Posted on July 30, 2009 at 3:53 pm Hi,I recently started receiving calls on a debt from an old Bank of America card that I haven't used in years. To the best of my recollection, I stopped using the card after about a year, paying off the amount in full. I suspect that there was some sort of erroneous charge after I stopped using it. Therefore, I'd like to check the last few statements to see why there was a balance. What are my rights in obtaining this information? If I believe the charges were made in error, what is the procedure for disputing the debt?The collection agency has been extremely unhelpful, basically denying that they have access to this info and trying to bully me into paying it. However, I called the recovery department of BAC to try to obtain the records. I was told that since the card was charged off, I need to get the records through the collection agency, and that I was entitled to receive it by law. However, after talking to the collection agency again, they still claimed they don't have access to that and refused to call BAC to confirm (big surprise LOL).... They actually told me to just pay it, and then BAC will provide the records after I show them proof the debt was payed (another big LOL.. there's no way I'd ever get money back if I did this right?)So, who's telling the truth, and what's the best move now?Thanks a lot for any replies,Adam

Posted on July 30, 2009 at 4:12 pm Guess I should also mention that I live in Washington state, since I've seen that laws vary quite a bit from state to state...

Posted on July 30, 2009 at 4:17 pm I wouls suggest sending a dispute of collection action letter to the agency. Here is a link to an example: http://www.privacyrights.org/Letters/debt1.htm After they respond you can decide how to proceed. It is possible that they are collecting on a debt that was never incurred, or perhaps you forgot to pay off the full balance awhile back and do actually owe the debt. I suggest calling BOA again (not their recovery department) to try and get a cooler head on the phone to discuss the situation and to also try and obtain any statement that describes the nature of the charge.  

Posted on July 30, 2009 at 5:03 pm Thanks for the reply. To be fair, the representative from the recovery department at BOA was helpful and polite.Do you think it would be premature to send the dispute letter now? I'm not positive I will formally dispute it because its plausible that the balance was legitimate. My strongest suspicion is that they charged me an annual fee after I stopped using the card. I vaguely recall calling up BOA when the card was in use to get them to remove an annual fee, since I am always careful not to sign up for cards with a fee.So, in the dispute letter, it asks the collection agency to obtain verification of the debt.... however, BOA will likely maintain that I owe the money, since I still will not be able to point at the source charge that caused me to carry a balance.I'm also fairly sure that calls to anyone outside of the recovery department wouldn't get the information. Since I no longer have any accounts at BOA, my SSN or account numbers are no longer in the system accessible by the usual call center associates....Hmmmm, perhaps it will be best to simply send the dispute, see what they say, and take it from there. Perhaps they will even decide its not worth their effort since its only a couple hundred dollars...

Posted on July 30, 2009 at 5:52 pm I agree. I certainly don't think it would hurt to send the dispute/validation letter. It sounds like after you gave it some additional thought you may actually owe the money, so I only see an upside by sending that over to them.