will paying a disputed bill help credit score soon?

Submitted by nitsan_tal on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 18:28
Forums

The only negative info on my report is an unpaid verizon bill, and the reason it was not paid was a billing dispute we couldn't resolve. I have the money to pay it but is it too late to fix the report? basicly, lets say I pay it now in full (1,000 $), how soon will my credit score improve?

Well you should know that utilities have a SOL of two years. I hope that your bill is beyond two years.

So that means that you should be able to settle it for less and still hope to get the account deleted. NOT marked paid in full.

a paid charge off is only marginally better than unpaid so with a little patience I hope you can get this delete.

I had an old verizon collection that they offered to settle for 20%. This wasn't on my report so it is a little different for you. what is your DOFD date of first delinquency?

Wed, 02/24/2010 - 11:55 Permalink

Thanks for the replies.
Aaron- the dispute was that they billed us for hundreds of dollars more than out agreement but repeated phone calls resulted in no resolution. At that point we switched to another carrier and my husband out of frustration decided to ignore their bills (stupid, I know).
Cinnamngrl- the reports are from 8/2009 and 9/2009 but the account has been closed since 2008.
So what do you think is my best course of action now?

Wed, 02/24/2010 - 14:54 Permalink

What was the date of last payment?

180 days after this will be the DOFD. why is it 1000?

Have you complained to the board of telecommunications? try this.

I think that you should stall until the SOL expires and then go on the attack. this may require some patience but it will be worth the effort.

Wed, 02/24/2010 - 15:05 Permalink

Whats DOFD and SOL (sorry, I'm new to this whole subject). its not exactly 1000$ but a few bills ranging from 250 to 400 until we realized we are not getting it fixed and switched to another carrier. We were supposed to pay 120$ a month.

Wed, 02/24/2010 - 15:20 Permalink

DOFD IS Date of first delinquency is 180 days after last payment

SOL is statute of limitations on this kind of debt. Federal law on UCC dictate that SOL is limited to two years. It sounds like you are close

Wed, 02/24/2010 - 15:29 Permalink

Nothing. :shock: the SOL has to do with whether verizon can sue you for the money and win. they can still file the lawsuit after the SOL but they will lose when you assert SOL expiration. :wink:

The point is that after the SOL expires you are in a much better bargain position. IF you resolve this before the SOL they you are more likely to pay full balance and not get a deletion. and this a paid collection account is not much better than an unpaid collection account scorewise. :(

So tell me what is DOFD. when did you last pay this account? :?

Wed, 02/24/2010 - 16:09 Permalink

may 2008 is when i last paid them. i think changed carrier on august 2008.

Wed, 02/24/2010 - 16:27 Permalink

That is pretty recent, doubt that one is past the SOL, I was not aware that their is a different set of rules for statute of limitation on utilities, is it really two years?

Wed, 02/24/2010 - 16:38 Permalink

Wow this is new information for me. I had never know the statute of limitations on utilies was two years. This exlains how my mother in law never seemed to get sued for past bills.
I agree with Cinnamon though..I would ride this out until the SOL expired and then move forward. The debt will still appear on your credit report and is bound to have damages when it comes to your score but at least the worry of being sued would not be there. that being sued and them not winning due to the SOL.

Wed, 02/24/2010 - 21:46 Permalink

So if I understand correctly, there is nothing I can do right now to significantly improve my credit score?

Wed, 02/24/2010 - 23:58 Permalink

Hi Nitsan,

As far as I understand, the statute of limitations (SOL), on your debt has not expired yet. Therefore, you won't be able to dispute it. In your first post you had mentioned that you will be able to pay the full amount. I think this is the best option. You can contact the company and tell them that you are willing to pay the full amount. Along with this, you can request them to agree to the "Pay for delete" (PFD) agreement.

With a PFD, your account gets reported as "Paid in full", if you pay the full amount. Else, it may get reported as "Paid as settled", if you settle the amount to be paid. As you are willing to pay the amount in full, it will get reported as "Paid in full". However, not all company agree to a PFD agreement. Remember to get all the dealings with the company in writing, else in future the debt may resurface.

Your credit score will improve with this. However, by how much exactly may the score increase is not possible to say. It depends on the type of account and debt.

Thu, 02/25/2010 - 05:32 Permalink

I just want to admit that I screwed up on the SOL of two years. I have been trying to research it. Utilities are under UCC and generally shorter than other SOLs but it depends on the state so it may not be two years.

nitsan, a little patience will help you. what state do you live in.

sorry for the mistake.

Thu, 02/25/2010 - 11:55 Permalink
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