Expert: Chris Ebert - 6/11/2009

Question
Hi. My question is: I rented from an apartment complex, which required 60 day notice to move out, but I only gave thirty. After I moved out, they charged me about $500 on re-let and other fees. 2 weeks after I moved out, without notification, they send the account to a collections agency. As soon as I received notice of the debt I paid it off. However, now I see in my public record a closed account with the apartments. Were they not supposed to notify me before sending it to collections and before they even made an adverse credit report that this would happen? Aren;t they supposed to let you know so you can work it out and they don't have to report it? Of course, they did not report all the months that I lived thre and paid my rent on time. Can I fight this?

Answer
Ana,

The collection agency is supposed to give you 30 days notice and most due. The problem with apartments is that they may have sent the notice to the old apartment address if you did not give them notice of where you were moving to.

I have heard that many people have disputed -0- balance paid collections at the three credit bureaus and have had great luck in getting that item removed.

Anther way is to talk to the collection agency and see if they will kindly remove it. You will most likely need to speak with a manager to achieve this.

Unfortunately, they do not report the positive rent at apartment complexes.