Junk Debt Buyer Strikes Again

I have enjoyed reading Blog. I hope you can help me. I have an old account that have been charged off. It is no longer being reported by the credit card company. Acollection Agency have taken over the account and have changed the date of the last activity and the date of the major delinquency. They also show and amount in the balance amount field and an amount past due. On my old credit report the orginal creditor show 0 balance and 0 amount past due. Since it was charged off, Can a collection agency re-age this account? And how should I go about getting it updated.

Ash

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Hello Ash,

It sounds like you are looking at an Equifax report, as “date major delinquency” and “date of last activity” is Equifax terminology.  No, the collection agency can’t change those data fields, although doing so suits them just fine as they surreptitiously extend the credit reporting life of an FCRA expired debt. 

You are probably dealing with a Junk Debt Buyer and not a collection agency.  When a JDB buys an account, the original creditor zeros out the balance column.  The JDB may report a balance owed as a collection.  Some try to report as if it were a tradeline instead of a collection account.  Either way, what you need to do is send a CMRR letter to the CRA to advise them of the unlawful re-aging of this debt and insist on its immediate removal.

Thanks for the questions and hope this helps.

Paul

This author is not an attorney and this information should not be considered legal advice.  Please consult an attorney for legal advice.