What should I do? If the same debt is listed multiple times (possibly with different names) you should dispute the multiple listings with the
Though some consumers may have multiple debts owed to the same debt collector or creditor (which can be reported separately), each debt can only be reported one time. Notice that the payment history, the date opened, the high balance, and the last payment are all the same.
If you don't pay a collection account, it may wind up with a second — or third — collection agency, resulting in multiple negative items on your credit reports. Sometimes referred to as “double jeopardy,” two or three collection accounts for the same debt can affect your credit scores.
The original creditor can't continue to report a balance due if it has sold the account to a collections agency. However, it can report a charge off, which remains on your credit report for seven years, even if you pay off the debt—with the original creditor or via a collections agency.
It is a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to report the same bill twice on your credit history.
An old debt may illegitimately reappear on your credit report if it's acquired by a debt buyer or collection agency that then reports the debt even though it's more than seven years old. This is past the statute of limitations, meaning it's too old to remain on your credit report.
How often do credit reports update? Most creditors report to credit bureaus monthly. However, they report data at different times throughout the month, and they may report to only one or two credit bureaus instead of all three.
In most cases, a creditor can report a negative item for up to seven years from your first delinquency, even if the item was previously removed. So, many people find that their credit score increases significantly at first, only to fall again as the accounts reappear. It can backfire.
Answer: An unpaid collection account can be sold and re-purchased over and over again by junk debt buyers. Often, a junk debt buyer will purchase a collection account, attempt collection for a few months, then re-sale the account to a new junk debt buyer. This can occur repeatedly until the debt is paid.
Original creditors can report a balance on the charge-off until the debt is sold. It is legal for a creditor to update a charge-off account monthly from the date of first delinquency which is approximately 7.5 years. However, there should be no balance reporting if the account has been sold to a collection agency.
The short answer is yes, a collection agency can continue to update the account on your credit reports. When you dispute an item, the Date of Last Activity (DOLA) can be updated. The date of last activity can change anytime there is new activity on your account. That could be a credit dispute or a payment.
Disputing hard inquiries on your credit report involves working with the credit reporting agencies and possibly the creditor that made the inquiry. Hard inquiries can't be removed, however, unless they're the result of identity theft. Otherwise, they'll have to fall off naturally, which happens after two years.
Debt collectors can restart the clock on old debt if you: Admit the debt is yours. Make a partial payment. Agree to make a payment (even if you can't) or accept a settlement.
It cannot be added back without new action because it has passed the deadline for removal. It isn't yours. If the debt was erroneously put on your credit report, it cannot be readded. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, it is against the law for collection agencies to report debt that they know is inaccurate.
You aren't off the hook for unpaid credit card debt after 7 years. If you are still within your state's statute of limitations, you may want to work with debt collectors to settle the debt rather than risk being sued.
In California, the statute of limitations for consumer debt is four years. This means a creditor can't prevail in court after four years have passed, making the debt essentially uncollectable.
If a debt is sold to another company, do I have to pay? Once your debt has been sold to a debt purchaser you owe them the money, not the original creditor. The debt purchaser must follow the same rules as your original creditor when they collect the debt, and you keep all the same legal rights.
Don't Ignore a Charge-Off
A charge-off is a serious financial problem that can hurt your ability to qualify for new credit. "Many lenders, especially mortgage lenders, won't lend to borrowers with unpaid charge-offs and will require that you pay it in full before they approve you for a loan," says Tayne.
Debts Are Often Sold Multiple Times
After all, collecting debt is not their primary role. The creditor may be a credit card company, whose purpose is to lend money and collect it, but it could also be a medical clinic, cable or cell phone provider, or your town's tax department.
A 609 Dispute Letter is often billed as a credit repair secret or legal loophole that forces the credit reporting agencies to remove certain negative information from your credit reports. And if you're willing, you can spend big bucks on templates for these magical dispute letters.
All You Can Do Is Ask
Credit reporting is a voluntary process. There's nothing you can do to force a creditor to report an account to the credit bureaus. And you can't make a creditor update your account outside of its normal credit reporting cycle.
Creditors usually report to credit bureaus once a month, so depending on when you paid off your collection account, it could take anywhere from a few days to one month for your payment to be reflected on your credit report.
How long does it take for my credit score to update after paying off debt? It can often take as long as one to two months for debt payment information to be reflected on your credit score. This has to do with both the timing of credit card and loan billing cycles and the monthly reporting process followed by lenders.
In rare circumstances, items deleted from your credit reports can, in fact, reappear on your credit reports even after the dispute resolution process has been completed. This practice is referred to in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) as "reinsertion."
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, debts can appear on your credit report generally for seven years and in a few cases, longer than that. Under state laws, if you are sued about a debt, and the debt is too old, you may have a defense to the lawsuit.