Knowing when to dispute with the credit reporting agencies,
When deciding to start credit repair, initiating disputes with the credit reporting agencies, please consider a few things first about Statute of Limitations:
What are your financial means? Are you capable of paying on any outstanding debt on the chance that it comes to doing just that!
If you are not financially capable of paying, then you might re-consider pulling your credit report, little lone initiating disputes with creditors, collection agencies or credit reporting agencies.
Just pulling a credit report, may activate an existing skip trace placed on the file by the creditor or collection agency - when this happens just as soon as your credit report is accessed, the credit reporting agency as a service notifies the creditor or collection agency that placed the skip trace of the recent access by you to your credit file... or anyone pulling your credit report for that matter.
Usually following such a notification will be an inquiry into your credit report to see if new addresses exist so that they can pick up collection efforts again.
Some people are more aggressive, and will jump right out there regardless of waking up collection agencies. These people are more on the offensive, running with request for debt validation, in a hope that the collection agency will be unable to verify thus relinquish collection efforts on an account and remove their reported listings with the credit reporting agencies.
But just because you chase them off does not mean that you won the war, only one battle, because collection agencies if they don't want to fight this way, they will either 1) return accounts back to the original creditor, or 2) sell the account (if they own it) to another collection agency. Thus putting you at square one again, or worse dealing with an original creditor (who is not obligated to abide by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) as collection agencies are bound by.
Creditors are only obligated to validate debt, if you request validation within 30 days of their initial collection letter. Many times consumers move around and don't receive that initial collection letter, just because you did not receive it does not mean that you are in the clear years later to request the debt validation. Some collection agencies will validate the debt, but years later many will not. Especially 2nd and 3rd collection agencies working the account.
Highly recommend reading up on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act when ever a collection agency holds an account!
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm
My warning is to those that would want to initiate action while within the Statute of Limitations; you can sometimes run into collection agencies fully willing and capable of verifying your ownership to a debt.
When this happens, you have no recourse, meaning they know they won the battle, and next step if they are legally licensed and have legal representation can result in them taking you to court to file a judgment.
Worse thing about this is if allowed by your state laws, can result in wage garnishment, or liens against properties. This does not mean every creditor or collection agencies will seek this remedy once a judgment is obtained, but it is possible.
I understand that sometimes consumers are cornered and have no choice but to try these means, I just think that it is important to put out these warnings before hand so that you can evaluate the risks to your specific case first to decide for yourself the best course.
If you are in the Statute of Limitations it might mean that the collection agency does validate, and that they are in their right to sue, and that you would be forced to negotiate settlement to for go judgment being filed.
If you are not able to address past debt issues, you should look up what your statute of limitations are for that type of debt and wait until that period of time has passed, it is also important if you are going to try to clean up your credit that you maintain documentation showing when the account initially went default, because if you are not careful a collection agency will alter the reporting making the debt appear to be still within SOL when it is not. And it would then be your word against theirs and not likely to win in court.
It is just a given that if you run into financial problems, you are going to be at least stuck with a period of time that it is not safe to dispute these accounts without opening yourself up to further financial trouble.
After the SOL has expired and provided you have the proof, can be either statement direct from the creditor or copies of your credit report when the account initially went default, but after that time has passed. There are many that will begin credit repair, to review credit reports for errors, and begin the process of disputing, and using all technical advantage to remove such negative listings before the 7 year reporting period is up on most account listings.
Just be careful and review first the laws, and consider the consequences if you fail what it might cost you later on.
Hi, So does it mean time barred debts cant be claimed in any wa
Hi,
So does it mean time barred debts cant be claimed in any way?Does it also imply that time barred debts are as goos as bad debt?
If you can please clarify this point.
Thanks
Mike
Sorry you were not clear enough for me on the question. Will try
Sorry you were not clear enough for me on the question. Will try to answer.
If the debt is time barred or out of SOL, then it means that the consumer has a legal defense not to pay the debt.
