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I had a utility-bill debt at my old address turned over to the collection agency 2 days ago. I didn't receive any communications from the company and would've GLADLY paid it if I was aware (its only $300 bucks).
Should I pay it? Or is it one of the things that will stay on my credit report for years regardless of if I pay it or not?
Will paying it this early on stop the credit bureaus from being notified? My credit is my biggest concern. I asked both the utility company and the collection agency whether the credit bureaus will be notified and they seemed unsure.
Lastly, should I pay the collection agency or the utility company directly? My instincts tell me the collection agency but the utility company rep told me that its better to pay the utility company directly.
What do I do?
Thanks
Last edited by MemoryMaker; 03-13-2019 at 12:21 PM..
I had a utility-bill debt at my old address turned over to the collection agency 2 days ago. I didn't receive any communications from the company and would've GLADLY paid it if I was aware (its only $300 bucks).
Should I pay it? Or is it one of the things that will stay on my credit report for years regardless of if I pay it or not?
Will paying it this early on stop the credit bureaus from being notified? My credit is my biggest concern. I asked both the utility company and the collection agency whether the credit bureaus will be notified and they seemed unsure.
What do I do?
Thanks
It's already on your credit report most likely.
When I had this situation for a medical bill I called the hospital, discovered as we were pulling credit to buy a house. They sent the bill to the wrong address, addressed to the wrong person. Their excuse was that I "should've known" I was going to get this specific bill (my wife had surgery and we paid several bills as they came).
It was for a fairly low amount, maybe $200. I told them I would gladly pay if they removed it from my credit report.
At first they balked and I nicely hung up. I received a call a few days later and they agreed to "my terms".
- I paid the bill in full to the collection agency. They said that they never report to credit bureaus and they promised to send something in writing.
- The utility company said that they don't report to the credit bureau; especially in scenarios like mine where the debt was newly turned over.
I guess I'll have to keep monitoring my Credit Karma.
*Sigh..
I had a problem with a utility bill that was actually paid. The credit bureau contacted me when the bill was a year old (utility never contacted me) and I spend another year until the utility admitted they posted my payment to the wrong account. Never showed up on my credit report.
OP did you get something in writing -- before you paid it -- saying the $300 satisfies the debt completely, and no further action would be taken against to upon it being paid in full? Do you have in writing that neither party reports to credit bureaus?
OP did you get something in writing -- before you paid it -- saying the $300 satisfies the debt completely, and no further action would be taken against to upon it being paid in full? Do you have in writing that neither party reports to credit bureaus?
We have had the problem in the past, where the creditor notifies a debt collection agency. So we paid the debt, but the creditor never notified the collection agency. So even though we had paid the debt in full, the collection agency continued to pester us on the phone every week for a year.
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