Are CC companies obligated to inform clients of action that will be taken with an account? i.e charge off?

Question

Are credit card companies obligated to inform clients of action that will be taken with an account, such as being sent to collection or that it will be charged off? My CC comp did NOT send my statements for 3 months due to a 'system's error', which they acknowledged in a letter. I did receive the '4th statement' which made no reference to actions or charge off. I made the payment before the due date. However, in the interim they charged-off my account and it is being reported to Credit Bureaus. I'm disputing the charge off. What are my options?

Answer 1

Working thru it w the cc company. Sending a dispute letter to the credit bureaus, & possibly seeking legal advice or representation.

Good Luck!!

Answer 2

I hope you have a copy of the letter in which they said they had a "system error". If so, that's all you really need to dispute it.

Also lots of other questions on this.....you say you made the payment before the due date? If you had not paid because you never received a statement, how could you pay it by the due date.

Anyway do this. If you have a copy of the "system error" letter, send it to the credit bureau along with a dispute letter. Also send it to the collection agency with a demand to validate the debt (read the Fair Credit Reporting Act).

I'm going to bet that the Credit Card company did not place the credit report on you. It was the collection agency, so they are who you go after.

Without that letter you are going to have a very hard time disputing this. You were obviously late, and not getting a statement is not going to be a good excuse.

As for your original question about notifications....no they don't have a requirement to notify you. Most laws involving debt collections are covered under the Fair Debt Collections Act. That law only applies to collection agents, lawyers, or other 3rd party collection services. It does not apply to the original creditor.

At best they have an obligation to send you a payment demand before filing a lawsuit. But they are not required to notify you in the event of a charge-off.

Answer 3

I have placed this in the source box. There is a wealth of information there and a great free debt management software program. I bookmarked the site as I return to it often for the advice it offers. I hope this helps you.