late bill / credit issues - questions

[Apotheosis]

So, in 2005 I apparently owed under $30 for an energy bill at a rental that I had.

Sadly, I never received a bill at that time, nor did I receive anything to my new residence(s) or my permanent address..

fast forward to 2009, this month, I receive a call from a debt collector telling me that I owe under $30 to said energy company...

I have never had a problem paying my bills on time, throughout my entire life, and this situation kinda rubs me the wrong way...

I get the feeling that I have no recourse in this situation to repair any potential damage to my credit.....

Any suggestions? is this bad for my FICO? anything I can do about this? it's been past due for 4 years and NOW they're trying to contact me? WTF?

The problem is, I know it's probably my responsibility to contact the services to find out what's owed, etc.. so I'm not feeling too bad for myself.

[thefarmer]

Pay the bill.

[Apotheosis]

Pay the bill.

Well, I don't have an issue paying the bill, but since it has gone to an independent collections agency, I'm afraid that if I pay it, I have no recourse to fixing credit if at all possible.. I'd rather argue with the appropriate people and see if I can't get the thing fixed before doing something as stupid as paying a debt collector.

[Khariz]

Well, I don't have an issue paying the bill, but since it has gone to an independent collections agency, I'm afraid that if I pay it, I have no recourse to fixing credit if at all possible.. I'd rather argue with the appropriate people and see if I can't get the thing fixed before doing something as stupid as paying a debt collector.

One small dent like this isn't going to do shit. After you were 180 days overdue the creditor didn't give a shit about it any more and sold it to the collector.

It's probably the collectors account now, as the primary creditor likely wrote it off already.

Nothing you can really do about the dings you already got. Just pay it and you'll be fine. Contact the primary creditor first if you want, but they likely don't even have it on the books any more.

[Apotheosis]

One small dent like this isn't going to do shit. After you were 180 days overdue the creditor didn't give a shit about it any more and sold it to the collector.

It's probably the collectors account now, as the primary creditor likely wrote it off already.

Nothing you can really do about the dings you already got. Just pay it and you'll be fine. Contact the primary creditor first if you want, but they likely don't even have it on the books any more.


Thanks, that was the answer I was looking for.. Bill paid.

[diethx]

One small dent like this isn't going to do shit.

So you're saying that having a delinquent account in collections isn't going to affect his credit score?

[Khariz]

So you're saying that having a delinquent account in collections isn't going to affect his credit score?

It will, but not horribly bad. And he's got stages of effect, all of which he has already surpassed. What's done is done, basically.

[Gan]

So you're saying that having a delinquent account in collections isn't going to affect his credit score?

It will affect his score, but not to the extent that it will deny him getting a loan. This delinquency is relative to what the rest of his payment history is and what he's trying to use said credit to purchase.

Keep the paperwork showing that you paid the bill promptly when you received the notice. That way, in cases of trying to obtain a home loan, you can demonstrate to the underwriter that you took responsibility when you were aware of the delinquency - because they will ask.

After a certain period of time it will fall off your credit history.

[diethx]

Yeah, 7 years.

[Khariz]

Again, the one ding isn't going to hurt the overall score very bad.

[Back]

U R DOOMED!!!

j/k. It will just be a tiny poke at your overall score. You can check your score for free. I forget where. Search the net. Remember, don’t pay. Its free now.

[Apotheosis]

Yeah, 7 years.

And if I understand what I've read online correctly, 7 years from the date of deliquency so, that was 2005, I have roughly 3 more years to go.. probably won't be buying anything big until then anyway.

[Gan]

I'm not sure the 7 year mark is accurate since a major guideline we had for reviewing credit with our underwriters for delinquent mortgage payments was 2 years.

7 years might be how far back the credit reporting agency goes (Experian, Equifax, TransStar); however, its the decision of the underwriter to determine elligibility for the loan program and its up to the lender or originator to determine the interest rate that is in part based on the score that the delinquency might or might not affect.

*with regards to home mortgages...

[diethx]

And if I understand what I've read online correctly, 7 years from the date of deliquency so, that was 2005, I have roughly 3 more years to go.. probably won't be buying anything big until then anyway.

I'm pretty sure that's wrong, as even though your delinquency BEGAN in 2005, you were delinquent until you paid the bill. I could be wrong and if I am i'm sure someone will correct me, but that's how I understand it to work.

And yes Gan, the 3 bureaus report them for 7 years.

