Bill Paid, received Collections Notice 3 years later
Shm323
Newbie

I am active duty Army, and while I was in language training in VA I was a verizon customer.  Several days prior to leaving VA and going to my next assignment(Asia) I closed my account, returned my equipment and paid my bill like I have done half a dozen times before.  

Fast forward 3 years(2018), I move back to Boston for grad school and out of nowhere I get a letter in the mail from a collections company.  Knowing how bad this is and that its just $50 or $60 i paid it immediately and figured it might have been a mistake or maybe I missed something in the past.

I just checked my credit report and my score reflects a collection from Verizon which is seriously harming my credit. 

My issue is that I was never once contacted saying that I have a balance on my account that for some reason wasn't there when I closed my account. I am assuming they couldn't find me in Asia for mail, but they could have emailed me.  This is infuriating and I just want to get it corrected. 

Any assistance is appreciated.

0 Likes
1 Solution

Correct answers
Re: Bill Paid, received Collections Notice 3 years later
jonjones1
Legend

Unfortunately when you paid the collection account for whatever amount you re-aged the debt. Since the limitations on the balance are within the number of years you would have had to wait for it to fall off your paying it affirms the debt. Normally 30-90 days you have to dispute it in writing, but by your not knowing it is too late to dispute.

once you re-aged the debt it will stay on for 7 years. You could try contacting the credit bureaus and see if they will remove the negative information but I believe they won’t because only Verizon can get it removed.


https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemaking-regulatory-reform-proceedings/fair-debt-collection-...

the above link may assist you. As well as a federal act that protects service personnel in canceling of their services etc. sorry I forgot the name of the act/law

https://www.justice.gov/servicemembers/servicemembers-civil-relief-act-scra

I think it’s the link above. To use against Verizon and credit bureaus.

View solution in original post

0 Likes
Re: Bill Paid, received Collections Notice 3 years later
LawrenceC
Moderator Emeritus

Hi Shm323,

As this is a peer to peer support forum, you will need to contact Verizon directly for assistance. We have sent you a private message with contact information for a dedicated specialist who is able to help with a resolution of your issue.

0 Likes
Re: Bill Paid, received Collections Notice 3 years later
jonjones1
Legend

Unfortunately when you paid the collection account for whatever amount you re-aged the debt. Since the limitations on the balance are within the number of years you would have had to wait for it to fall off your paying it affirms the debt. Normally 30-90 days you have to dispute it in writing, but by your not knowing it is too late to dispute.

once you re-aged the debt it will stay on for 7 years. You could try contacting the credit bureaus and see if they will remove the negative information but I believe they won’t because only Verizon can get it removed.


https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemaking-regulatory-reform-proceedings/fair-debt-collection-...

the above link may assist you. As well as a federal act that protects service personnel in canceling of their services etc. sorry I forgot the name of the act/law

https://www.justice.gov/servicemembers/servicemembers-civil-relief-act-scra

I think it’s the link above. To use against Verizon and credit bureaus.

0 Likes