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     | Wednesday, January 19, 2000 - 10:19 am  I'm stumped. I just recieved a collection notice for a bill I supposedly owe from 1992. I have never recieved any such bill from this utility and in fact have an account with them currently. The collection company is threatening to report this to Equifax in 33 days if I do not send payment. What should I do. I do not believe I ever owed this and they sure did wait a long time to hit me with it.
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| | Wednesday, January 19, 2000 - 03:31 pm At least you received a notice from the 3rd party. I had the misfortune of finding out when a credit request was declined. Come to find out, I moved and the SWBT rep typed in the wrong address for where to send the final billing statement (which also explained where the odd address came from that was on the credit report). After threatening to lodge a complaint with the PUC, SWBT agreed to remedy the error; it then took almost four months to get the 3rd party to quit reporting the errant account. Experian was the worst of the CRA's in this matter. I'm curious, though, whether Equifax could even report the debt you cite since it would appear to be more than 7 years from the date of delinquency. Though the clock might start over if it goes to a 3rd party agent.
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| | Wednesday, January 19, 2000 - 04:21 pm Contact the utility company and ask them to provide you with written assurance that they will pull your account from collections and ensure that no derogatory information is reported to the credit bureaus. Pester the daylights out of them until you receive the letter you requested. Send a certified letter to the collection agency telling them to cease communication with you about this alleged debt. If they are calling you on the telephone, hang up in their faces. You don't have to talk to them.
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| | Thursday, January 20, 2000 - 08:37 am You should find out the statute of limitations on the debt for your state. I believe the information can be found here. I suggest you tell them you don't recognize the validity of the debt and that you want them to provide you with proof of it. If they put it on your credit profile a dispute should easily get it off considering how old it is.
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| | Friday, January 21, 2000 - 11:11 pm To Anonymous (Jan 19 at 3:19PM): Sean is right about the statute of limitations. [A special gratitude is owed to Kristy Welsh of Credit Info Center for providing this valuable resource on statutes of limitations.] Since this bogus utility bill is from 1992, the statute of limitations for collecting has most likely expired. The statute of limitations for credit reporting has definitely expired, but you would have to argue that point with the minimum wage earning "Consumer Relations Representatives" at the Credit Reporting Agencies. (You would have to argue the Old FCRA VS New FCRA). This is why I think the simplest and least time consuming remedy is to call the utility company and ask them for a letter confirming that you paid the 1992 debt on time. Then, if it somehow appears on your credit report, you can send a copy of the letter to the Credit Reporting Agency with your dispute. Written documentation from the creditor gets quicker, easier results than the consumer arguing points of law. There is no way that you'll ever get a collection agency to provide a letter stating that the debt is not valid (unless you hire an attorney to threaten them with a lawsuit for FDCPA violations). The collection agency already knows good and well that this debt is bogus, so sending a "cease comm" letter by certified or registered mail will get them to stop dunning you (and will deny them the opportunity of sending vague, fake "verification" to justify harassing you further). _________________________________________ To Everyone: Communicating with a collection agency should always be a measure of last resort. Collection agents will distort the facts, and they will lie to you and intimidate you in any way they can possibly think of. They really don't care if you actually owe or not-- they just want your money! They will use any information you give them to figure out a way to get you to pay them. In every instance, it is always best to try to resolve the situation with the original creditor first. If you feel you must deal with a collection agency, communicate only in writing and only by certified or registered mail. The purpose of your communication should be either to: A. Request verification of the debt-- If you are not sure whether you owe OR B. To demand that the collection agency "cease communication" with you-- If you are sure you do not owe Don't provide any personal information other than the account number they assigned to you and your mailing address (you are not required to provide anything else, including your phone number). Cardinal Rule: "Never communicate with debt collectors by telephone!" Get everything in writing, so you have iron-clad proof of everything that was said. Debt collectors are not customer service representatives. You are not their customer-- you are their victim (even more so than you are with the credit reporting agencies). More Information On How To Deal With Debt Collectors
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