newyorny_2007

I had a bank account at BOA that was closed for cause in 1998. I was on Chex Systems and then it cleared after a few years. I have not had any problem with bank accounts since then. But I never resolved the negative balance on the BOA account ($900+/-). Today, "Portfolio Recovery Associates" called to say they are trying to collect on that amount. This is the third 12+ year old debt they have unearthed in 2 years. It is such an old account I would think the SOL has long since run out, but when PRC has contacted in the past about very old debts, they make a point to say that the SOL is past. But they didn't do that with this account. When I told them that I don't acknowledge or know of any such debt, and asked them to send me something in writing - they said that I have to send them a request in writing if I want them to send me information about the debt in writing. How crazy is that??? I know that I havent acknowledged or replied to anything about this BOA account EVER, not since it closed in 1998. Could PRC have any legal leg to stand on here? It is totally a "zombie" debt, but I don't know how this kind of closed bank account differs from credit card debt or other debts when it comes to SOLs, etc. Or can I send them a cease and desist letter? Can they re-report to Chex Systems? Can they report it on my credit report - it's never been on my credit report before, only Chex Systems. I hate Portfolio Recovery Associates! Thanks to anyone who has some info to share...

I had a bank account at BOA that was closed for cause in 1998. I was on Chex Systems and then it cleared after a few years. I have not had any problem with bank accounts since then. But I never resolved the negative balance on the BOA account ($900+/-). Today, "Portfolio Recovery Associates" called to say they are trying to collect on that amount. This is the third 12+ year old debt they have unearthed in 2 years. It is such an old account I would think the SOL has long since run out, but when PRC has contacted in the past about very old debts, they make a point to say that the SOL is past. But they didn't do that with this account. When I told them that I don't acknowledge or know of any such debt, and asked them to send me something in writing - they said that I have to send them a request in writing if I want them to send me information about the debt in writing. How crazy is that??? I know that I havent acknowledged or replied to anything about this BOA account EVER, not since it closed in 1998. Could PRC have any legal leg to stand on here? It is totally a "zombie" debt, but I don't know how this kind of closed bank account differs from credit card debt or other debts when it comes to SOLs, etc. Or can I send them a cease and desist letter? Can they re-report to Chex Systems? Can they report it on my credit report - it's never been on my credit report before, only Chex Systems. I hate Portfolio Recovery Associates! Thanks to anyone who has some info to share...

Last year Portfolio Recovery Associates contacted me about a 14 year old credit card account, obviously way past the SOL, and they tried to start the collection process again. I sent a cease & desist letter and they finally left me alone. They did send a 2010 tax year 1099-C, which I decided to just file with my taxes, as it was for $849 and I was just tired and figured I should just pay the taxes on it and let go (right or wrong - I was just so over it). Funnily enough the original amount they tried to collect was like $2000 but the 1099C was $849... typical. In the meantime, they sent me a second 1099-C this year for that same debt but for 2011 - which I have now misplaced. Havent decided what to do on that - the fatigue continues - I hate Portfolio recovery Associates. AND to top that, this week I received a new notice from them, trying to collect on what I believe is the same credit card debt - as if it was a different debt! The notice clearly states that the SOL is long since past. Should I send a cease and desist letter? Should I tell them that they have already forgiven the debt in 2010? Should I bring up the second 1099 C and tell them if they try to file any more 1099-Cs I will take legal action? I am angry, and feel powerless and kind of overwhelmed. Any suggestions?

PS - Thanks again to all who replied!

They can do the 1099C however I'm unsure if they can report it to the Cra's.. since the last payment WAS 2005, I'm assuming the 2005 payment didn't bring the account current then got CO? You, know I pulled out my files, and I don't think I even made a payment in 2005 - I am not sure I even made one pay. I am 100% certain that this debt is outside the SOL and this company has no legal grounds to pursue. On a separate topic, while digging, I found an old collection file for another account from the late 90s that I made a payment on as late as 2008. What is weird to me is that I'm not hearing anything from THAT collector. It's a $700 debt on a Capital One card that closed in 2001. Ya know, my life until 1998-2001 was a giant disaster, with problems of all kinds. In the past 13 years I have cleaned up my life, and in that process of cleaning, I paid off thousands of dollars in debts incl. penalties and fees on my accounts from those days. I paid back over $50,000 total and $20,000 of it was easily penalties & fees! These small $ accounts of $700 or $800 that are past the SOL and are now being handled by Junk Debt buying collectors just seems WRONG to me. The original creditors have written these debts off. they are not large debts and the JDBs have paid pennies on the dollar for the debt.s I dont need to feel bad about putting these small dollar amounts behind me. Cleaning up my credit has been a long tough process, and Ive only been able to pay off debts over time, so a lot of the stuff sat on my credit report unpaid for years. But it's pretty much all paid up now, except for these minor items, which are way out of SOL. My payment history for the past 6 years has been perfect, and apart from the beasts from the past, my credit report looks better every day. By 2014 all the past monsters will be gone and I'll be damned if the JDBs are going to mess up my life by resuscitating zombie debts from 10+ years ago.

