Question On Removing Old Invalid Debt From Credit Report

[phsion]

I have an invalid (at least I say it is) debt from an ATT UVERSE account that's been hounding me since late 2010. The supposed debt is a fee for non returned equipment, however I have the UPS tracking info and their form with serial numbers for all the hardware saying I returned it. 

I'm in Southern California, by the way.

 

AFNI sent me a letter in January offering to settle for half the debt, with a line at the end saying they wouldn't sue me due to the age of the debt. Since they couldn't/wouldn't sue me, I pretty much just ignored it.

 

Now I noticed it on my Credit Report, and I'd like to get it removed if possible. I'm assuming I need to dispute this with the Reporting Agencies directly, however I'm not sure what I should be sending.

 

Is this best a handled by a standard error dispute, with a copy of the Returned Equipment form, or can something be done with the debt being past the statue of limitations? Any other possible avenues?

 

My report shows Date of Last Activity as 07-2010, the Opening Date as 8/1/14, and the Reported Date as 11/1/14

 

I generally ignore and have lost many of these collection letters, but I do have a couple in my records. AFNI in early 2012, and Enhanced Recovery Company in late 2012.

 

Thanks for the help.

[Clydesmom]

There are 2 SOLs:  one for suing you and the other for reporting the debt to the bureaus.  In many states the reporting SOL is much longer than the lawsuit one.  Just because they cannot sue does not mean they have to stop reporting.

 

Go to the CFPB and file a complaint and upload a copy of the receipt.  I would demand that they remove the trade lines.  You can also find a consumer attorney at www.naca.net and see about suing them for FDCPA and FCRA violations.