[Skeeter]

My understanding (limited as it may be) is that delinquent bills keep rolling over until paid. So 7 years from now.

Again nothing to really stress over as said before what's done is done.

[Gan]

Ahh, cool.

Its been a while since I've reviewed a tri-merge credit report, so I couldnt remember the range of time it covered.

[diethx]

I don't know if it would do anything, but you could always try calling the credit bureaus and see if you could get it removed from your report. You could state that you had absolutely no idea the debt existed because you never received notification until recently, and you paid it as soon as you found out about it.

Chances are they won't be able to do anything, but it's worth a shot.

edit: Oh and the fact that the debt was only $30 would probably help your case, because who else with a spotless credit report can't afford/wouldn't pay off a $30 debt?

[Apotheosis]

I don't know if it would do anything, but you could always try calling the credit bureaus and see if you could get it removed from your report. You could state that you had absolutely no idea the debt existed because you never received notification until recently, and you paid it as soon as you found out about it.

Chances are they won't be able to do anything, but it's worth a shot.

edit: Oh and the fact that the debt was only $30 would probably help your case, because who else with a spotless credit report can't afford/wouldn't pay off a $30 debt?

Yeah. that's what I'm thinking..

[Bhuryn]

If it's really bothering you, you can challenge it and see if they respond in time.

[Parkbandit]

U R DOOMED!!!

j/k. It will just be a tiny poke at your overall score. You can check your score for free. I forget where. Search the net. Remember, don’t pay. Its free now.


https://www.annualcreditreport.com

You can view all 3 credit reports without having to sign up for any other services. You can do this only once per 365 days.

[Mikalmas]

7 years rom the date of last activity on the account. That last activity would be when you paid the bill.

Paying the bill will lessen (but not eliminate) the ding.

You could probably dispute the charge. Basically when a charge is disputed, the credit agency will send a report to the creditor asking them to validate the debt. If they do not respond within a set amount of time, the debt is removed from your credit report. If the bill has been paid, they're much more likely to not respond. I actually done this on a late mortgage payment, which they took off my credit report.

I'd also check my free credit reports to verify its there first. I've noticed a lot of creditors don't automatically add bad debts to your credit report, they turn it over to collections and THEY add it to your credit report, but they'll usually contact you a couple of times before doing that.

And, take this as a lesson learned: check your credit reports every year. Its free. :)

~M

[Bhuryn]

7 years rom the date of last activity on the account. That last activity would be when you paid the bill.

Paying the bill will lessen (but not eliminate) the ding.

You could probably dispute the charge. Basically when a charge is disputed, the credit agency will send a report to the creditor asking them to validate the debt. If they do not respond within a set amount of time, the debt is removed from your credit report. If the bill has been paid, they're much more likely to not respond. I actually done this on a late mortgage payment, which they took off my credit report.

I'd also check my free credit reports to verify its there first. I've noticed a lot of creditors don't automatically add bad debts to your credit report, they turn it over to collections and THEY add it to your credit report, but they'll usually contact you a couple of times before doing that.

And, take this as a lesson learned: check your credit reports every year. Its free. :)

~M

I believe they have 30 days to validate it.

[diethx]

https://www.annualcreditreport.com

You can view all 3 credit reports without having to sign up for any other services. You can do this only once per 365 days.

I used to use this - i'd get my report from one bureau (assuming I remembered) every 4 months, so I could keep an eye out more often for any serious changes.

But I use www.truecredit.com (http://www.truecredit.com) from Transunion now. It's only $15 a month and you can compare the 3 reports as often as you want, and you get an updated credit score from each bureau once a month. Plus, they alert you every single time there's a change on any of the 3 reports. I signed up for this after I found a collections agency was reporting someone else's debt on my credit report (different SS# and everything - only thing they shared with me was that they lived at the address I lived at like 9 years ago, WTF right?). This happened a year after i'd been wrongly contacted over the phone regarding this person's debt and that collections employee stated they'd fix the error.. and I was too trusting and believed they'd take care of it.

And honestly while this is more expensive than the free stuff, I feel way more comfortable and in control of my credit report now. I think it's totally worth it.

[Sean of the Thread]

I just want to say that the first time I could not pay a bill I was devastated.

Seriously one of the worse feelings in the world.

That being said get the free credit reports. Maybe even dispute it and they may not follow up on it. $30 isn't shit to worry about really and I doubt anyone is going to fuck with you over it.