Help!

You can take the help of an attorney and get this matter resolved. If you've already paid off the debts, then no one can ask you for payments for the same debt again. It is the attorney who will let you know what steps you need to take in this regard and help you resolve the matter.

Anna....I repeat ....attorneys are expensive!!! They charge $150 an hour and up!!! Most people do not have this money!!! It is a total waste of time you suggesting this.

To the poster...unless you have a settlement offer letter or an actual settled in full letter to back up that payment, you are not going to be able to prove that payment was a settlement. An attorney cannot do anything for you.....you do not have the proof to back up your payment. The rule of thumb is you do not send a CA a dime of a settlement unless you have a settlement offer letter in your hands.

FYI....the BBB is a waste of time. It is simply a letter writing organization that has no legal or judical power.

I would not just accept that they have legtitimate collection authority. While you may have to resort to legal action, you can, if circumstances permit, first try addressing this via the FCRA dispute process.

I A lot depends upon what has or has not been reported to your CR, as credit reporting gives you the opportunity to address such issues through the FCRA dispute processes.

First question. Did the OC on this account ever report to the CRA? Important. If they did, and a debt collector is now contacting you, that means that the OC still considers there to be an unpaid debt. If the OC has never reported to a CRA, then you cant use the dispute process to address this conflict, but if the OC has reported, you can use the FCRA dispute processes to force verification by them.

If you provide the status of all credit reporting done by both the OC and the debt collectors, there are sure to be disputable items. Can you provide additional info?

I agree with Lian and Soap Lady on a few different issues.

Since you already paid this debt you shouldn't have to be dealing with this again. But the problem with which you're faced is the lack of proof of payment. Since you deleted the proof from your email and no longer have access to it, there is one more option you may have. Check your credit reports and see if any of them are reflecting this account as settled in full. If they are, there's your proof (along with a copy of the bank transaction).

Also, you'll want to challenge the current collection agency to provide proof of this debt by sending a written request for validation of the debt. When doing so from our office we always send this request via written form only, and do so via fax and certified mail (fax so that it arrives sooner rather than later, and certified mail so that we have proof of receipt).

Please keep us posted - and good luck!