Debt recalled: does it come off my credit report?

R

riffwraith

Member
Jurisdiction
Connecticut
Long story, but a debt collector flagged my Experian credit report as in collections a few months ago.

Feeling this was in error, as my old utility company never contacted me, I filed a complaint with the state. The collection agency sent a letter to the state, stating that the utility company has recalled the debt. I am going to call the utility company to see if this is a valid debt, and if so, I will pay it. If not, I will not pay it. In the meantime -

Should the negative item come off of my credit report? Do I need to do anything, such as file a dispute?

And a side Q: if one requests verification of debt from a collection agency, is that considered a dispute?

Thanks in advance.
 
The details of the debt and its resolution will determine what changes are made to the credit report entry, if any. Right now you don't know what the deal is with that debt record — you aren't even clear yet if there is money actually owed. Until you know the final resolution it's not possible to know what changes should occur to the report. Requesting validation of the debt through the credit bureau is not the same thing as disputing the debt. For a dispute, you need to write the credit bureau to expressly and clearly state that you dispute the debt. When you do that, the credit must mark the credit entry as disputed until the dispute is resolved one way or the other.
 
Thank you.

"Requesting validation of the debt through the credit bureau"

Wasn't even considering that.

If the debt has been recalled, then it is no longer in collections, correct? If so, then the item that sits on my report should no longer be there, correct?
 
Nice.

The item listed on my Experian online report does not have a "dispute" button.
I asked the AI chatbot what to do, and I was directed to the Experian dispute center.
The item in question is not listed there.
The chatbot told me to call the main number, which I did.
The AI phone bot told me it could not process the dispute, and refused to allow me to speak to a rep.

Looking into my crystal ball, I see myself standing inside of a courtroom....
 
BTW, keep relying on AI and you are guaranteed to screw yourself.

You mean the Experian chatbot? It is something I had to try....

You said you would call the utility company to see if it's a valid debt. Why don't you do that and see what they can do from their end?

Will call them on Mon. In the meantime, and correct me if I am wrong, the utility company is not going to remove the credit report info. How could they? They are not the ones who put it there.

I found a mailing address for Experian. Am mailing letter tomorrow morn.
 
The utility company assigned the debt to the collection agency. The collection agency is not going to remove anything unless instructed to by the original creditor. Until then, it's a true entry that it was sent to collections, which has nothing to do with whether the debt was valid or not. You have to work that out with the utility company.

If you don't owe the money, and it was an error by the utility company, the utility company is the one to clear your credit report.

If you do owe the money, and pay it, the best you can hope for is the entry is updated to show something like "was collection account, now paid."

Call the utility company Monday and find out what it's all about.
 

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