Credit Bureau and Reporting Issues - Ability to pay off a debt, need to know right way

Ability to pay off a debt, need to know right way

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Topic: Ability to pay off a debt, need to know right way

Posted By: andyW
Subject: Ability to pay off a debt, need to know right way
Date Posted: 16/March/2009 at 8:11am

Hi there,

I am in a position where I am able to pay off the remaining item in the collections section of my credit report. It is nearly at 7 years so I would like to pay it off the proper way and not have it negatively report on my credit by resetting the date of last activity. I am certain that this debt was paid well before it ever went to collections as it seems to be for the amount of one of the payments we agreed to and sent post dated checks for though it will be more hassle than its worth to look into. Non the less I just want it gone.

I did some reading and found lots of "Pay for Deletion" type letters including this one:

####################
Collection Agency
666 Evil Street
Hades, Hell 00000

Re: Collection Account for Original Creditor
Account #: 00000xxxx
Amount: $25.00

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is to inform you that the validity of this debt is disputed. I am not sure of the account number, as I have never heard from you regarding this account. The account number I have is the one listed on my Experian credit report – which omits the last few digits.

In the spirit of compromise, I am willing to pay this account IN FULL (or settlement percentage) if you agree to immediate deletion of this account from any and all credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). The purpose of this settlement is merely to have this item removed from my credit files. It is not to be construed as an acknowledgment of liability for this debt in any form.

If you agree to the terms and accept this agreement, certified funds for the settlement amount of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) will be sent to Collection Agency in exchange for full deletion of ALL references regarding this account from my credit files and full satisfaction of the debt. As certified funds will be used for payment, there shall be no waiting period regarding the deletion of this account from the credit reporting agencies.

Collection Agency agrees to delete ALL information regarding this account from the credit reporting agencies WITHIN TEN CALENDAR (10) DAYS following receipt of payment as specified above and will not discuss the terms of this settlement with anyone, excluding your client on this account. If contacted by any third party, including credit-reporting agencies, Collection Agency will not acknowledge that any settlement offer was made, accepted or executed and will, in fact, deny knowledge of any such account.

If you agree to the above terms, please prepare a letter on your company letterhead explicity agreeing to the same terms as the above settlement offer and have it signed by an authorized representative of Collection Agency. It will be implied that this letter shall constitute a legally binding contract, enforceable under the laws of my state.

Your response must be postmarked no later than 15 days from your receipt of this settlement offer or this offer will be withdrawn and I will request full validation of this alleged debt, as provided for by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Please address all correspondence regarding this account to:

Mr. INeedCreditHelp
123 Any Street
City, State ZipCode
#######################

Now I am Canadian and the above letter is American, does this kind of thing work here and does someone have an example of a Canadian "Pay for Deletion" letter. Like I said I am able to pay the full amount reported on my credit.

Thanks for any help you can provide,

Replies:

Posted By: SolveStudentDebt
Date Posted: 16/March/2009 at 11:21pm

It doesn't work anywhere.

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Solve Student Debt specializes in solutions for students and graduates in student loan default, and those at risk of defaulting.

http://www.solvestudentdebt.com" rel="nofollow - solvestudentdebt.com

Posted By: andyW
Date Posted: 17/March/2009 at 4:50am

So what can I achieve in paying it off that wont be as negative as a renewed date of last activity?

Does the date of last activity even mater that much to my credit?

Thank you in advance

Posted By: SolveStudentDebt
Date Posted: 17/March/2009 at 11:49am

I guess you will be that much less in debt once you pay it. That is a good result is it not?

Posted By: Graywulf
Date Posted: 09/March/2010 at 12:08pm

I can confirm that a pay for delete does work, but, it depends on a lot of things and the process for me was extreamly long and drawn out.

It took me almost two years of sending letters to different agencies as the debt was passed around, but finally I ended up at one that offered me a pay for delete.

I paid them in April of 2009, and I pulled my report a few months after this and saw the collection was gone. However, they did place it back onto my report in October 2009 (which royally screwed me out of a mortgage). I contacted the original collection agency about this, as what showed on the report they pulled was the original agency. After months of sending letters to the original agency and the original creditor I was ready to give up.

I pulled my credit report again and saw that it was now listed under the most recent agency I had paid, I wrote them a letter on February 14th, they recieved it on the 17th, and I got a letter from them on the 4th of march stating they had closed the account and removed it from my credit reports. I pulled my reports again on March 5th, and the collection account was gone.

So I mean, if you want to spend the time, you might have a chance, but almost all agencies will not agree to a pay for delete, I'm positive I just got lucky with this.

Posted By: Rachel Paige
Date Posted: 12/March/2010 at 9:22am

I recently settled a $20K student debt with Nordon and a week later it showed up as "settled" (and the date it was settled) on my Equifax and Transunion. So I eagerly applied for a credit card and was denied. When I called to ask why they said it was because I just settled the debt - they would want to see a clean record for 2 years *after* the collection debt was cleared. In other words: keep up the good work and apply in 2 years. So sometimes these things just don't disappear from the records.

Rach