PFD...but they didn't delete

[Anonymous]

Hi All,

I got a PFD letter in writing via the mail about 3 months ago (I sent the original request, and they agreed to it).  It was for an account I have on my credit report from Ultra VX/Metabank (a charged off account).  The letter stated that if I paid the charged off balance of $205 that they would delete the account from the credit bureaus.  In my PFD letter to them I stated I would send a money order as payment.  In the acceptance letter back to me, they said that the account needs to be paid via Money Gram to clear the account (This didn't sound abnormal as with the UltraVX card you had to reload it via Money Gram at Walmart).

I called and spoke with the lady who signed the letter prior to paying and she gave me the info to send the payment.  I made the payment the same day and gave her a call back with the confirmation number.  She verified that they received the transfer and that she submitted the account to the credit bureaus for deletion and to allow about 3 weeks for the bureaus to update.

Here we are 3 months later and the account has not been deleted from any of the credit bureaus.  I've sent a courtesy letter to UltraVX inquiring about the status and that it has not been deleted.  I've received no update via phone, email, or in writing and my attempts to get the lady on the phone who signed the agreement have failed.

Now, I am trying to figure out any recourse or steps I should take from here.  I have not sent the letter/payment confirmation to the credit bureaus, as I thought that this deletion request needs to come directly from the creditor.  I've filed a BBB dispute, that they have yet responded to.  In the original PFD I sent to them I had in the letter about this being a legally enforced contract that would be upheld by the laws of SC (my state).  In their agreement to delete letter it does not list this....so if legal proceedings need to happen, I'm not sure if I can file the suit here, or if I would need to file in Utah where the company is based.

How should I proceed with this?  Should I send a second friendly courtesy notice that I am still waiting for the account to be deleted?  Or should this be a warning letter that its my second attempt and send it as an intent to sue if the situation is not resolved?  Should I CC: my states Attorney General and Utahs Attorney General on it?

Any ideas would be appreciated.  I didn't think I would be dealing with this as I haven't yet experienced a company that has not deleted an account when they agreed to it in writing.

[bigman023]

If they dont give you an update soon (30 days or so) I think you would be able to file a dispute with the CRA's.  Send proof of payment and the letter stating they would delete to the CRA's.

Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi All,

I got a PFD letter in writing via the mail about 3 months ago (I sent the original request, and they agreed to it).  It was for an account I have on my credit report from Ultra VX/Metabank (a charged off account).  The letter stated that if I paid the charged off balance of $205 that they would delete the account from the credit bureaus.  In my PFD letter to them I stated I would send a money order as payment.  In the acceptance letter back to me, they said that the account needs to be paid via Money Gram to clear the account (This didn't sound abnormal as with the UltraVX card you had to reload it via Money Gram at Walmart).

I called and spoke with the lady who signed the letter prior to paying and she gave me the info to send the payment.  I made the payment the same day and gave her a call back with the confirmation number.  She verified that they received the transfer and that she submitted the account to the credit bureaus for deletion and to allow about 3 weeks for the bureaus to update.

Here we are 3 months later and the account has not been deleted from any of the credit bureaus.  I've sent a courtesy letter to UltraVX inquiring about the status and that it has not been deleted.  I've received no update via phone, email, or in writing and my attempts to get the lady on the phone who signed the agreement have failed.

Now, I am trying to figure out any recourse or steps I should take from here.  I have not sent the letter/payment confirmation to the credit bureaus, as I thought that this deletion request needs to come directly from the creditor.  I've filed a BBB dispute, that they have yet responded to.  In the original PFD I sent to them I had in the letter about this being a legally enforced contract that would be upheld by the laws of SC (my state).  In their agreement to delete letter it does not list this....so if legal proceedings need to happen, I'm not sure if I can file the suit here, or if I would need to file in Utah where the company is based.

How should I proceed with this?  Should I send a second friendly courtesy notice that I am still waiting for the account to be deleted?  Or should this be a warning letter that its my second attempt and send it as an intent to sue if the situation is not resolved?  Should I CC: my states Attorney General and Utahs Attorney General on it?

Any ideas would be appreciated.  I didn't think I would be dealing with this as I haven't yet experienced a company that has not deleted an account when they agreed to it in writing.

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You have all the elements of a valid contract.  If they do not perform, you can sue them in the state you reside in. 

I would send them another letter and hint that you are willing to take legal action to enforce your rights.  If that doesn't produce a response, I'd sue them.

[tinkytoo]

Hey,

I too have been dealing with this same issue, last year Sept 2009 I mailed a PFD letter to a collection agency. They man in charged responded with a agreement that if I paid the collection within ten days he would delete. He followed up with a letter stating they received payment and would delete. I have called and talk to him he said he would submit the delete request again this is still going on a year later. The collection updates every month making it look new. I too made a complaint to the BBB but have not had any action since.

Now my question is to anyone who can give me advise like someone did the OP. Can I to take this collection agency to court for a breech of contract agreement.

[Anonymous]

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@tinkytoo wrote:

Hey,

I too have been dealing with this same issue, last year Sept 2009 I mailed a PFD letter to a collection agency. They man in charged responded with a agreement that if I paid the collection within ten days he would delete. He followed up with a letter stating they received payment and would delete. I have called and talk to him he said he would submit the delete request again this is still going on a year later. The collection updates every month making it look new. I too made a complaint to the BBB but have not had any action since.

Now my question is to anyone who can give me advise like someone did the OP. Can I to take this collection agency to court for a breech of contract agreement.

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If you have the following elements, you have a contract:

1.  Mutual Consent:

          The parties have a mutual understanding of what the contract covers.