UPDATE: So I recently noticed on my credit report that LexisNexis made an inquiry with Equifax. I was concerned & confused because I know LexisNexis is generally asscoiated with background checks. I hadnt apllied for any new jobs, insurance, mortgage, car loan - i hadnt applied for anything! I wondered if my current employer (of 8 years) could be doing a background check and could my poor (albeit improving) credit score cause me problems at work? Well, it turns out that the inquiry was from "Dynamic Recovery Solutions" the company that has been harassing me about the Cross Country (turns out it was $680 only) credit card debt above that went into collections in 1998. I made a payment on it 2005, but haven't made any payments since and the SOL is up. They have been super nasty with me on the phone, as I said before, and now threatened to make sure the failure to pay and the resultant 1099 reflect on my credit report. I went to the Dynamic Recovery Solutions website and one of their services is: "Credit File Reporting – uncollected items can be placed with the major credit bureaus, meaning we can improve your odds of long-term collection from customers wishing to clear up issues on their credit reports." CAN THEY DO THIS WITH AN OUT OF SOL DEBT FROM 1998, THE LAST PAYMENT MADE WAS 2005 (ALSO OUT OF SOL) - AND FOR WHICH THEY ARE NOW SUBMITTING A 1099?

Thank you! This is really good to know -- thanks for taking the time to reply, I appreciate it! The 1099 Cs are actually for two different charged off cards, that happen to be the same $ amount (although I am curious what the actual amount of the Cross Country Bank account is... they say $800, but probably is less). Did you dispute the 1099 Cs with an attestation statement attached to your tax return? Thanks again for your reply?

1. no, they can't report a 1099 on yur cr. 2. there is a form to fill out for insolvency... but first run the taxes and see if it makes a diff. When PRA sent me a 1099C, i had education credits to offset the slightly higher tax so i didn't bother with the insolvency form. I also wrote a letter to the IRS and told them it was a fraudulent 1099c and that i only included in my taxes because it did not effect the end result. 3. Hard to say- they do offer skip tracing services to CA's so its very possible. Thank you so much! This is very helpful and I appreciate you taking the time to reply. I know I am stating the obvious, but the JDBs are awful!! It's like a combination of getting interrogated as a suspected serial killer, being a juvenile delinquent in the principal's office, and being Little Orphan Annie getting humiliated by Miss Hannigan in the orphanage. The 1099 Cs makes a very slight difference in my tax debt - under $100-200, and part of me just feels like paying it to close the chapter and move on. Another part of me wants to fight - just hates it - and to attach an attestation statement, etc. Decisions, decisions... Thanks again for the info - incredibly helpful. Have a good one!

I have been improving my credit slowly but surely over the past 5 - 10 years. I have paid off many creditors, and some other smaller debts have past the SOL. In the last 5 years I've opened a handful of small accounts to help rebuild my credit - 3 in the past year. Last Fall I got a call from "Portfolio Recovery Associates" about a Capital One account that charged off in 1994, claiming I owed $3,400, and I wrote them a cease and desist letter. Around January I received a 1099-C for a debt forgiven of $800. This month I started getting a call from an agency that hasnt identified itself as anything other than "DRS" and they are talking about a "Cross Country Bank" account of $800 that charged off in 1997 and that I made a few payments on in 2000, but nothing since. I told them I didnt recognize the information and asked them to send me something in writing and they refused. I said that it is such and old debt I have no idea if it's mine, and I needed something in writing, and then they said a few harassing statements like "Oh, so you're the kind of person who runs up debts and then hides behind SOLs, huh?" Today they called with a threat of a 1099-C, which they said would "and up on my credit report and harm my credit rating" and also "would force me to pay the IRS" So here are my questions, which I humbly put out here for any of the more knowledgeable folks who might wish to share their experience: Do 1099Cs on zombie debts that are long out of the SOL actually get reported on the credit reports (Transunion, Equifax, Experian)? Will they leave a bad mark on my report / lower my score? Should I attach an attestation statement to my tax return and try to deny the validity of these 1099-Cs? On a separate topic, I have an account with "truecredit.com to monitor my credit reports - does this trigger the debt collecting agencies in some way? It's weird that I'm suddenly getting so many creepy collection agencies coming out of the woodwork?? THANKS FOR ANY ADVICE ANYONE WANTS TO SHARE!