Discovered Unknown Debt on Report...What next?

Unless you've a burning need [need, not desire] to make it happen ASAP, I'd start by investigating why the city didn't pay it. I'd also demand validation of the debt from the CA in question. You said it had been on your report for several years, right? What's the rush?

Wow this is an interesting situation. I would definitely do what Wulf suggested, though I wonder if the city will even know what you are talking about since it was more then a couple years ago. Was there a police report on whatever happened that had the police force you onto the ambulance? If you can, get a copy of that and see if there might be anything useful in that.

You can DV the collection agency, there is a good chance they won????????t be able to get the documentation, but would likely require you to take them to court to force them to remove the account.

You can write the CA a ???????pay for delete???????? letter, basically making an agreement that upon paying the money, they will remove the account from all reporting agencies they reported to. Make SURE you get any agreement in writing!!! This is very important because without one it is highly likely the CA will simply take the money and not remove the account, but just report it as a paid collection. That won????????t help your credit at all! Some CAs will try to tell you that they can????????t legally remove the account, but that is a huge load of poo. They can remove any account they place. The only law they have is that anything they report must be accurate, so don????????t let them try that BS on you.

If whatever happened was serious enough that the police could compel Pants711 to ride in an ambulance, then there is a report. It may or may not state whether the officer told Pants that the city would pay for it. There is a policy in place here. I dunno what city this was, or any details of this case, but there is an official policy in place, that the police have to follow. The trick may be in finding what that policy was at that time.

Pants, you could start by asking the city government about it. Do not let on that you are seeking to have the city cover this bill. Tell'em you're doing research for a school paper or something, maybe looking at national trends, etc. You want to know what the official policy said in 2003? Great. Start by asking what it says now, then when was it last updated, then dig for historical data if needed. See if they'd be kind enough to make you some copies [you'd be willing to pay for the copy charges]. This technique is called 'social engineering', by the way. And it does work, if handled properly.

It may also be worth your time to buy a half-hour of time from a local personal injury lawyer. You don't have [I don't think] a personal injury case. But these guys deal with ambulance rides and such daily. If anybody knows, they will.

UPDATE- I spoke to someone @ the CA about my account & was told it was against company policy to remove or amend entries to CRs. I was told it would register as paid in full, but they could not state anything more. It turns out the address was wrong, off by only a couple of digits, and that that is why I never recieved a bill in the mail. The rep was far from friendly, as I anticipated going in. He said that I was niave to think an ambulance bill would just "go away" & that it was not his companies problem that the address was incorrect. I guess I should try to contact the city again, get a hold of my police report, see if the address IS wrong. The cops had my friggin' ID card in hand, how hard is it to copy the info down correctly? any thoughts? Thanks

P.S. Thanks to Wulf for responding

I'd be kind of curious what the SOL for something like this might be. I'd also agree that a DV letter should be sent. Force THEM to prove that it is your responsibility to pay it. Make sure you exhaust all your rights before simply giving up cash you don't owe. It may turn out that a "recently paid" derogatory may hurt your score more than an old debt from '03. It may very well be out of the statute of limitations as well. If you can prove any of these things, they may be more willing to ah.. "amend" that policy. Are there any other innacurate/fraudulent details about the listing in your CR? Have they attempted to "reage" it or are the actual dates listed?

The actual date listed on my CRs as delinquent is 7/05. The incident happened 8/03. It seems like a long time to wait for it go into collection. They have a wrong address listed for me in the previous addresses section, as well.

I sent a DV letter out yesterday, proof read by my good friend, esq. Not a bad piece of legal-ese, I might add.

I am curious-if they don't send me validation, do I have legal recourse due to the fact that the billing address was wrong all these years? The first written correspondence I have actually received from the CA was on 3/10/08. I sent my DV letter out 3/14/08. That falls well within the 30 day period stated in the fdcpa, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809(b). Any thoughts on whether that would hold up in court as the initial contact date? Thanks!

I assume this was sent CMRRR? If not.. send another immediately Certified mail,, return receipt requested. As soon as you get the card back, dispute the entry with all 3 bureaus. IF they verify the debt with the cb's before sending your validation.. they have violated the law by engaging in a collection activity. You could sue them for $1000 fine (per bureau? anyone?) Whether you sue them for this or not.. it may help stack the deck in your favor.

Not sure about the first contact issue, but something else to keep in mind once someone more knowledgable answers. IF it does count as the first contact.. I believe they are required to send you written notice of your rights to dispute etc within 5 bus days of that contact.. More than likely.. they will have forgotten, or just not care enough to send another ( thinking they have already done so.. to the wrong address) IF the above is correct, and IF they do not send that notice.. that MAY be another violation, and another $1000 fine. Again, someone with more experience on these details will please have to verify. =) So keep track of whether or not they send you anything. It all hinges on whether the initial contact date is accepted as being the actual date you got in contact with them.

Another possibility. I think I saw it mentioned elsewhere.. that having a note in your CR without actually having made contact is a violation. Again, not sure if trying saves them from that, wrong address etc., or not. But that might be another 1k. Can anyone verify in this instance?

Yes, the DV letter was sent CMRRR, as will all of my correspondences to the CA in the future. I have already entered disputes with the 3 major CRAs about this online, (citing wrong address/unaware of debt) and will be following them up tomorrow w/letters sent CMRRR. The only written statement I have received from the CA is this:

We recently were asked to respond to a credit inquiry by one, or more of the nations credit bureaus (i.e. Experian, Trans Union, Equifax, etc.) on your past due account.

We will inform the credit bureaus upon receipt of your payment.

We provide several imm. payment methods that do not require you to visit our office.

Please contact our office now to make arrangements.


This was dated 3/05/08, received 3/10/08. That is it. I would guess the 5 day letter you are talking about was sent to the wrong address yrs. ago, and is probably at the bottom of a landfill somewhere.

I just checked my CRs online with the big 3 before logging on here. They all list a dispute by consumer, but the trade line is unchanged.

I hope someone can verifiy if this letter above can be considered 1st contact by the CA. Thanks!

P.S. thanks to eghymay for the help!