How do I force a company to correct paid debt?

Well I am certainly not an expert on venues or civil court but if I were going in without a lawyer I would probably file in the county I live since that is where they are supposed to file as well and I would probably stick to small claims court limit. If you have a 4k claim that is solid then you should be able to get an attorney on contigency I would think. I know my wife got an attorney for 30% on a 6k accident claim so I would think you could get something similar on this but not sure.

I have emailed an attorney in my area that is listed on the http://members.naca.net/findanattorney.php website, fingers crossed that they are interested in the case on a contingent basis.

Thanks to everyone who answered for their assistance thus far!

This is the response I received from an attorney I contacted. The first attorney I contacted said I would have to pay a retainer of over $1000 just to get the ball rolling. He said that rather than going after the Collection Agency (Palisades) he felt we should go after the 3 Credit Reporting Agencies for aiding and abetting (or whatever the legal term is) the collection agencies. Well bottom line is I don't have $1000 to pay, so I am praying that the second attorney I contacted will take this matter on contingency. I faxed all of my proof to her, and this was the response so far.

"Thank you for sending me your documentation for review. It appears that your most recent dispute was done on August 22, 2008. As such, we must wait 30 days to see if your reports are updated in any way. Please let me know when you receive your investigation results from the three credit bureaus; it should be around September 22nd."

I have received 2 of the 3 disputes back, and am just waiting for Transunion who I was verbally told yesterday had denied removing or updating Palisades once again, so they are still showing as paid in settlement. Equifax removed them based on fraudulant charges. Experian still shows them as paid in settlement.


I asked her what happens if one of the 3 CRA's removed Palisades (which is the case) but she said she would discuss it with me if that happened. Does anyone know the answer?

Oh and the title company finally emailed me a copy of the cancelled check showing that I paid it in full. So I think I should have everything I need as soon as I receive the Transunion dispute back showing Palisades still on there.

You know before all of this I would have been happy just to have it showing properly as paid in full on my credit reports. But now I am angry and it is the principal of the matter now.

I spoke to the attorney today, she was finally able to accept my case and we are proceeding with our attempt to resolve my issue in settlement before we file formal litigation. She stressed that she expects us to settle with them rather than go to court. So while my hopes are not high, they are greatly improved!