Perfect Credit , But Just Got A Collection Account On My Credit Report
i have perfect credit , I have 4 credit cards with a total avail of about 25k , i only have a balance on one of them for about 2k ( the card that has a 2k balance has a 5k limit) , my report also shows that i had a student loan that was paid off , and on my report i also have 6 mortgages , one is for my primary home , 1 is listed as a mtg but is really my home equity line , and the others are investment prop....... i have a cell fone with cingular and sprint , but they dont show up on my account ( fyi , as fa as i know cell phone companies dont report ur account activity until its become negative ) , i used to have ana cocunt with nextel , and we are in the middle of disputing it , the bill is for 2k , next thing i know its with a collection agency and it shows on my report......... my question is , nextel allows me to pay it off with them , should i pay them directly or pay it via the collection agency
You want to pay Nextel (unless they refuse to deal with you because they've sold the account). If at all possible, you always deal with the OC rather than the CA. Too many things can go wrong when dealing with a CA ... including the CA never giving any part of your payment to the OC (legally or illegally). So if you feel you owe something to the OC pay the OC, if not, fight all the way.
A "paid collection" is as bad as an unpaid one for your FICO, etc., so you want to negotiate a "pay-for-delete" (actually, delete for pay, but the common acronym is PFD) so that whoever has the listing showing on your reports removes it entirely (tricky if it's an assignment rather than a sale and you're dealing with Nextel, because while they may be able to pull the account back, the CA may mark it "paid collection" regardless).
If it's been sold, the CA may deleate, but the Nextel listing may be hard to brush off (assuming the account shows twice on your credit report, once with the OC [Original Creditor] and once with the CA).
The CA TL ("Tradeline"--lingo for a listing) on your reports can trigger "Universal Default" and get bad things to happen to your credit cards ... jacked rates, lowered limits, cancellation, nonrenewal. You need to fight it all the way.
Steven,
Look at your report and see who has put you in the collection. Work a deal with that agency to do a deletion as posted above. Make sure you have them fax you the deletion letter and send it to all 3. Keep a copy in you records.
Good Luck and keep us posted,
Scott
Heres an update !! ....... the collection agency called me today , very nice and friendly ( gc services ) and he saw a small payment that i made to nextel about 10 days ago for about 10% of the balance , and he says that i should pay the rest , he said it doesnt matter if i pay him or nextel but as long as i paid it in full................ he said it would show up as paid on my report
i feel even a paid collection is a negative on my otherwise perfect report, bec it shows that i was irresponsible or financially unable to deal with this debt
so , armed with the knowledge i learned form this forum , i said i would like to offer a pay-for-delete , and that i would send a letter , and as soon as i got a response to my letter in writing i would mail a money order overnight ..........at first he said all he could do is list it as paid, and we were arguing back and forth until he realized i wouldnt budge, he gave me his fax # and asked me to fax in my request and " we'll see what i can do "
my question is , should i just take a sample copy of a PFD on the boards and fax it to him or do i must send it certified mail ....... ? or should i go ahead with the fax and when someone finally gets back to me and agrees , should i just tell him to wait a day and i'll overnight a letter , or is a fax good enough
Steven,
I would have them fax you a letter stating that when you pay the determined figure you will receive a letter of deletion within a number of days. They may also be willing to fax the letter of deletion right over when paid. This will help you get the ball rolling. But make sure you keep copies as most of us know how fast things can change.
Also the reporting agency should report it right back to the bureaus it is listed in and it should come off. This has worked fine with a number of people I work with and myself.
Keep going up the chain of command until its deleted.
Good luck and keep us posted!
Scott
Steven,
One other thought: deal with him as he is the one that would remove it, not Nextel.
Scott
Getgoing is correct you should work with the Collection Agency as they are the ones that need to delete it from the CRA's.
I would give them a day to respond by and if they won't do a PFD then ask them what their settlement offer is, I would recommend that you don't take a deal that is for anything that equals or is more than about 75% of the ORIGINAL amount due. Once you get it paid you can dispute it and they will eventually get tired of confirming it and it will be removed.
Did you dispute it with the collection agency in writing? Are they reporting it as a disputed credit line? IF you have disputed it with them by certified mail AND they aren't reporting it as disputed AND you have a copy of your credit report that is 30 days after the dispute that is still not showing the it is disputed, you can point out to them that you are considering seeking damages in court under the FCRA for mis-reporting to the CRA's. You can get up to $1000 plus damages per violation.
Always deal with the one who is listing you In the bureaus as they are the ones who remove it, not the company that is owed.
Let us know how it worked out,
Scott