A creditor or collection agency can still try to pull a fast one and file a judgment, a lot of times consumers fail to appear in court to defend themselves.
If you do go into court, the consumer needs to prove to the judge that the debt is time barred. Past credit report, billing statements or such.
Sometimes creditors and collection agencies have been known to re-age debt, to report falsely a more recent time as the last activity date so that it 1) extends the reporting period or 2) makes the debt appear to still be within the statute of limitations.
Very important that consumers keep past copies of credit reports, to show what is correct, or keep past billing statements showing originally when the debt defaulted.
When the debt is written off, charged off - that creditor already took a tax break from the IRS, so to them it is already claimed as a loss... if they get paid later down the line, then they have to report it as income and pay taxes to the IRS later.
The law was put in place on purpose to protect consumers from creditors or collection agencies being able to pursue them indefinitely on outstanding debt.
It is going to be the last stand now with the recent changes to bankruptcy laws.
RE:
Hi Pammila,
Thanks for the clarification Pammila. I'm sure Mike will find this interesting. :)
Please share your knowledge and insights with us always and help us to learn better. Am also eagerly waiting for the e-book you promised to share with us.:D
Take care and stay tuned,
Jason
disputed old phone bill
Back in 2002 some outrageous phone fees appeared on my phone bill. SBC could not explain where the fees came from or what they were for. They just appeared on my bill one month. I disputed them and was told they were removed and they were.... until last week- a collection agency called and said I owed SBC over $500!! from 4 years ago!
[quote=Faith]SBC could not explain where the fees came from or w
[quote=Faith]SBC could not explain where the fees came from or what they were for.[/quote]
Do you have any record of this? If you can show some evidence that SBC could not prove this charges and it was removed from your report earlier, then you will be in a stronger position.
IMHO, simply send them DV letter, make it certified. See if they can validate your debt or not. Third party collection agencies must provide validation by law.
Chances are some debt buyer has bought your account and trying to collect it. Check with your state laws if the said account is past SOL. No one can legally force you for collecting a past SOL debt.
credit bureaus
how long in the state of south dakota after statue of limitations expired can deliquent debt stay on your credit report.
You are confusing the SOL for collecting and CRA's for reporting
You are confusing the SOL for collecting and CRA's for reporting. When you stopped paying on an acct or a Ca places an acct on your report it will stay on your credit report for 7 yrs.
South Dakota Legal: 6% Judgment: 12% STATUTE OF LIMITAT
South Dakota
Legal: 6%
Judgment: 12%
STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS (IN YEARS)
Open Acct. for services: 6
Sale of Goods: 4
Written Contract: 6
Domestic Judgment: 10 renewable
Foreign Judgment: 10 renewable
BAD CHECK LAWS (CIVIL PENALTY)
Amount due, collection fees of $20, and $100 or 3x check whichever is less.
GENERAL GARNISHMENT EXEMPTIONS
Greater of 75% or amount each wk. = to 40 x fed. min. hourly wage. Plus $20.00 each household dependent.
COLLECTION AGENCY BOND & LICENSE
Bond: $20,000
License: Yes
Fee: $200
Exemption for out-of-state collectors: Out-of-state collectors may be exempt if [1] collecting only; [2] their office is located in a state that has a reciprocal law; and [3] the state has "enacted similar legislation".
Kb disregard above post this board hates me I have to login ever
Kb disregard above post this board hates me I have to login every time, what a pain. So how are you. glad to see you over here i had read your first post above and knew it was you.
Lefty, who said this board hates you?? You are always welcome he
Lefty, who said this board hates you?? You are always welcome here. The login makes your identity prominent. :)
I have read Pammila's posts in a lot of places. You have so much
I have read Pammila's posts in a lot of places. You have so much of knowledge!!! I haven't seen you writing in this board since a long time. How are you? BTW :)
I have been doing fine, in fact just moved recently and looking
I have been doing fine, in fact just moved recently and looking to get married again next year. I have been over to Cardratings. What happen to AOC?