2.  Offer & Acceptance:

          One party makes an offer, the other party accepts.

3.  Mutual Consideration:

          The parties exchange something of value.

4.  Performance or Delivery:

          The action contemplated by the contract must have been completed. 

5.  Competent Parties:

          The parties must be competent and authorized to enter into a contract.

The following two additional elements may be relevant in deciding whether or not a contract may be enforced:

A.  Good Faith:

          The parties must be acting in good faith.  Offering to sell your car, but in fact only intending to give a bicycle is not good faith.

B.  Legal Purpose / No Violation of Public Policy:

          A contract to sell illegal substances is not binding.  Neither is a contract that negotiates child support rights.

My initial belief would be that you would be able to prevail should you decide to sue.

[RobertEG]

O6 hit all of the elements of Contracts 101 on the head!

I would NOT waste ANY effort in disputing this agreement by filing any dispute with the CRA,

They are not lawyers or judges.  Their job is to record what a creditor reports.  A dispute will just delay resolution of the facts.

Listen to O6, and first notify the party that they have not complied with their legal contract.  That will only strenghten your case should you have to bring civil action.

Then file civil action against them.

[Anonymous]

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@RobertEG wrote:

O6 hit all of the elements of Contracts 101 on the head!

I would NOT waste ANY effort in disputing this agreement by filing any dispute with the CRA,

They are not lawyers or judges.  Their job is to record what a creditor reports.  A dispute will just delay resolution of the facts.

Listen to O6, and first notify the party that they have not complied with their legal contract.  That will only strenghten your case should you have to bring civil action.

Then file civil action against them.

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Robert is correct.  At this point leave the CRA out of it.

@Anonymous:  I would send them one more polite request and gently remind them that they are forcing you to consider legal action should theyfail to comply with the terms of your contract with them.  If no results within, say, 3 weeks, simply sue them.  Small claims court is sufficient.

@tinkytoo:  Sue them.  This has been going on for a year already.  Sue them.  Send them a very threatening Intent to Sue and if there are no results within two weeks of their receipt of your notice then immediately sue them in small claims court.  The longer you wait the greater your risk that the CA will go out of business and you will have little recourse once that thappens.

In fact, I will draft a very succinct and unambiguous ITS for this kind of situation during a brief vacation I have during the first week of October and post it here.

[Anonymous]

O6,

Thanks for your feedback.  I'll give it a week or two more, and send them a second notice letting them know I'm not playing around.

As far as a civil claims case, what should be my expectations/demands?  Can a judge order them to delete the account as they agreed to once I paid?  Or are we talking about monetary gains only for the potential impact this credit account could have for future endeavors? More than anything I just want the account deleted.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

O6,

Thanks for your feedback.  I'll give it a week or two more, and send them a second notice letting them know I'm not playing around.

As far as a civil claims case, what should be my expectations/demands?  Can a judge order them to delete the account as they agreed to once I paid?  Or are we talking about monetary gains only for the potential impact this credit account could have for future endeavors? More than anything I just want the account deleted.

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Unfortunately, a judge may not usually order a party to complete the terms of a contract.  The court can, obviously, award damages caused by one party's non-compliance.  You'll have to look up the figures yourself, but FICO estimates that those below a certain FICO score end up paying an average higher lifetime amount for the extension of credit.  The failure of the CA to remove the tradeline as promised could keep you from reaching a higher FICO score and, thus, lower your cost of credit.  This incident has also caused you mental anguish and you have also been harmed, if applicable, by a creditor's refusal to extend credit.  

In addition, the CA has violated § 807 (10) of the FDCPA in that they used a false representation / deception in order to collect a debt.  You can seek actual damages plus additional damages not to exceed $1,000 plus legal fees and costs.

I would sue them for $1,000 on the FDCPA violation and *$74,000 for breach of contract in additional to attorney fees & costs.  Obviously if you choose to go to small claims court the amount you may sue for could be far less. 

Nine times out of ten the CA will, upon being served, suddenty remember their committment and delete.  If that is satisfactory for you, you can let things drop.  I, however, would also make them pay a certain sum of money for the expense and aggravation caused.  After you have filed suit, the fact that they all of a sudden comply does not mean you have to drop your action as you may still have suffered harm as a result of their timely failure to comply with the terms of the contract. 

On the other hand, if they have not found religion within a week or two of being served, bleed them dry. 

Personally, I would not give them another week or two before sending them an Intent to Sue.  Three months is a long time already and you never know if this CA will even be around for another month.      

* Depending on your calculations on how the failure to remove the tradeline has negatively effected your cost of credit and also considering that $75,000 and diversity of citizenship could result in removal to federal courts and this is probably best allowed if only you are representated by an attorney. 

[Anonymous]

Hi all.  Just wanted to give an update on this situation.  

I sent an intent to sue letter via certified/Return Receipt Requested to the company.  I also CC'd SC (my state) Attorney General, UT (company's state) Attorney General, and the FTC.  The company received my intent to sue on 10/2 and still never contacted me and still had not deleted the tradeline.  I received a call yesterday from a guy at the Utah Attorney Generals office in charge of consumer protection.  He said he reviewed my documents (I sent all copies of the contract we had, follow-ups, etc) and they need to follow their side of the deal.  He called the main company, as the name listed on my credit report is one of their 30 DBA's.  He said they overlooked the issue and they said they would delete that tradeline immediately.

=)  I refreshed my report, it is still there today.  I know companies always claim 30-60 days for deletion.....but how long should I wait to see results?  And I would imagine if they were stupid enough to not resolve the issue after a call from the AG's office, I would be left no option but to sue.  But hopefully they are in fact deleting it as they originally agreed and told the guy at the AG office.  =)