Question about Charge Off for spouse

[EaglesFan2006]

Last week we found out that my DW had a credit card that charged off.  She'd had had auto payments set up that weren't coming out.  She called the CC to see what was going on and they said the account was charged off, and he referred her to a collection agency.  The CA mentioned she could pay what was owed over a couple of payments the next couple of months, and they emailed her a schedule.

A couple of things: 

1) Other than this email, she'd never received anything in writing, mail or email, or even a collection phone call realted to this debt. 

2) Additionally, this CA does not appear on her credit report. 

3) The CC does show as being charged off, but it also says there were no payments received since February, and we looked at the account and see bank debits for paying this card as of May.   

Long story short we should've paid better attention to what was going on with this card in general, but aside from that I'm trying to figure out the best way to handle it.  Obviously I want to to take care of the debt, but there are couple of odd pieces at play.  For one, I want to be sure that this CA actually owns the debt, and an email of a payment schedule does not tell me that.  Additionally, if at all possible I'd like to keep the CA off of her credit report...but would sending them a DV letter cause them to add it to the report?   Finally, any tips on how to figure out why her credit report says no payments since February when there were payments taken from the account since then...dispute through the CB or is there a better avenue?

Any tips on the best approach to get this taken care of would be much appreciated.  Thanks!

[Remedios]

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@EaglesFan2006 wrote:

Last week we found out that my DW had a credit card that charged off.  She'd had had auto payments set up that weren't coming out.  She called the CC to see what was going on and they said the account was charged off, and he referred her to a collection agency.  The CA mentioned she could pay what was owed over a couple of payments the next couple of months, and they emailed her a schedule.

A couple of things: 

1) Other than this email, she'd never received anything in writing, mail or email, or even a collection phone call realted to this debt. 

2) Additionally, this CA does not appear on her credit report.  

3) The CC does show as being charged off, but it also says there were no payments received since February, and we looked at the account and see bank debits for paying this card as of May.   

Long story short we should've paid better attention to what was going on with this card in general, but aside from that I'm trying to figure out the best way to handle it.  Obviously I want to to take care of the debt, but there are couple of odd pieces at play.  For one, I want to be sure that this CA actually owns the debt, and an email of a payment schedule does not tell me that.  Additionally, if at all possible I'd like to keep the CA off of her credit report...but would sending them a DV letter cause them to add it to the report?   Finally, any tips on how to figure out why her credit report says no payments since February when there were payments taken from the account since then...dispute through the CB or is there a better avenue?

Any tips on the best approach to get this taken care of would be much appreciated.  Thanks!

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Most of your answers will come from the OC 

They could be using "internal collections"  in which case there may not be a separate reporting. If you call them, they can help you figure out who has the authority to collect on this debt. 

Paying it before it shows up as collection account (in addition to CO) might keep it off her CR as an additional negative 

As far as inaccurate reporting, you could also use direct dispute with OC to correct the payment info and if that does not work, file a dispute with CRA. It still wont change CO status, but update could cause her scores to drop even further so it's up to you to decide whether one month of payments is worth another update. 

With that said, the info on your CR should be accurate, so it's up to you on how you want to proceed with this. 

[EaglesFan2006]

Wanted to follow up on this...shortly after posting this, DW asked to receive a letter confirming the debt from the CA, and they said they would send one right away.  That was more than 3 weeks ago, and to date there has not been any letter.  She made one payment on the schedule they sent at the time she requested the letter.   Since nothing has been received, should she hold off on making any more payments until something is?  It's worth noting that she never signed any agreement, digital or otherwise.

Personally I want to get this taken care of, but i'm weary of not getting some real confirmation that this will actually be resolved.  There's been nothing from the OC either.

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

They technically don't have to send anything. All a debt validation letter does is force them to stop collection actions for 30 days while they provide proof they have the right to collect.

[EaglesFan2006]

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@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:

They technically don't have to send anything. All a debt validation letter does is force them to stop collection actions for 30 days while they provide proof they have the right to collect.

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Makes sense, but let me ask a different way.  Without any written indication that the CA owns the debt, or even a real confirmation from the OC, is it wise to pay them the agreed money?  This isn't about disputing what's owed, it's about making sure it's being paid to the right people to resolve the debt. 

[FireMedic1]

I'd keep paying. As you said its not on your reports. Miss a payment and I'm sure it will show up then. Dont take a chance and get his chapter over with. Better to be safe than sorry.

[RobertEG]

It is not necessary that a debt collector own the debt in order to attempt collection or report to a CRA.

All that is required is that they have collection authority, which can be based on assignment of authority by the creditor.

If you are uncertain that they have legit collection authority, you can include in a DV request the additional requirment that they name the original creditor, and can also contact the creditor and inquire as to whether they have assigned or sold the debt to the debt collector.

However, since the post indicates that you became aware of the charge-off and debt collector after contact with the creditor, that would normally be sufficient proof that the debt collector is legit.

As for the DV process, while you can send a DV at any time, if the debt collector has not yet sent dunning notice, then a DV would not yet compel a cease collection bar.

You could informally contact the debt collector and make a pay for not reporting offer, which would, if they accept, preclude any reporting of a collection.