After CA Failed to Validate Debt Sold to Another CA

[AE2114]

So I've gone through 45 pages of threads and have not found any guidance...let's hope someone can address my problem.

In college, after moving out of an apartment, I failed to turn off my electricity, and I guess during the period when there were no new tenants, the apartment managers racked up a bill for almost $150, for which I received an URGENT! notice at my new apartment several months after moving out. I called the electric company and explained what happened and it was my understanding they would remove the charges. This was Fall 2002.

Fast forward to Fall 2007 and I find this website, and on a whim check my credit report - which I knew was weak due to some charge-offs during college - only to find that my credit was not weak but very poor due to a collections, one of them being from a collection agency attempting to collect the debt from the Electric Bill of 2002. As I had never even received a notice from the CA, I could barely remember what or why the derogatory mark was on my CR, so I immediately asked for a DV and wrote all 3 CRA's to dispute the debt. By November 2007, I received a letter from the CA, KCA Financial, that they would remove the item, and in December, all 3 CRA's confirmed that they had deleted the collection.

By February 2008, my credit had shot up to the mid-600's and as I have had a solid credit history since my irresponsible college days of years ago, I expected that things would only get better from there.

Well, early this week I applied to live in my dream apartment. I met all the criteria, knew my landlord would provide a solid reference, and was confident that my credit score would suffice. Instead, I received a call from the landlord telling me that my "poor credit history" was far from sufficient for the building. I know mid-600 FICO's are not great, but her very harsh tone as I pleaded with her made me wonder what she meant. So on another whim, I checked my FICO's again.

I learned that 10 days ago, the same debt that had failed to be validated by KCA Financial and that had gone buh-bye from my credit reports, had been obtained and reported by a company called ACS Collections or The Affiliated Group. As a result, my credit scores were in the high to mid 500's. After much confusion, I call all the CRA's to figure out what this was, and after they were ultimately unhelpful, I sent a DV request to the Collection Agency (the Experian report I got in order to file their dispute had their address) and dispute letters to all 3 CRA's.

My question is, did I do the right thing? Is KCA Financial allowed to do this? Is there any recourse I can take to make sure this doesn't happen again the next time I want an apartment and the debt gets re-sold? Please help!! I am stuck in an apartment I can't afford really far from my new job and any advice/suggestions I can get will be of the utmost help.

Thanks!

[NASCAR_Devil]

So I've gone through 45 pages of threads and have not found any guidance...let's hope someone can address my problem.

In college, after moving out of an apartment, I failed to turn off my electricity, and I guess during the period when there were no new tenants, the apartment managers racked up a bill for almost $150, for which I received an URGENT! notice at my new apartment several months after moving out. I called the electric company and explained what happened and it was my understanding they would remove the charges. This was Fall 2002.

Fast forward to Fall 2007 and I find this website, and on a whim check my credit report - which I knew was weak due to some charge-offs during college - only to find that my credit was not weak but very poor due to a collections, one of them being from a collection agency attempting to collect the debt from the Electric Bill of 2002. As I had never even received a notice from the CA, I could barely remember what or why the derogatory mark was on my CR, so I immediately asked for a DV and wrote all 3 CRA's to dispute the debt. By November 2007, I received a letter from the CA, KCA Financial, that they would remove the item, and in December, all 3 CRA's confirmed that they had deleted the collection.

By February 2008, my credit had shot up to the mid-600's and as I have had a solid credit history since my irresponsible college days of years ago, I expected that things would only get better from there.

Well, early this week I applied to live in my dream apartment. I met all the criteria, knew my landlord would provide a solid reference, and was confident that my credit score would suffice. Instead, I received a call from the landlord telling me that my "poor credit history" was far from sufficient for the building. I know mid-600 FICO's are not great, but her very harsh tone as I pleaded with her made me wonder what she meant. So on another whim, I checked my FICO's again.

I learned that 10 days ago, the same debt that had failed to be validated by KCA Financial and that had gone buh-bye from my credit reports, had been obtained and reported by a company called ACS Collections or The Affiliated Group. As a result, my credit scores were in the high to mid 500's. After much confusion, I call all the CRA's to figure out what this was, and after they were ultimately unhelpful, I sent a DV request to the Collection Agency (the Experian report I got in order to file their dispute had their address) and dispute letters to all 3 CRA's.

My question is, did I do the right thing? Is KCA Financial allowed to do this? Is there any recourse I can take to make sure this doesn't happen again the next time I want an apartment and the debt gets re-sold? Please help!! I am stuck in an apartment I can't afford really far from my new job and any advice/suggestions I can get will be of the utmost help.

Thanks!

Unfortunately, yes, they can re-sell the debt to another CA(JDB). The debt will never go away until it is paid but, reporting on your CR's only lasts for 7.5 years from DOFD. This should drop off you reports in late 2009. You can call the CRA's that are reporting the debt and get the exact DOFD that was reported. Is the original electric company reporting or just the new CA? You did the right thing with the DV to the new CA. If you have never received anything from them then discovering them on your reports would constitute "first contact" and should be sufficient to hold off collection attempts until they validate. Also, this appears to be beyond SOL (utilities are governed by UCC 4years) so I would dispute with the CRA's once the CA has signed for your DV. Do a search for the 1-2 punch for explanation.

[AE2114]

Unfortunately, yes, they can re-sell the debt to another CA(JDB). The debt will never go away until it is paid but, reporting on your CR's only lasts for 7.5 years from DOFD. This should drop off you reports in late 2009. You can call the CRA's that are reporting the debt and get the exact DOFD that was reported. Is the original electric company reporting or just the new CA? You did the right thing with the DV to the new CA. If you have never received anything from them then discovering them on your reports would constitute "first contact" and should be sufficient to hold off collection attempts until they validate. Also, this appears to be beyond SOL (utilities are governed by UCC 4years) so I would dispute with the CRA's once the CA has signed for your DV. Do a search for the 1-2 punch for explanation.

The original electric company is not reporting. It looks like the original account was transferred to a 'Utility Portfolio Solutions' which I am unable to find any information on. The thing with this debt that is so different from all my others is that I have never received any pre-emptive letters urging me to pay before the item lands on my credit report. Each time its a truly terrible surprise that I then have to contend with. Is this because the debt is barely legitimate and likely has no supporting paperwork?

I will search for Utilities SOL information, but I doubt the CRA's will likely have a close enough eye to monitor that this never happens again. I feel like they will just have the attitude of "whoops!" if it occurs again. Meanwhile I look quite foolish when applying for credit...

[Robert Nashville/Savannah]

The original electric company is not reporting. It looks like the original account was transferred to a 'Utility Portfolio Solutions' which I am unable to find any information on. The thing with this debt that is so different from all my others is that I have never received any pre-emptive letters urging me to pay before the item lands on my credit report. Each time its a truly terrible surprise that I then have to contend with. Is this because the debt is barely legitimate and likely has no supporting paperwork?

I will search for Utilities SOL information, but I doubt the CRA's will likely have a close enough eye to monitor that this never happens again. I feel like they will just have the attitude of "whoops!" if it occurs again. Meanwhile I look quite foolish when applying for credit...

A CA is not obligated to contact you before reporting the account..they also may not have your current address.

The debt will eventually be past the period whan it can be reported and it will stop impacting your credit history. However, in most states, a debt NEVER goes away until it is paid.

I'd recomend you check your three bureaus at least twice a year so you aren't caught by surprise.