Expert: Ray A Miller - 10/28/2011

Question
QUESTION: My fiancé & I are planning to buy a house soon. He hasn't seen his credit report in a decade. Now on his credit report is 2 collection agency charges. He paid a different collection agency for hospital charges from 9/3/2005 surgery. He contacted the agency on his CR yesterday; they do not have the debt anymore, it’s now at another agency. In 7/2010 this agency sent him a note w/service date 12/2003. He then replied by cert mail saying he was not in hospital on that date. Never heard from them again. He called them today about the other charges on CR to tell them to remove it. The acct #s & amounts are different. Can they go after him now that he called to ask about it? They knew his address since at least 2010 & never attempted to collect before. It has been more than 6 yrs now. What does he do now?

ANSWER: His account has been sold, a couple of times, to different agencies and evidently, the account number has been reassigned.  A common tactic used by these debt purchasing bottom feeders.  After 6 years, in Washington, there is nothing they can legally do.  Also, after 7 years, the account(s) will drop off of his credit history.

I would ask the collection agency to validate and send proof that this debt is your fiance's.  At any point, if they do no cooperate, report them to the BBB, Consumer Affairs and the Attorney General in your state.  If they can not prove the debt, DO NOT pay anything on it as that may start the statute of limitations over again.  Good luck with this.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Do you know what we can provide to the bank to let them know it is past the SOL? Or do we have to wait a year to let it drop off.

The date opened on the credit report says 2005 so is it the date reported to the credit union or the date of service?

Answer
Unless he has a cancelled check or a letter from the agency showing it was paid in full, I am afraid it will stay there for the full 7 years.  You can write a sworn affidaivt, notarized, stating the facts of the account and send it to the credit bureaus, disputing the account.  Make sure the bank gets a copy.

The credit agencies are Eguifax, Experiam and Transunion.  You can dispute these accounts over the internet but make sure they get a copy of the affidavit as well.