2003 Past Due Account goes to collections in 2006
Question: I recently was at my bank and through a credit check they told me I had a collections record. When I ran and Equfax report and did some research I was informed it was for an old telephone account I had in a previous province. When I re-opened an account with the same company in the new province 5 months later the system did not alert them that I had monies outstanding. I was completely unaware of the past due account as the company sent letters to the address I told them I was moving from when I closed the account. I am now trying to get copies of the old billing statements and the letters that were sent to me that I never received. I have contacted the collections agency and they said they do not have that info and I have contacted the telephone company and they said legally they do not have to provide me with the information. How can I get this information or is it unattainable? I want to know what I was being charged for and proof that effort was made to contact me. Also now that this is on my credit report, will it stay for six years since I made the payment (last week) or for six years since the account was in default (2003)? The company held on to this for three years – does my credit report have to hold onto something that happened 3 years ago plus six years on my report for a total of nine years?? Help! Thank you!!!
Answer: Once something appears on your credit report, it typically stays for six years from the date of last activity, not from when it first appeared.
To have this removed from your credit report, you will probably either need to have a lawyer threaten legal action against the telephone company or the collection agency for not providing you with proof that you owed the money. Your other alternative would be to contact the Ministry of Consumer Affairs in your province to see if they have a procedure that you can follow to get this corrected.
Since you have now paid the item, and since it was a relatively small dollar amount, it will probably not have a significant impact on your credit report in the future.