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A Collection Agency Saga

Tips on dealing with a collection agency.

Some collection agencies are great to work with, but others are just the worst. I had been working with a client for over a year to clean up old collection accounts, so that we could get his credit scores up enough to get a mortgage.

18 items were cleaned up and reported as paid or settled. We were down to one outstanding item and getting nowhere. The client would call and they said, we don’t show any outstanding obligation, OK, then stop reporting to the credit bureaus each month. We can’t do that – but why?

I had him write to the collection agency and copy the FDCPA. I then had him send a letter directly to the FDCPA, along with a copy of the letter he sent the collection agency. Finally, the last obligation was off his credit report.

In 14 months we went from low 500 credit scores to mid 600’s. With the help of 3 secured credit cards he was ready to stop paying $1,350 a month rent and ready to be a first time home buyer. He is now home hunting. All is possible, if someone is truly committed to fixing their credit.

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RobertM October 1, 2012 at 04:46 pm
Joe - my understanding is that the FDCPA is the Federal Debt Collection Protection Act, the law that states what debt collectors can and can't do in collecting a debt. The agency to contact regarding collection issues is the Financial Consumer Protection Bureau (FCPB). Just to clarify for your readers.
Also, as an aside, thanks for getting back to helpful financial conversation and away from partisan politics. Sticking to your wheelhouse and away from partisan views serves all of us, including you, much better.
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