Questions about a parking ticket that went to collections?

[SandwichFace]

I had an unpaid parking ticket that went to collections and showed up on my credit report. I thought I had paid the ticket, but it turns out there were TWO tickets and I only paid one. It was a stupid mistake, I got multiple notices in the mail but I thought the second one was just a duplicate of the first bill, I never realized there were two separate tickets. It was an honest mistake, but regardless, the damage is done.

 

I've since paid BOTH tickets and made sure there are no more outstanding tickets. My question is, how long does the parking ticket that went collections stay on my report? They said they will update what they report to the credit bureaus on the first. Does that mean the ticket completely comes off of my report, or does it just show it going to collections and having a paid status? After it's off the report will it still have a lingering effect? Is there any sort of letter or something I can do to get it off of there faster?

 

Thanks!

[moosetracks]

Will be 7 years from date it was first reported. Should show paid collection, the damage is done if it remains on the report though it has less of an impact as time goes by. There are GW letters that you can send asking for a deletion and there are other methods as well.

[SandwichFace]

Thanks for the reply. I was just looking into GQ letters. I think I'm trying that first, but I'm curious about the other methods you mentioned. Also, I would send the GW letter to the Collections Agency, not the City that wrote the parking ticket, right?

Thanks for the help!

[Guest]

Thanks for the reply. I was just looking into GQ letters. I think I'm trying that first, but I'm curious about the other methods you mentioned. Also, I would send the GW letter to the Collections Agency, not the City that wrote the parking ticket, right?

 

Thanks for the help!

 

You don't sent GW letters to a collections agency, only the original creditor.. so, you'd send a GW letter to the city/municipality that issued the ticket.

 

I am unnsure how collections go for parking tickets, but maybe the city Violations Bureau could recall it.. maybe. That would be your GW letter.. to the city.

[LKH]

 

Thanks for the reply. I was just looking into GQ letters. I think I'm trying that first, but I'm curious about the other methods you mentioned. Also, I would send the GW letter to the Collections Agency, not the City that wrote the parking ticket, right?

 

Thanks for the help!

 

You don't sent GW letters to a collections agency, only the original creditor.. so, you'd send a GW letter to the city/municipality that issued the ticket.

 

I am unnsure how collections go for parking tickets, but maybe the city Violations Bureau could recall it.. maybe. That would be your GW letter.. to the city.

 

Once again Joseph, you don't know what you are talking about so do NOT RESPOND. It's getting old and you are getting out of control. You are going to end up back on moderation if you don't cool it.

[SandwichFace]

I thought that was wrong, but I wasn't sure. So it sounds like GW letters DO go to collections. I figured that was the case since they're the ones who are reporting. Thank you for clearing it up!

[LKH]

I thought that was wrong, but I wasn't sure. So it sounds like GW letters DO go to collections. I figured that was the case since they're the ones who are reporting. Thank you for clearing it up!

 

You can send a goodwill letter to anyone you want. The chances of a CA actually granting it are small, but until you try, you don't know. Whoever is reporting it is who the GW letter needs to go to. I assume it is the CA.

[moosetracks]

Thanks for the reply. I was just looking into GQ letters. I think I'm trying that first, but I'm curious about the other methods you mentioned. Also, I would send the GW letter to the Collections Agency, not the City that wrote the parking ticket, right?

 

Thanks for the help!

 

Favorite of mine is to get the reports from the CRAs by mail then pick apart the negative listing looking for any error in their reporting and disputing it via mail with CMRR.

[Analysis]

Start by removing old addresses from your three CR's. On which of the three CR's is this account appearing?

[encoder]

SBA if this ticket is attached to the current address -- if the guy hasn't moved -- do you see that as having a real benefit here? I know "remove old addresses" is part of the standard recipe here but I see this as a little different than the more general-purpose report cleaning that we usually see. And since removing old addresses does sometimes produce negative consequences, I wonder if it's a good tactic here.

 

OP, you've got a fair shot at getting this removed. I agree with everybody that a goodwill letter is the place to start. Now, if the debt is owned by the city, and they just used a collection agency to collect it for them, there's no reason I wouldn't think that you couldn't goodwill both. Bottom line I guess is that it only costs the price of a stamp to give it a try. Though if you know for sure that the debt was sold by the city to the CA, then the city can't do anything more to help at that point.

 

If that fails, since this is a paid collection, I have never tried to DV a paid collection before. (DV = debt validation, making a CA prove they have the right to collect on a debt.) I mean, keeping a TL on your credit report is I suppose some passive form of "collection activity" so I'd look into this and see if you have that lever available to you still.

