Credit score dropped nearly 100 points! :(

[Coleroo]

UPDATE!

I sent in my validation letter on May 2. Got the return receipt back with the signature... and then waited.

30 days is the limit they have to validate what you owe - 30 days came and went and i still heard nothing from them. No mailing, no nothing...

SOOOO... a few days ago I took a deep breath and checked my free credit reports on the annualcreditreport.com website.

NOTHING IS ON THERE!!!! :-) It appears that the negative mark has been removed from all of my reports. I am back to normal again! One of my friends (a former debt collector) said they probably looked at the puny amount and figured it wasnt worth their effort since they only get a certain percentage of it anyway. WHOOHOO!!

So with the short time it took to write the letter up, then the cost of the stamp and certified mailing, I now have cleared my name and returned my good credit. WOOT WOOT!!!

[JoyJoy]

Well WTG!!! A hard lesson to learn, but well worth the ending!

Good luck to you.

[Marc Chase]

Originally Posted by disneysaver

You should go to creditboards.com and research how to approach this. You may be past the statute of limitations for this debt, in which case you are no longer responsible for it. They have a lot of advice on how to dispute negative items and have them removed from your credit reports.

She is not past the statute of limitations, Its 7 years. There is a second statute which covers the length of time they can take legal action and is usually shorter (state to state)

Send a dispute to the reporting credit bureau. If it comes back verified, send them a method of verification letter which basically asks who, when, where they talked to them.

if that fails, send a validation of debt to the collection company. That states they have to prove its your debt. ie signed contracts, accounting, how they came up with 91.00 etc etc.

They have 30 days (plus mail time) to respond, or they have to remove it from your report.

Finally; if all that fails, since it may be past the statute in which they can sue, they know they are probably not getting a dime.

Offer to pay them 50% IF THEY DELETE THE TRADE LINE. Works like a charm for older debts like this

[Coleroo]

Originally Posted by Marc Chase

She is not past the statute of limitations, Its 7 years. There is a second statute which covers the length of time they can take legal action and is usually shorter (state to state)

Send a dispute to the reporting credit bureau. If it comes back verified, send them a method of verification letter which basically asks who, when, where they talked to them.

if that fails, send a validation of debt to the collection company. That states they have to prove its your debt. ie signed contracts, accounting, how they came up with 91.00 etc etc.

They have 30 days (plus mail time) to respond, or they have to remove it from your report.

Finally; if all that fails, since it may be past the statute in which they can sue, they know they are probably not getting a dime.

Offer to pay them 50% IF THEY DELETE THE TRADE LINE. Works like a charm for older debts like this

Hi Marc,

I have already done these steps (see my success post just above yours). It worked great - the collection was removed without a hassle and without me having to pay a dime to them.

Thanks!