Recourse against CA reporting account that's not mine

[phuckenet]

Hello,

I was hoping someone could advise on the following situation that dropped my credit score 55 points;

IC System (CA) is reporting a collection account (disputed meets FCRA) on my CR DATED 4/30/05 for the remainder of a contract with Banfield Pet Hosp. (OC) that my wife enetered into last year. The contract was signed by and paid for solely by my wife. I disputed the account as not mine by phone the day I received the notice in the mail. IC System said they needed a letter to keep it from going to the CRA's, so I sent them one stating that I had no outstanding account with the OC and it was not mine.

I also called the OC 5 times before there was someone available to help. It turned out that the cc they auto-debited expired and instead of notifying my wife, they sent it to collections under my name. It was a valid contract (not with me) but I paid the $95 on 3/22/05 to the OC after long arguments that were going nowhere (see rant below) just to keep it off my (and possibly my wife's) credit report. Well obviously that did not work, Do I have grounds to sue the CA or OC? What is the quickest way to get this removed permanently? get my 55 points back? Will this affect my low rate cc that threatens to increase the rate if I am not in good standing with any account?

Cheers,

Phuckent

RANT

This whole thing is because the Banfield pet clinic branch we originally entered into a contract with, reduced their hours to 2 days a week then closed permanately. Our dog got sick so my wife took him to a different Banfield. They stated we could go to any location, but the new location said if we wanted to continue with the "wellness plan" we'd have to start a new 12 mo. contract with that branch. I can't believe that banfield would not send multiple notices of expired credit card before sending something to collections (hello courtesy call), it happens all the time. We both knew we'd never go back to that location because they overdosed our dog, had recommended unneeded items at every prior visit, and it was a different vet every time. The company's client advocatcy line was anything but, just telling me to call the clinic director. After 5 attempts (and one in person) the director accepted my call but just repeated ad nauseum what the charges were for (I got it the first time, really I did, what I'm asking is...) and that our original Clinic was still open (even the PetSmart is gone). In frustration and hoping to prevent this from appearing on my and my wife's CR, I just paid the full amount after the director said that it would be removed from collections. It is obvious that Banfied is more interested in prescibing unneeded medications and add on services to inflate your bill then being a good vet. Oh, and their wellness plan is a scam just to keep you tied into their clinic, but you knew that already.

[dpgirl]

You could try this before suing, it worked for me when I paid the OC.

Dispute the tradeline and include a copy of the cancelled check made out to and cashed by the OC. Dispute that this was paid to the OC and this CA is not involved.

[Robert Nashville/Savannah]

I understand your frustration with them not calling you/your wife about the CC mixup but in all fairness, a business has no obligation to do so...a business can "send an account to collections" when it is one minute late and some do, simply because they don't want to mess with it (which is why they hire CAs to do their dirty work).

On another note, you may have a case against the vet service for damages if you have provable losses due to their actions...you would have to prove they did something wrong (reporting something that was not accurate for example) and also prove an amount that your were damaged such as the difference in cash out of pocket for an interest rate increase.

[Methuss]

If you paid the debt directly to the OC, then the CA has no business talking to you about it at all, not do they have any legal authority to put anything on your credit report. There is no debt collectable.

[phuckenet]

I understand your frustration with them not calling you/your wife about the CC mixup but in all fairness, a business has no obligation to do so...a business can "send an account to collections" when it is one minute late and some do, simply because they don't want to mess with it (which is why they hire CAs to do their dirty work).

Robert,

I agree that there is no obligation to notify a customer of CC expiration, (although it's good practice and probably more profitable than sending to collections) but shouldn't they collect from the correct person. The account holder (my wife) has not been contacted by anyone regarding this, only myself. It may seem like semantics since in the big picture what she owes I owe but it is not a joint CC account, not my signature on the contract, I was not even there.

You're correct about the OC in this case not wanting to deal with the "mess", Banfield sends unpaid accounts to collections at the end of business each day. Heaven forbid you walk out expecting to be invoiced ala our human doctor.

I am curious to see if my 0%/7.99% fixed CC rate goes up to 20% now. If it does I could incurr real financial damages because we're using it as a quick and small home improvemt loan.

I don't know how much damage a court would find regarding the vet mishap, as our dog did not die just got very sick. It would have been nice to get the other vet bill paid for but ended up being less than a $100. I would have had to take them to court to get it, they claim the treatment and doses were acceptable. - but that's a story for anoter board entirely.

Cheers,

Phuckenet