Scott
Staten Island,#2Consumer Comment
Wed, November 01, 2006
It is not 7 years from last payment. It is 7 years from first permanent delinquency with the original creditor. Even if you pay the collection agency. The part that does get prolonged is the Statute of Limitations that the creditor, or collection agency can take legal action against the consumer. If you start making payments, the Statute begins all over again. Not the clock on the 7 years. Also, as far as paying back these collectors. What you can do is try to settle ONLY for deletion. And MAKE SURE YOU GET THIS IN WRITING. Do not let them talk you into sending money until they send you in writing that they will delete account upon receipt of payment. And chances are you can settle for about 1/2 the original debt if not less. I had problems when I was younger (around 18-20) with being able to pay my bills. I got around to fixing it all within the past 2 years. And any collection agency that was after me, I settled for deletion. I now have no negative or delinquent accounts on my report other than Verizon who will not budge for anything. But I am sure others will tell you the same. :) My next step is to sue Verizon for failing to update with the bureaus, and also suing Experian for falsy reporting the Verizon account as a revolving account and not a collection account. And verifying it even after I sent documentation. I wish you luck... there are many websites out on the web that can help you understand your rights, and help you with how to go about disputing, lawsuits, etc... Use Google and get to know your rights, and how to go about all this BS... It is annoying and tough at first. But when I got it all done, it was a relief.
S
Tampa,#3Consumer Comment
Wed, August 23, 2006
I have not paid them (yet) and they are both only reported by the OC's. I have disputed the account due to errors and that is why it has come back "verified and updated" with the wrong charge off dates. I have contacted an attorney and we will be moving forward with a lawsuit for violations reported by Experian. The other 2 CRA's have them reported correctly. Experian also has a violation with a friend of mine. They filed bankruptcy and included 3 credit cards. Stupid Experian shows two of the cards as included in BK and the other as "verified & updated" and only shows as a charge off and they will not report it as included in the BK. Experian said the OC reported it as NOT included.. but that is WRONG becuase it is reported as included in the BK on the other 2 reports. The friends have even sent proof that is was indeed included in their bankruptcy, but Experian refuses to correct it. They are using the same attorney that we are to sue there pants off for incorrectly reporting and re-aging accounts. Thanks for the info however.
Robert
Jacksonville,#4Consumer Comment
Tue, August 22, 2006
By paying them after the debt was charged off, you are to blame for the account being active again. NEVER pay a penny, admit the debt is yours, or anything else once the account is charged off. Don't even acknowledge you are you. When they call, ignore them. When they write, ignore them. This is especially true once the debt can no longer be persueddue to the Statute of Limitations. Each state is different. NC is 3 years. Fl is 5. Once the SoL has expired, the creditor is just that...SOL. Collection Agencies have no legal cause to take you to court, only the original creditor. Make life hard for them, and they'll go away. When a collection agency takes the "paper", they have bought it for pennies, and will attempt to collect big bucks from it. If you give them anything at all, they've made a profit, and get to screw your credit score along with it. By attempting to pay the debt, you did two things. One, you tried to correct a past credit issue, and in the meantime, just prolonged the agony. It will be there for 7 years AFTER your last payment. Two, you allowed the original creditor to update the file, thus your score just went down again.
Rebecca
Belleville,#5Consumer Suggestion
Tue, August 22, 2006
I'm having the same problem. Earlier this year when I started having financial trouble I joined a 3/1 credit report service to monitor my situation. Each month I print out what is being reported. I initailly obtained my yearly freebies from the big 3. There is one particular tradeline that has reaged, and only w/ Experian. The charge off date was initially July 180/June. They've changed this to show June/July both 180 days charge off in August (how is this possible?). I'll be watching this closely and have already retained an attorney to help me w/ my financial situation. Experian will verify and say they only report what they are told....right. I'm not going to file my own rip off report until I legally confirm what is going on. I was told to download my report each time it changes and make a hard copy. You need to build a paper trail, and I will also suggest you dispute via mail and send all communications CMRR.