 

If you don't, of course you can still dispute with the CRAs. Sometimes when a collection is fully paid, CA's don't bother responding when the CRA passes your dispute along to them, so you get a deletion out of it. I've had this happen to me twice for two tiny collections ($30 and $80).

 

What collection agency is it with?

Edited February 23, 2013 by encoder

[SandwichFace]

Thanks for all of the information so far, I really appreciate it!

 

To answer some questions:

 

-It is being reported to all 3 agencies, so that's a bummer.

-I have moved and I believe they're using my old address as the for the ticket. Will it help the ticket fall off if I try to get the old addressed removed? I'm not sure what SBA is, I couldn't find the definition anywhere.

-I haven't been able to figure out if the CA bought the debt or was just hired to collect. I believe they bought it because I was told by a woman at the CA that they will update what they're reporting at the beginning of the month.

 

So it sounds like there are 3 things to maybe try here; getting old addressed removed, writing goodwill letters and disputing it with the CRA. The first two I've done before, but I've never tried to dispute anything before. I'll look into this. I assume this works better if there is misinformation associated with it somewhere but it sounds like if the debt is already paid, the CA sometimes won't even bother responding to verify the dispute.

[ariadne]

I had a ticket that went to collections and I was able to, with quite a bit of effort, GW it off my reports. In my case, the County I got the ticket handles collections through a revenue department. After I paid it, they simply updated it as paid. It sat like that as a paid collection for a couple of years until I started my credit clean up effort. I started by sending a GW letter, taking responsibility but also explaining my circumstances and how it was impacting me to have this on my credit and pleading humbly for a GW deletion. My first letter and a couple of phone calls went unanswered. I talked to a receptionist and got the name of another revenue agent, sent off another letter and left a couple more messages for her. She finally did get back to me but just to say "we don't do that". She further refused to give me the name of anyone higher up I could plead my case with. I was pretty bummed and didn't know how to proceed from there but just started poking around and figured out that that department reported in to the Treasurers office. I found an email for the Treasurer, and emailed her. She responded right back saying that she would look into it. When she responded, it was to tell me that she'd like to help me but that it was illegal to remove the listing. I was figuring out my next steps a week later when I got a call from a lady there saying she was deleting it. So...there you go! Write really nice GW letter. If they say no, keep trying.

[SandwichFace]

Thanks for your story, it definitely gives me hope! How do you know if the CA bought the debt or if they are just working to collect the debt for the city? Can I just call the CA to ask? The debt is already paid, so the balance would show zero at both places.

[SandwichFace]

As many of you have said, it may not help to send GW letters to a CA but here's one I put together using the templates on this site.

 

 

To Whom It May Concern,

 

I am writing a letter about my experience with Northwest
Collectors that is a mixture of a grateful "thank-you"
and a pressing request concerning two parking tickets that have been
reported that I would like to have revised.

 

I received the parking tickets in August 2012, about six months ago.

During that time, I was recovering from an injury I sustained in an
automobile accident when I was hit by a drunk driver while on my way
to work. For two years I was on crutches and I almost lost me leg. I
had a total of five surgeries and two rounds of physical therapy.
During this time I was unable to drive and, as a result, I had to
rely on friends and family from out of state to drive me to and from
doctor appointments and hospitals. I received several parking tickets
during this time period and tried my best to stay on top of them as
well as deal with lawyers, insurance and medical issues.

 

Although two of the parking tickets I received slipped through the cracks and
went unpaid (due in large part to the accident and the large amount
of paperwork and medical issues I was dealing with at the time) I
take full responsibility for the issue. During this time Northwest
Collectors was extremely helpful in working with me in my time of
hardship to help me track down the issue and get the tickets paid.
Until now I've never had any debts go unpaid andsent to collections
and I had heard horror stories about rude collection agencies trying
to collect debts. Northwest Collectors Inc. was nothing of the sort
and the staff was incredibly helpful to me during a difficult time.

 

After two years and five surgeries I am now able to work, drive and walk
again. I am trying to rebuild my credit in preparation for getting a
new mortgage. Throughout my history I have been able to show that I
am capable of responsible credit management as reflected in my credit
records. I am requesting that you give me a second chance at a
positive credit rating by no longer reporting the paid parking
tickets to the credit reporting agencies. Reporting paid debts is not
required by law and I sincerely hope that there is redemption at
Northwest Collectors, and I beg you for such consideration. Please
let me know if any additional documentation would assist in reaching
a positive outcome.

 

Regardless of your decision, please know that I thank you for helping me at a

time when it was needed, and I'm glad to know that there are indeed
some Collection Agencies out there who are willing to work with
people and who understand everyone's unique circumstances.

 

Very
hopefully,

 

My Name

[SandwichFace]

Sorry, I didn't see your question about which collection agency. It's Northwest Collectors Inc.