Hey guys,
Here's my situation. I had a credit card that I could not pay off due to job situations during the dot com bubble bursting period way back in '96-'97. The original debt was somewhere in the neighborhood of $1200 and due to fall off of my credit report in August of this year.
In February of this year I noticed a new collection account on my credit report that said I owed $16,000+. It was a collection account related to that credit card but still due to fall off soon and it was hurting my chances to buy a house.
I disputed it with Experian and they removed it, I guess since the company did not return their inquiries.
One month later the same charge showed up under a different company, Crescent Recovery and the "date opened" had change to 2003, in fact the account was opened in '94. (I realize the "date opened" does not matter, but it just shows the changes that were made).
I contacted Experian to dispute the amount and date and the fact that the debt was put back on my history after being removed. When I checked back, Experian said that Crescent had indeed supplied proof that the debt was mine. That was not the dispute, I admit the debt is mine and am ready to pay the $1200 or so plus some fines, late fees, etc. NOT the outrageous amount they are claiming. Plus, the "Date Opened" date on my report has changed now to July of 2007!
When I contact Experian again about the dispute they said that the company has already proven that the dispute is illigitimate, so I cannot dispute it again.
They never checked my dispute for the amount, the date opened, the fall off date, the re-aging, etc, only that the debt was mine.
Any ideas on a correct course of action?
All help is greatly appreciated.
thanks,
Bill
That is a huge difference. I would say contact a lawyer. Unfortunately it might the only thing that you can do. Sounds like you owe something and if it is that old- you will have fees and such added to it.
Good luck with this!
I would have to say the same thing, call a lawyer. You can also call the company and ask for proff of debit with all account details. If they refuse contact the BBB about the company and credit reporting service as well.
