Can a company buy an outstanding debt, try to persue it, then put a negative rating on your credit report?
365213
In this case, they can.  But read my entire message...\n\nAccording to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, they can only report your debt for 7 years, starting from the DAY YOU DEFAULTED on the loan.  Many people are reporting that it begins on the date of the last transaction.  They are wrong.  Read the info in the sources below, I think it states it pretty clear.  If that's not good enough, I can send you a copy of an FTC position statement to clarify it even more.\n\nNow, many times collection agencies will purchase an account, and not really know when the default date was.  So they will simply place whatever date they want on it.  This "date bumping" is illegal, and if you can prove it you can sue them for $1000.  If you have any past bills or paperwork, examine it.  Check the reporting date on your credit report.  If it is wrong, protest it and get the whole negative report removed from your record.  \n\nThe reason they get away with this is because you don't know the law.  So they will take advantage of that to harrass you.\n\nNow, as for actually collecting the debt, check the statute of limitations for your state.  After that date, you no longer have a legal obligation to pay them.  The can continue to try and collect, but any legal action can be tossed out of court due to the expired SOL.  \n\nRead the links below for more information on this.  \n\nYou are fighting a war with creditors.  Do not fight them unarmed.  Knowledge of the law is your only weapon!  Get armed and read the links below!!!
888245
The credit company does have ways of satisfying the debt.. turning it over to a collection agency, taking him to court, which, BTW, will be on his credit record and he'll have a tough time convincing anyone else to give him credit with that showing up.... and there's more. If he doesn't pay back the company after the court determination, the loan will continue to accumulate interest at a high rate until it does get paid off... years from now he'll be in debt for thousands more than he ever owned on that original credit.\n\nWith a secured debt, the company would just take whatever was used to secure the debt... car, house, property.
1147915
Some do... at the FatWallet forums (which I'll link to), they've compiled a list of the financial institutions (as well as some other companies) that are known to do a "hard pull" on your credit report (which messes it up) for non-credit accounts.\n\nhttp://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?start=0&catid=52&threadid=260724
221291
Yes, I'm pretty sure that they can do that. I've known people who have had this happen to them, and there is really nothing you can do, except ask the company if you can pay it back gradually over time.
35294
Yes, it can affect your credit rating if the unpaid bills are reported to one of the credit reporting agencies. A poor credit rating can affect your ability to obtain further credit, and can affect your ability to obtain some jobs where your creditworthiness may be a factor in assessing your reliability for a job. A bad credit rating can also make it more difficult for you to obtain insurance or you may pay higher rates (happens for car insurance, for example). \n\nIf you are having difficulty with debt consider talking to a debt counselor. More details at:\nhttp://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20040806d1.asp
400837
I don't know what planet shaybjones lives on, but that's not how it works around here.  \n\nTo answer your question, there are two time frames you need to be aware of.  For your credit report, the bad reports will stay on your credit history for 7 years, starting from the say they went delinquent.\n\nThe "statute of limitations" on your debt depends on the state you live in (look at the links below).  Once that day runs out, the creditor can no longer sue you, and you have no legal obligation to pay.\n\nAgain, read the links below.  They go into the details of both of these time frames.\n\nYou can start cleaning up your credit by following procedures in the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  Protest the listings, and demand that the creditor validates the debt.  Sometimes the listing can be removed through this process (not always).\n\nStart building your credit by getting secured credit cards, or other types of credit cards (department stores).  By making your payments, you will slowly develope your score back up.
392737
If you consolidate your credit with a company that is out there, you get a mark on your credit report similar to that of a bankruptcy. Plus, most of them are so disorganized that they will end up making late payments for you, and your debtors will still blame you for it. \n\nPlus, when you consolidate, it doesn't make the debt go away, it just moves it. \n\nIt is better to set up a "debt snowball." List your debts smallest to largest. Make minimum payments on everything except the smallest. Put as much as you can into that one. When that is paid off, take what you were paying on that one and attack the next one.
214814
No, no most of the answers are wrong, your negative credit reports will never clear themselves, check with your state, usually the statute of limitations on debt is seven years, seven years from the date of the negative report, you can pettition the bureaus to remove any that are over the statute of limitations. No one will remove them for you, you have to do the foot work.
612613
Sometimes.\n\nYou should write a letter the the credit bureau and object to it being there.\n\nIn fact it is good to do that with all negative information, because if the posting company does not write back and oppose it being removed, the credit bureau has to remove it.
542555
Here is how the game is played....\n\nIf you pay off your debt, you still have to deal with that negative report on your credit.\n\nPlacing "paid" on it does NOT remove  negative information such as late fees or that it went to collections.  Those who tell you otherwise are lying or ignorant.  I've counsoled many, many people who made the mistake of paying off debts, hopeing to get their credit improved, only to see it barely helped at all.\n\nThe ONLY person who can edit/delete credit information is the creditor to placed that information there.  And it's very unlikely you will get their cooperation once you have paid the debt.\n\nTherefore, before you pay them a dime, get IN WRITING that they will remove all negative information from your credit report.  Don't pay them a dime unless they do!\n\nRemember, you are trying to fix your score.  Why pay them if it's not going to help you out?  \n\nUse the sample letters below and write a negotiation letter.
