This debt has already been on my credit report once and was dropped 8 years ago. Now they have sent it to a collection agency who has had it put back on my credit report
2007-01-03 01:02:20 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
No. That's a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Credit bureaus can't list bankruptcy's longer than 10 years
and judgements and repos longer than 10 years. Almost everything else is 7 years. Some things are 5 years.
Contact the credit reporting bureau. Get them to send you a copy of the report. When you get it, Write letters to everyone on the report that says you owe them money. In the letter, ask them to
send you verification that you owe the debt. KEEP COPIES OF THE LETTERS. MAIL THE LETTERS CERTIFIED REGISTERED MAIL RETURN RECIEPT REQUESTED. This is very very important. The company has 30 days to respond to your request, if you don't hear from them in 30 days from the date they recieve the letter. Write to the credit bureau, send them copies of the letter you sent the creditor, copies of the post office reciept when you mailed it, and a copy of the card you got in the mail saying they got it. Ask the agency to remove the info because they couldn't prove you owe it. (Send the letter to the agency the same way certified registeredreturn reciept requested.) The agency has 30 days to remove the item, if they don't you can sue them for a lot of money. (The proof you have with those mailing reciepts is vital in this case.)
This is a simple way that anyone can LEGALLY repair their credit report without having to pay anyone to do it.
2007-01-03 02:13:31 · answer #1 · answered by txharleygirl1 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No they cannot. You are dealing with what is known as a zombie debt collector. The statue of limitations ran out 8 years ago. Basically what has happened is that another collection agaency has dug up an old debt of your and posted it as new. They can not do that. You need to contact the credit bureaus asap and also file a complaint with the FTC. You will have to prove the age of this debt. But you can start by making the credit bureaus have the collection agency validate this debt. Key word is to have them validate it. That is what you will request them to do. Since they can not validate this as a new debt it will have to be removed. I put a link in the source area that should give you a little more insight into what happened.
2007-01-03 02:37:27 · answer #2 · answered by logan 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It depends. Review your original contract and the laws in your state
However, no matter what the state you live in, it is ALWAYS legal for them to call (until you tell them to stop calling) or send letters (nothing you can do about the letters) requesting that you pay the debt. The statute of limitations only limits how long a company has to sue you for the amount you owe.
I am not sure what you mean by "the debt was dropped." Did it expire from your report, or did you have some sort of agreement with the company for them to remove the report?
2007-01-03 08:40:04 · answer #3 · answered by Together 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it is a normal collection account, then no, this is illegal. If you send a letter to the collection agency and the creditor that sold it to them demanding that the notation be removed permanently, then you should be covered. Just make sure that you do not acknowledge owing any debt.
In your letter, advise that both parties (name them) are in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and are subject to possible fines if they do not rectify the situation. Feel free to include in the opening section (Re: Your Name vs. ABC Collection Agency) to indicate that you are serious about defending your rights and pursuing compensation.
2007-01-03 01:22:38 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You do need to talk with a lawyer. I would be surprised if a 15 year old debt is collectable, but it is probably dependent on the regs in your state.
2007-01-03 01:14:46 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends on the debt. Consult a lawyer or an attorney general. Better yet, just pay the debt.
2007-01-03 01:10:38 · answer #6 · answered by oj 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think they can do that. What you can do in response is contact a credit bureau and have them investigate it. Or you can try and contest it in court, if they can't supply all of the paperwork showing that you owe them money, then they have to drop it. Make sure to get a lawyer because they will have them.
2007-01-03 01:11:04 · answer #7 · answered by Pfo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i agree with coyote 100 % this is something of a trend now where collection agency keep reposting an old debt so that it does not expire. and truly needs fixed i feel for you
2007-01-03 04:17:52 · answer #8 · answered by boominz28 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
NO,send them a letter to cease,send it certified,dont talk to them,if they dont stop make sure in the letter that you will have an attorney talk to them next,They are trying to scare you and they have,fight fire with fire.An attorney can help you draft the letter for not too much money,if you have an attorney as a friend ask for a favor
2007-01-03 01:15:00 · answer #9 · answered by vincent c 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They should no be able to put it on there. Did you get any letter or anything stateing that it was dropped? Tell the main source of when your last payment was and tell them that you are reporting them to the BBB for unfiar creidt reporting.
2007-01-03 01:11:49 · answer #10 · answered by packet69 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