Debt Collection Process

Debt collection agency?

For the first time in my life I received notice that I have not paid a bill from a phone company back in 2004. This apparently happened in the process of moving from a home to another-some mail problem I guess. I always paid my bills on time and have an immaculate credit score, I am very worried how this will affect my credit. The collection office is closed today and the statement says I have to contact them within 30 days. I will mail the check Monday ASAP, what are the consequences?

Public Comments

1. They can sue you for the money. Then you would have a judgment against you, which if you don't pay it will be on your credit report and come up if you try to buy or sell or home. They can garnish your wages or freeze your bank account. You need to contact them and ask for "validation of the debt" this means they have to provide you information concerning the debt. YOu need to look over the information and make sure it is correct. If it is you can try to negotiate with them for a lesser amount but if this doesn' work then pay the amount owed. They wil most likley accecpt a payment plan if you can't pay it all at once.
2. It shows as an R9 on your credit bureau and doesn't come off for 7 years. If that is the only thing on your credit, it shouldn't be that bad. It does make your score go down a bit though. You might want to pull your score also. But once you pay it, they should report it to the 3 bureaus within 30 days, and your score will go up. If its sbc double check because sometimes they dont report it as paid to your credit. Hope I helped.
3. Hi! Well..the first thing you need to do is see if the debt is valid or not. Do a search on "debt statute of limitations" and see how this bill would be classified and how long the statute is. If it is in statute as I think it might be (valid)..you still have options. Ask the collection agency if they would agree in writing to complettely remove the record from your credit report(s) if you paid it. Do not agree it is your debt at all...the last thing you want to do is validate the debt for them..which may give them further options down the road. If you can't do that..just realize by paying it won't make it go away. The collection efforts may cease..but understand fully you are restarting the 7 year clock by paying it..and a paid collection account is no better than a unpaid one..and may even hurt your score. As has been already said..one black mark on a report vs tons of other good info really won't hurt your score much anyways. Some lenders only look back three years..it just depends. Even you do decide to pay this..please understand your rights first..and understand it may not help improve your score one bit.
4. If they waited until now to send you a bill, i would check the validity of it first before sending anything and contest it on your credit history. Contact Federal Trade Commission and report them.