Posted by Christine Baker on January 15, 1998 at 00:41:53:
In Reply to: Who should I negotiate with? posted by A. Perry on December 29, 1997 at 12:40:53:
You need to negotiate with the company reporting the collection. And yes, many times the debts are sold, usually with big discounts.
When negotiating with collection agencies you have a good chance of getting them to remove the account from your credit, but be sure you get that in writing before you pay. Some will only agree to report as paid collection. As far as I know, that won't improve your Scores.
Under the new FCRA the credit bureaus MUST provide you with the phone number and address of the company who confirmed your dispute. So go ahead and dispute the account and take it from there.
Good luck,
Christine