Are All Derogatories Equal?

[ThomasJNewton]

I have a friend who just moved and is having a dispute with the moving company for about $750. He has about 6 cards all about 8 years old, with perfect payment records and  credit lines varying from $5,000 to $15,000. He has no need for new credit anytime soon, so he wants to know if they report this disputed payment as late, what is the likely impact on his scores?

[JoeRockhead]

Unless it's an installment account I don't know how they could report it as late... they could report it as an unpaid collection and that would carry a significant penalty to their scores.

[NoMoreE46]

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@ThomasJNewton wrote:

I have a friend who just moved and is having a dispute with the moving company for about $750. He has about 6 cards all about 8 years old, with perfect payment records and  credit lines varying from $5,000 to $15,000. He has no need for new credit anytime soon, so he wants to know if they report this disputed payment as late, what is the likely impact on his scores?

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Did friend make any payment of at all to the moving company? 

[ThomasJNewton]

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@NoMoreE46 wrote:

Did friend make any payment of at all to the moving company? 

yes, he paid everything that was contracted in the document. They then decided that he owed them an additional $750, and sent him an invoice.

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[GreatLife]

I would either file a contractual complaint with local Magistrate or small claims court - or pay the $750 with a card that offers strong consumer protection guarantees, such as Amex.. then dispute that additional cost with the card issuer.

[NoMoreE46]

Sounds like a typical shady moving company.   These companies  will often have the lowest initial prices but typically add an up charge after they have your stuff in their possesion. 
{Insert a canned reason  from

them for up charge...}

I take it that this shady moving company is  hostaging some of his items?  

[NoMoreE46]

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@JoeRockhead wrote:

Unless it's an installment account I don't know how they could report it as late... they could report it as an unpaid collection and that would carry a significant penalty to their scores.

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 @JoeRockhead 

Today I learned that CRAs can data match PII to link a collections even without the SSN.

[SouthJamaica]

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@ThomasJNewton wrote:

I have a friend who just moved and is having a dispute with the moving company for about $750. He has about 6 cards all about 8 years old, with perfect payment records and  credit lines varying from $5,000 to $15,000. He has no need for new credit anytime soon, so he wants to know if they report this disputed payment as late, what is the likely impact on his scores?

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It would have a bad, serious long term effect.  They wouldn't report it as late, they would report it as a chargeoff or collection. He should find a better way to resolve this than just not paying.

[AlanWynn]

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@NoMoreE46 wrote:

I take it that this shady moving company is  hostaging some of his items?  

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 That would be terrible.

[CorpCrMgr1]

It might depend on if this was a CR'ing company. National firm vs. a local company could make a difference. A bigger worry would be if the moving company filed a suit in Small Claims Court. If your friend lost that would dramatically lower his score when it was reported. 

His best bet would be to contact the moving company to determine where/how the issue arose and determine if a legitimate charge.

Not all moving companies are rip offs. Mine charged an extra fee for moving an arcade game which I didn't have. They moved my pinball game and a grandfather's clock at no extra charge.