Can a creditor report the same debt twice?
Some debt collectors may try to report a debt on a consumer's credit report twice. Doing so can make a single bad debt hurt twice as much. Though some consumers may have multiple debts owed to the same debt collector or creditor (which can be reported separately), each debt can only be reported one time.
If the same debt is listed multiple times (possibly with different names) you should dispute the multiple listings with the credit reporting agency and the original creditor or furnisher that provided the information to the credit reporting agency. A multiple listing is not a harmless error.
Large companies often assign a single debt to more than one debt collector. Since debt collectors also report accounts to the credit bureaus, their competing reports can make it look like you have multiple outstanding debts, even though they all relate to the same credit.
How Many Times Can You Dispute a Collection or Inaccurate Credit Item? There's no limit to how many times a consumer can dispute an item on their credit report, according to National Consumer Law Center attorney Chi Chi Wu. “In some cases, it will take several disputes to resolve a matter.
An initial credit inquiry during the pre-approval process. A second pull is less likely, but may occasionally occur while the loan is being processed. A mid-process pull if any discrepancies are found in the report. A final monitoring report may be pulled from the credit bureaus in case new debt has been incurred.
According to Credit.com, when an account is in collections, it may still show up twice on your credit report – once as a charged-off account reported by the original creditor, and once as a collection account reported by the collection agency or debt buyer.
Duplicate Creditor and Collection Agency Debt
Occasionally, when a debt goes to collections, the debt recorded by the lending agency, plus the same debt outlined by the collection agency, are both reported on your credit file. This results in a duplicate amount of debt shown owing.
Debt collectors cannot harass or abuse you. They cannot swear, threaten to illegally harm you or your property, threaten you with illegal actions, or falsely threaten you with actions they do not intend to take. They also cannot make repeated calls over a short period to annoy or harass you.
An account defaults when you break the terms of your agreement. The people you owe money to (creditors) may cancel your contract if they think you cannot get back on track. A debt can only default once, but afterwards creditors can take further action to collect it.
It's not uncommon for two companies to be trying to collect it at one time, but you need to be very careful to only pay the company who are currently tasked with collecting the debt.
Does disputing a debt restart the clock?
Does disputing a debt restart the clock? Disputing the debt doesn't restart the clock unless you admit that the debt is yours. You can get a validation letter to dispute the debt to prove that the debt is either not yours or is time-barred.
They gave you the money, and you should pay. The same is true even if the debt is sold and belongs to someone else. However, you have every right to dispute the debt if details are lost during the transition from the original creditor to the debt collection agency.
Don't provide personal or sensitive financial information
Never give out or confirm personal or sensitive financial information – such as your bank account, credit card, or full Social Security number – unless you know the company or person you are talking with is a real debt collector.
Collection agencies cannot report old debt as new. If a debt is sold or put into collections, that is legally considered a continuation of the original date. It may show up multiple times on your credit report with different open dates, but they must all retain the same delinquency date.
However, the Fair Credit Reporting Act also states that debt collection agencies are permitted to access your personal credit report.
Unfortunately, there are no secret ways to remove hard inquiries from your credit report unless they are there in error. If you see a hard inquiry that you did not authorize, you can file a dispute with the three reporting credit bureaus and the business that reported the information.
For example, if a collector is unable to make satisfactory arrangements with a consumer after a few months, the individual debt may be bundled with many others and sold to another collection agency. That process can be repeated many times over, even beyond the applicable statute of limitations for the consumer's debt.
A 609 letter (also called a credit dispute letter) is a credit repair method that requests credit bureaus to remove erroneous negative entries from your credit report. It's named after section 609 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a federal law that protects consumers from unfair credit and collection practices.
Debt collectors are prohibited from contacting you if you request, in writing, for them not to do so. To be free from harassment. The Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act requires that you be treated fairly without harassment. Visit dfpi.ca.gov/get-help to connect to resources related to this legislation.
Some lenders and creditors issue different types of accounts using similar account numbers, which may look like the same account. If an account does appear more than once, it may be due to one of the following reasons: The account has been transferred or sold to another lender.
Why does a collection show on one credit report but not the other?
That's normal. Debt holders/collection agencies sometimes only report to one or two of those credit agencies but not all three: Equifax, TransUnion and Experion.
If you discover that an old debt has reappeared on your credit reports as a new account or contains inaccurate information about its age or status, it might be because a debt buyer parked the debt on your report or re-aged the status of your debt. These debt collection practices might be illegal.
- Use of threat, violence or other criminal means to harm a person, reputation or property.
- Use of obscene or profane language.
- False representation that the debt collector represents a state or federal government.
| State | Written | Oral |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | 6 years | 6 |
| Arizona | 5 years | 3 |
| Arkansas | 6 years | 3 |
| California | 4 years | 2 |
If you are struggling with debt and debt collectors, Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC can help. As soon as you use the 11-word phrase “please cease and desist all calls and contact with me immediately” to stop the harassment, call us for a free consultation about what you can do to resolve your debt problems for good.
