge-off with no further involvement of the creditor.

You simply need some substantive showing of how their DOFD is inaccurate in order to support a dispute.

They have asserted a debt dating from 2007, with no payments by you.  That means a delinquent debt from 2007 unless THEY counter your dispute by stating that the contract deferred any debt obligation on your part for that three-year period.  I doubt they can do so.

[MyLoFICO]

I understand now and that is a great point. I never noticed that. 

[MyLoFICO]

Ok, so I called and they show I was in class for 2 weeks. I wasn’t but there is no way for me to prove it. I gave this up years ago when my CS was so low it didn’t matter. The guy I talked to at UoP said it was not being handled by them but their name and number from my CR is what I called to get him. They handed it off to a collection agency called Financial Business and Consumer Solutions. The agency is not reporting to any of my CR’ and they are no longer calling me. I am tempted to call them to pay this off but the guy at UoP told me it would just show as PIF if I did and not be taken off. So, is it worth it to pay it off or wait till January 2017 when it’s supposed to drop off and see if it does? Will paying it off help my score at all? This is one of those things Discover denied me for so I have to assume other prime cards are as well.

[lindsaydruart]

If UOP is the one reporting it and they are pretty much brushing it off, I'd wait it out. Ask the CRA for an early exclusion as soon as possible. You don't want to jump on the CA's radar right at the end.