Collection accounts and your credit?

Question

I had a credit card that went to collection over seven years ago. But one has sold it to other and other and now I have a new collection agency telling me that I owe them money for a debt and it will stay on my credit until 2012 That will make it a total of 13 years this debt for $2000 is following me. Can they do this. I have disputed it once but I just tried and dipute it again. And experian told me no that I already disputed it. Now what

Answer 1

The reporting period would be FROM when a person had become 30 days past due and never brought the account current leading to the charge off - that account CANNOT legally be re-aged to be reported for longer than the required reporting period.
Once an account is charged off, any payment (to the original creditor/collector) will not re-set the reporting period for that account !!!!!

If the collector told you by phone or in writing that it will report as re-aged, then they have violated your rights.
Though if it was by phone, unless you were taping, you have no proof of the violation.

If they are reporting it and it has been more than 7 years since your first 30 day late, never brought the account current leading to the charge off - then they are violating.
BUT, if you try to sue right off the bat for their violation they can probably claim bona fide error and get away with it.
You need to build a paper trail that proves they are willfully violating.

Order paid copies of your credit report from each CRA and see if they are reporting.
Check the collecting SOL for your state (chances are very good that you are past the collecting SOL).

Send the collector a debt validation letter.
Do not sign your name on any letter you send to a collector, print your initials or type your name.
Send the letter certified mail return receipt.

When you get the green card back, file disputes with the CRA's.

IF the collector verifys the trade line, that would be a violation and it would be harder for them to claim bona fide error if you should sue.

If you are still within the collecting SOL, after they respond to your validation request (which I doubt they can provide proper validation since so much time has passed) or after 35 days have passed since they signed the green card and/or if they verify with the CRA's, you might step it up and file complaints with the BBB, the FTC, your AG and their AG.
(if it remains on your reports, after you file your complaints, redispute with the CRA's and include a copy of your FTC complaint in with your dispute)

If you are past the collecting SOL for your state, after they respond to your validation request or 35 days have passed since they signed the green card, you might send a SOL letter - which tells them the account is no longer legally collectible and to take a hike.

If they continue to try to collect (if you are past SOL and informed them of it) or if they continue to report - you might consider suing.

You might click on my profile in here and do some reading in the links I've provided to the FDCPA, FCRA and especially in the last link listed, where you can find sample letter templates of validation and SOL letters.

Answer 2

Credit cards and Collection Agencies are not allowed to Re-Age the debt, no matter how many times they sell or transfer the account.

Negative information will remain on your report for 7 years from the date of the negative information. So for Charge-Off this will be for 7 years from the date of the last delinquency. If you made any payments since then the time gets reset. If you have not made any payments for more than 7 years it needs to be off of the report. This DOES NOT mean that they can not attempt to collect the debt, it just means that it can no longer be reported.

Since it sounds as if you already wrote Experian. You now need to send a Ceritified letter to the Collection Agency. In this letter you need to request validation of the debt. This includes the payment history. They have 30 days to respond to you. If they do not respond to you in 30 days, you can then send a letter to Experian stating that they did not respond. At this time Experian will be required to remove it from your report. If this shows up on your other reports(TransUnion, Equifax) you will need to dispute it with them also.

Until they validate the debt the Collection Agency is not allowed to contact you in relationship to the debt. If the collection agency validates the debt and shows you had a payment you have to go about disputing that, if in fact you did not make it.

Answer 3

I wouldn't worry too much. It's a hassle to have people harass you about old debt, but if what you say is true and the debt was sold to an outside collections agency, and this was more than 10 years ago, they are more than likely breaking the law by saying it will go on your credit. It should not still be on your credit and you can get them to stop. You need to find out what their address is so that you can write them a formal letter requesting that they not contact you.

Google this: Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

Answer 4

Check the laws in your state but I know the rule where I live goes like this. After 7 years of no contact or acknowledgment of the debt it gets wiped from your credit file. If you have acknowledged the debt is yours or paid ANY money down towards the debt the 7 years start from this point onwards. If this has happened to you, i would do 1 of 2 things. Either try to see if the collection agency will settle the debt for a lesser amount ( get a letter of release to make sure it is off your credit file ) OR tell them to pound salt, you have done fine without paying them for over 7 years and you are fully prepared to go another 7 years without responding so they have to take it off your record. They may try to frighten you by threatening to take you to court of garnisheeing your wages but they very rarely do unless you owe much more than what it would cost and at $2000.00 that is small potatoes to them.

Answer 5

You need to ask the new collection agency for validation of the debt. When they send it to you go to this web site:
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20040116b2.asp#mt.asp

Check what the Statute of Limitations (SOL) is for your state. Remember the SOL runs from the date of last charge OR the date of last payment. If this is in fact past the SOL then send a letter to them stating that the debt is past the SOL and to Cease & Desist collection activity and to remove it form your credit report because they are in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act because the dates are incorrect.
Next,
Send a letter to Experian telling them that the SOL is expired on this acocunt and the the collections agency that is reporting it is using fardulent dates and they are in Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and that the account must be removed IMMEDEATLY.

Answer 6

Well if you had it for over seven years it should have been charge off. But every time you make a payment it renews the account and restart your 7 years. If you want you can write to the Credit Beau and disagree with the debt

Answer 7

do no longer combination your state Statute of obstacles (SOL), the time-physique to hold lawsuit, with the Federal regulation on the reporting era. they're 2 thoroughly various issues. Derogatory products age off your credit rfile 7-one million/2 years from the date of first deficiency (default) -- no longer the date the account grow to be opened or the date the sequence enterprise reported it. this is in line with the FCRA and not something restarts this clock. in case you defaulted in this account in 2009, it is going to age off in 2016.

Answer 8

my cousin was the same way, but after 10 yrs they say its off your credit report, i don't worry about it myself, soooo many people have credt card debts, don't let it worry you.