Verizon reported paid off debt as collection acct?

[Cici1957]

Confused. I paid a Verizon acct. off with monthly payments as agreed. Paid it off few months early. 5 months later they reported to credit bureaus as a collection acct./ zero balance. Credit score dropped considerably??

[bass_playr]

Do you still have any records, or can you get bank records, that show when you paid it off, how much you paid, etc? If so, you can use that info to dispute what's on your credit reports. Did Verizon ever send you any statements showing it as paid off?  Did you ever go past due on that account, or did they ever shut off your service for non-payment?  If they did not, then I cannot see how this would have been a collections account.

[Anonymous]

The debt cannot be reported by a CA after it was paid per agreed terms with OC.

As bass_playr said, you need evidence to support the debt was in fact paid as agreed to dispute.

[Cici1957]

Tks for your response. The acct. was actually turned over to Diversified. I set up arrangements with them....paid off in Feb. Five months later July 1st Verizon reported again to credit bureau. My score dropped 25 points. GRRRRRRR!!!

[bass_playr]

OK, here's what I would do....

1--check with Verizon to see if they did actually send this account to the debt collector.  hopefully you have something in writing from the debt collector showing what you paid and why you owed it to them.  If they did not send it to the debt collector, then you have an argument against that debt collector.

2--submit a dispute to the credit bureaus.  Do not do it online, because when you do, you give up some of your rights. In your dispute, you need to be specific in that this is an entry that should not be on your report, as it's a debt you had previously paid.

You need to dispute through the bureaus in order to maintain private right of action according to the FCRA.  I always recommend preserving your rights at every stage of things like this because sometimes you do end up having to take them to court to get the issue resolved.  

3--your next step depends on what happens with the dispute.  If you dispute and it comes back verified, I would go straight to a consumer protection attorney and sue Verizon---no kidding.  If Verizon verifies the entry, you might also consider sending the Verizon higher-ups a certified letter, informing them that you intend to sue them unless they immediately cease the improper credit reporting and remove the entry from all your credit reports.  

Bottom line, right now, is that you can prove you paid this account....and months after there was no longer any permissible purpose to access your credit reports, Verizon drops it on your reports and claims you still owe the money you already paid.  That's illegal.  Prepare yourself to assert your rights.

[Cici1957]

WOW. Thank you so much for this great information. I contacted Verizon as soon as realized this happened. Basically they said too bad so sad, it would be on my credit report for 7 years. 

[gdale6]

While its their right to report it the manner in which it was done is vindictive, they are under considerable pressure now for their screw up in CA and I would take this right to the top (the CEOs) office with all that happened and you are requesting that it be removed.

[Cici1957]

Thank you! I will be on it! 

[RobertEG]

It is common for a delinquent debt to cause a score decrease whenever the creditor makes an updated reporting, as each update effectively makes of record that the period since initial delinquency has increased.

Final update to paid is the end of delinquency, and fixes the final length of delinquency at that age.

If they reported paid, $0 balance, the reporting is likely proper, as is some decrease in score.