Personal Finance

Credit bureau and collection agency

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  • Nov 21st, 2018 12:03 pm
Newbie
Oct 17, 2018
10 posts

Credit bureau and collection agency

I’m looking for some input as to what I should do in this situation. I have a collection account on my credit report from December 2016. I know the debt is valid and mine (albeit I’ve apparnekty incurred some interest). I know Canada doesn’t do ‘pay for delete’ which is a shame. Anyways, I’m going to contact the agency and inquire what my options are to have this resolved all while making the least negative impact on my credit. Is there a specific ‘note’ that would be less damaging? Example: written off, paid in full, up to date, in good standing etc.

To sum it up: I want to exchange my willingness to settle his debt ASAP for some sort of mercy on how it is marked on my file. I just don’t know what looks best on there.

Hope this makes sense. Thanks!!
10 replies
Deal Fanatic
Jan 15, 2017
5750 posts
6122 upvotes
Ottawa
An account that is sent to collections is given the same rating as written off bad debt and/or bankruptcy - a 9, as in R9 or I9. Your credit is already impacted. You can pay it off with the hope that the entry is updated to "paid in full", but it still won't affect the 9 rating.
Newbie
Oct 17, 2018
10 posts
Bumping this again.. I've pasted what appears on my Equifax report as of today.. this is the only area this has been posted and it is under 'collections.'

CASH MONEY
Date Assigned: 2016-12 Account Number: DCxxxxxxxx
Collection Agency: DEBT CONTROL AGENCY Reason:
Amount: $450.00 BalanceAmount: $590.00
Date of Last Payment: 2016-09 Date Paid:
Date Verified:

Comments:


I'm still looking for my best course of action. Seeing as it was assigned in 12/2016, I'm guessing it is best to wait until next month to even think about doing anything so the 2 year statute of limitations kicks in.. correct?

Should I call the collection agency and offer payment in full? Offer to settle? Call Cash money instead and settle with them?

I feel so stuck and I've combed numerous posts and still don't know what the best option is.

Thanks.
Sr. Member
User avatar
Jun 29, 2012
662 posts
171 upvotes
Vancouver
The SOL to sue has since expired as the DOLA was September 2016. Any damage what has been done to your report can not and will not change. It will fall off in 2023.

Once the debt has gone to a third party the original creditor has written it off their books. So if you were going to pay you would pay the CA. But again it won't change anything on your report.
Newbie
Oct 17, 2018
10 posts
Okay, which I'm fine with.. I'll accept responsibility for it. But I certainly want the collection report to be shown as paid instead of still owing. Whether my score changes or not, I'm sure a potential lender would rather see that I've taken my responsibilities seriously. With that said, will the clock reset if I bargain with the CA? I don't want to make installments and will pay a lump sum of whatever I need to, but if I talk them down from it, will that be reflected anywhere or will it still say paid or whatever?
Jr. Member
Apr 26, 2016
164 posts
152 upvotes
Vancouver, BC
AilsaB32104 wrote:
To sum it up: I want to exchange my willingness to settle his debt ASAP for some sort of mercy on how it is marked on my file. I just don’t know what looks best on there.
AilsaB32104 , I was in a similar situation a few years ago and was able to resolve the issue in a way where my credit report and score were amended. Here's the background:

I opened an account with a credit union for some perks they were offering - put $500 in a checking account. After a couple of years of not really using the account, I just withdrew the amount I had put in and thought I would never bank there again. I should have cancelled the bank account, but figured there was no harm in just keeping it with zero balance. Turns out, with zero balance, they charged a monthly fee! My account went into overdraft and they contacted me via snail mail, but I had moved and never got the notices. Long story short, I only noticed it 4 years later when I ordered my credit report (My score had been unusually low for someone who always pays off credit cards in full) and saw that they had reported the delinquency to the credit bureau, although unlike you, I was never contacted by a credit collection agency. The credit union simply closed my account and wrote off the bad debt - I had around $500 owing in overdraft fees.

When I found out, I contacted the credit union and they forwarded me to their Credit specialist. She advised me to pay off the remaining debt (even though I no longer had an account with them), which I did. She then wrote me a letter saying the debt was paid in full and that the credit bureaus would be welcome to amend my record accordingly. I filled out error correction forms available on the Equifax and Transunion websites and mailed those to the brueaus along with the letter from the credit union. The whole matter took about 6-8 weeks, but my credit report and score were fixed. The account showed as "inactive / closed" and the balance showed as "paid in full".

Excuse the rambling, but I hope this helps! Feel free to ask me more questions.
“Questions you cannot answer are usually far better for you than answers you cannot question.”
― Yuval Noah Harari,
Newbie
Oct 17, 2018
10 posts
Would it be completely rediculous to try and pay the original creditor and acquire a letter confirming the account is paid which can then be sent to the collections agency?

edit: Deveno, thank you for sharing!! That makes me slightly hopeful moving forward. I’m so upset with myself for this
Deal Guru
User avatar
Aug 24, 2016
11667 posts
14020 upvotes
Win-ter-peg
AilsaB32104 wrote: Would it be completely rediculous to try and pay the original creditor and acquire a letter confirming the account is paid which can then be sent to the collections agency?

edit: Deveno, thank you for sharing!! That makes me slightly hopeful moving forward. I’m so upset with myself for this
You always want to try to pay the original creditor first.
Seeing the trade line is listed as Cash Money, it may not yet be written off by Cash Money, and the collector is just hired to collect the debt for a percentage of the amount collected.
The collector will now accrue extra charges and interest for as long as it goes unpaid, so you’re best to deal with it sooner rather than later.
The original creditor or collector (whichever you pay) will update the trade line accordingly.
Your best option is to pay the debt, not just forget about it as many in this forum would suggest.
Unless of course you don’t care about your credit.
Newbie
Oct 17, 2018
10 posts
coolintheshade wrote: You always want to try to pay the original creditor first.
Seeing the trade line is listed as Cash Money, it may not yet be written off by Cash Money, and the collector is just hired to collect the debt for a percentage of the amount collected.
The collector will now accrue extra charges and interest for as long as it goes unpaid, so you’re best to deal with it sooner rather than later.
The original creditor or collector (whichever you pay) will update the trade line accordingly.
Your best option is to pay the debt, not just forget about it as many in this forum would suggest.
Unless of course you don’t care about your credit.
Thank you! Is my credit lass negatively impacted if it hasn't been written off? I'm going to deal with this ASAP and call Cash money and pay it. Should I just pay the due amount no questions asked or try to get them to lower it?

Thanks again.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Aug 24, 2016
11667 posts
14020 upvotes
Win-ter-peg
AilsaB32104 wrote: Thank you! Is my credit lass negatively impacted if it hasn't been written off? I'm going to deal with this ASAP and call Cash money and pay it. Should I just pay the due amount no questions asked or try to get them to lower it?

Thanks again.
I don’t think it will matter at this point if you make full payment or negotiate a lower amount, as the damage is already done.
As long as what you’re paying is agreed to be the final amount owing.
What will matter is that this collection trade line will be updated as paid.
Even if your score doesn’t increase by paying it, paid always looks better to a lender than unpaid.
People in the credit card subforum are even reporting being approved for Amex cards with a paid collection on their bureau, and Amex used to be auto decline for any negative entry period.

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