Great to see you Lefty, how have you been doing?
Thanks Anthony, very kind of you to say. I always keep notification turned on when ever someone posts so that I can follow up.
I am still working and will drop in more often now that I have settled down from my recent move.
Feeling good to hear about your marriage plans. Now you won't fe
Feeling good to hear about your marriage plans. Now you won't feel lonely anymore. How is your health, BTW? Are you taking care of it nicely as you are heading towards the new life.
I am Bipolar, Attention Deficit Disorder, Borderline Personality
I am Bipolar, Attention Deficit Disorder, Borderline Personality, and Post Tramatic Stress Disorder. Doctors put me on Geodone, Zoloft, Clonazepam, and Concerta. So far the last year I have been pretty stable. Not always focused as I would like to be but it is a balancing act with all the medications.
Take care of your health, Pammila. I assume these medicines are
Take care of your health, Pammila. I assume these medicines are of high doses. Take your food and rest properly. I will keep you in my prayers for a speedy recovery. Wish that you don't have to depend on these medicines for the whole life. Anyways, take care.
Re aging....
How can the issue of "re aging" be attacked most effectively? I suspect I have two accounts from well over 9 years ago that keep cropping up in my report...and it seems that the date of last activity is more and more recent. I guess I could start getting reports on frequent basis and compare? Would that approach work? It's really frustrating, yanno?
If you have done payments on both the accounts recently, it will
If you have done payments on both the accounts recently, it will be reported in your credit file. The SOL gets renewed even if the account went past the seven years reporting period. The item will be listed in the latest credit copy with the latest information.
I will like to pay them off and see some improvement in your scores.
I guess I should have prefaced that last post with the fact the
I guess I should have prefaced that last post with the fact the these are accounts incurred by my ex, without my knowledge, a long time ago. I had thought they might disappear after the specified amount of time, but no such luck. I am told that accounts like this are sold from one company to another in order to keep the date within seven years old. Any truth to this?
All account listings should be removed 7 years from the date whe
All account listings should be removed 7 years from the date when you originally defaulted on the account. The new accounts being added are collection agencies and they are bound within that 7 year period. You should if you can contact the credit reporting agency and ask them to give you the expiration dates on all listings and if you find any that are off dispute them with the credit reporting agency.
Pammila, thanks for the reply. Now, when in contact with th
Pammila, thanks for the reply.
Now, when in contact with the CRA, do I ask to have that particular account removed due to the fact it has been WELL over the seven year period? Also, what if the date of the original charge has changed? Can they do that? It looks as though when the account was transferred from one agency to another, that the date reflected was the date of the transfer. I am going to wait and see what is replied to this before I take any action. Let me know, I'll check back in soon. Thanks again.
CodeRed The date of first delinquency should not change in th
CodeRed
The date of first delinquency should not change in the credit report. The seven years reporting time is calculated from this date even if your file passes on to different agencies.
Highlight the item that you are disputing with the CRA. They will check their records after going through the item you have put on dispute. Your credit file will be updated with the correct information
Actually...to CodeRed's point
Actually...to CodeRed's point, I also am concerned about the collection agencies with my 3 debts (tot ~15K) doing this to me as well.
Let's say I have old credit reports, let's say they do a re-aging stunt with my credit report. It's still just my word against thiers. What can I do about that. My old credit reports don't say I didn't make a payment in the future. They would just say, "He sent us 25 bucks" and bam...you are just screwed. I cannot proved that I didn't do something because I have no paperwork saying I didnt do it. So I'm confused, now that my debt is within a few months of the SOL for Texas, what can I actually do to defend myself from/undo this tactic?
Thanks
collection on one credit agency but not the other 2
a collection showed on my credit report, and the account was cancelled a few years ago. it never showed up on my credit until now. also it shows on one credit agency but not the others. what should i do.