562090
The creditor can remove the bad credit information if they want to...you just have to ask them.  If they won't clean your record, why pay them?  \n\nSend them a letter saying that in exchange for a written promise to delete the negative information, you will pay the debt.  That's the only way you will get your record cleaned up.\n\nThese people who tell you that they will put "paid" on your account and it will look better then an unpaid debt are lying!  It's still a negative report, and it's going to hurt your credit score!
190511
Yes, just becauseit's charged off does not relieve you of the debt.  It just means they have quit trying to collect (for now).\n\nThey can either sell the debt to a collection agency or use their own in-house agency.  \n\nEither way, the debt will be reported to the credit agencies and it will be on your reports for several years.\n\nIf you wish to repay it....VERY IMPORTANT!\n\nSend them a letter telling them that in exchange for paying the debt, they must remove all negative reports from your credit history.  Otherwise, you will still have bad credit, even after it's paid.\n\nUse the sample letter below as a guide.
8545
I believe that credit consolidation companies work with any company that you owe money to, including original creditors and collection agencies.  You might want to ask before you sign up with anyone just to be sure.
730238
An outside collection agency purchases your debt for a percentage of the total amount.  Once the agency owns it, the original company will list the debt on your credit report as "sold to collection", "referred to collection" or just "sold".  The collection agency's name will now appear on your credit report as the new owner of your debt and the current amount.  \n\nThe agency will want you to pay it in full since they probably bought it for 50% of what you owed, so if they can get you to pay it in full, it's higher profit for them.\n\nThey will call you, write you and request you pay the debt and/or attempt to set up a payment schedule with you.  After a while, they may atempt a settlement with you (which will do more damage in the long run).  \n\nJust pay the debt and get it over with.
1061923
I used to work as a financial counselor and I was suprised how many people were misinformed when it comes to their credit. Bad credit can be a blemish on anyones credit history for a long time, and for some reason there seems to be something magical about the number 7. Supposedly their is a statute of limitations on bad credit that is supposed to disappear after 7 years. Actually that is quite further from the truth. The actual statute of limitations is 7 years from the date of your first defaulted payment. Not only that, but the debtor is not allowed to sue you in court for compensation of a bad debt after that time. It doesn't mean it disappears. So as you probably know, there are many collection agencies that make quite a profit annually collecting on these bad debts. So what does one do if it isn't collecting on it successfully? It can sell it to another collection agency, and all of a sudden your credit report can have 2-3 collection agencies all showing the same debt, but affecting your report 3 times worse! Worse yet, even if you paid a debt and it remains on your report, the only thing you can do is right a formal letter to the credit bureaus to make a notation on the account, but getting it off isn't quite that easy.\nSo the point is you should always try to stay current on your debts, and pay off any outstanding debts that you may have. If for some reason you can't, you can call the collection agency and try to come up with an amicable payoff that you are both happy with, because only they can truly remove that stain from your credit. Debtors are the ones with direct contact with the credit bureaus. \nOne last warning, NEVER pay a company to clean up your credit. This is wasted money, as anything they do, you can do also. Good luck!
934701
Try this.\n\nWhen you call these companies, tell them that you want IN WRITING a guarantee that they will raise your credit score and remove bad items from your credit report once the bills are paid.  \n\nAnd that they won't take any money unless these things are accomplished.\n\nYou won't find anyone who will agree to this.  Why?  Because they can't possibly promise such a thing.\n\nThere are only two ways to get a negative item removed from your credit history.\n\n1) The creditor must delete it\n2) The creditor fails to respond to an investigation request from the credit bureau.\n\nNote that payment of a bill does NOT remove the item.  It only changes the status from being late or in collections, to paid.  But it still reflects late payments or collections.  It's still a negative item.\n\nThese "credit repair" companies will TRY to negotiate a payment arrangement that will TRY to remove the negative items.  But there are no guarantees.  \n\nBut it is a guarantee that these companies will demand payment for their services, whether they succeed or not.\n\nBefore you go this route, do your research.  Many of the things that these companies do, you can easily do yourself.  \n\nAlso note that many of these "credit consoler" or "credit repair" companies are a front for companies offering consolidation loans or other such services.  Be aware of what's going on!
879327
Yes.If they've gone to collections or an attorney then they're on your report(s) and marked key derogatory or 30,60,90,120 days late.Sometimes the creditor will sell these written off accounts to resurgent companies.At that point you should contact the resurgent company and dispute with all three bureaus.\nOnce you dispute an account that's sold or written off the creditor has no claim to it anymore and will not reply to the dispute.Then the bureaus will remove the information.I did this very same thing and am paying Capital Management only 2477.00 back on 7079.00.They buy these accounts for just a few cents on the dollar and don't report to the bureaus.Resurgent companies don't want your credit ruined.\nBankruptcy is the very last resort.It screws up your credit almost as badly,and yes these bankruptcies go on your reports.\nBarring any of this contact an agency(like the ones you see commercials for) and they can help reduce your payments.I have to do this with my evil ex-wife because I unknowingly married into 27,000.00 of credit card debt.I think we used Credit Guard but I try to think of that experience as little as my failed marriage