apartment is taking me collections. is there anyway I could dispute this?

My X apartment is taking me collections. I had to move out of that apartment because of all kind of leaking that was going on. I had water come in from the apartment on the side of me. It leaked into my bedroom, then about 1 or 2 weeks later I had a leak in my bathroom vent from the upstairs apartment. So I left that apartment as soon as I could. About a month later I get a letter in the mail telling me I owe them $200.00.
They charged me all kinds of cleaning fees! I cleaned that apartment as best I could with all that went on. I think they are just trying to get some money back. I would like to know if there is anyway I could dispute this??

If you can help me in anyway it would be much appreciative.

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Sounds to me like you should have taken pictures, documented calls to the landlord and protected your interest before hand and not after.
If you have any evidence please us it to your best ability. 200.00 is not a lot of money if your credit is good now. If your credit is bad it will not matter much. 200.00 could cause you a lot of interest in the future and it would be better to pay than loose good credit. If the item is on your report now it is probably too late to help you and payment will not help your score.

So Have you checked your credit lately?
Is your credit 650 + ?
Is the 200.00 on your credit already?
If your score is 650+, and the item is not on your credit now>>>..
PAY IT FAST.
I would rather loose the apartment battle than loose the credit war.
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Yes I have pictures of what happened on both occasions.
I do have good credit and don't want this to go on my credit report. Can I reason with the collection agency?
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I would go to the apartment bunch
But would still pay the 200 before it went on my credit
Do you still not know if it is on your repoprt?
and do you know your score?
some people think they have good credit because they have paid people off.........if you have been late on all your payments but paid them off.......you have bad credit folks
do you really know your credit score
have you seen your report
If it is 650+ pay it and go on
The collection agency has no dog in the water leak fight
All they have is a debt that has not been paid
Thats all they know and care about
They will not grant you absolution based on your pictures
The apartment complex MIGHT
If you go to the BBB and state a decent case

A Debt From 1999 Will be marked Paid! Is this what I need credit score Points?

Hello
And Thank Heavens For Someone Like You
I Am Doing Some Reading And Trying To Clear Up My Credit Your Probably Hit With Hundreds Of Questions A Day But I Am Really Desperate For A Fast Answer The Collections Company Is Expecting Payment This Morning I Have A Debt From 1999 However My Credit Report States The Debt Is From 1/1/ 0001 Balance Due 1,086.00 The Woman I Spoke to Said It Will Mark Paid On My Report Once Its Paid Is This What I Need For The credit score Points? Or Is There Something Else I Should Ask About? Please Help I Know That After Some Time I Think 7 Years It Doesnt Matter Any Way Right?
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Right
If they mark it as paid but do not take it off it will not help your score at all.
Matter of a fact it might hurt your score.
Redated to 2005 marked as paid on that date or "date of last activity".
So in 2008 it falls off completely
Right now it pobably has little effect on your credit if you have current credit working right now. The last 2 years of credit is more heavily weighted.
I would make a copy of my report now. Then tell the creditor it is of no help to pay the balance unless the entry is totally removed not just marked as paid.
So at this time you feel it is in your best interest to leave it like it is unless they are willing to do so. Then explain the you have made a copy of your report with a date and if any changes are made or any re-dating, inquiries or other unlawful activity occurs, you will be forced to contact the ftc about your explicit rights under the fair credit reporting act and a possible law suit may arrise in conection with any such activity. I am not trying to be rude but just have to do what is best for me and I have rights under the fcra. Please do not call me anymore or use any unlawful practices to collect on this very old collection.
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Wow Thanks So Much The Woman Kept Saying It Would Be Marked "Paid" And I Was Curious About This Because I Dont Know Much. However I Asked What That Meant She Said She Had A Long Day And She Would Explain Tomorrow. She Faxed Me What She Called An Agreement Giving Me Until The 30th Of The Month To Pay The 275.00 Settlement. I Was A Little Weiry I Was Waiting On You To Reply Back To Me So I Asked Questions After She Called Me 6 Times I Finally Pick Up And She Demands The Money (My Bank Card Info) Now! I Said I Thought I Had Until The 30th She Gets Really Angry, I Refused To Yell Or Get Angry I Thought This Was Outragious Behavior Is It Normal? She Then Puts A Man On The Phone Who Is Screaming in My Ear About How I Got A Great Deal And I Need To Pay Today And They Will Not Charge My Card Until The 31st Im A Little Shy About Shooting Off My Bank
Information To Anyone. But Make A Long Story Short I Told The Man Who Was Very Angry That I Would Call Back After They Cooled Off Because Paying Off A Debt Is For Me Not Them And I Didnt Understand Why They Were So Angry He SaidI Was No Longer Allowed To Speak With Melissa He Was The Attorney On The Case And I Had To Deal With Him He Gave Me His Number And I Said I Would Have My Husband Call.
I Do Feel Like You Helped Me Im Not Sure Whats In It For These Really Mean People Im Sure They Get A Paycheck Rather I Pay My Debt Or Not So I Dont Understand How They Can Spend Their Lives Being So Upset With Strangers On The Phone. I Hope They Are Nice To There Families Because It Seems To Me As Though These People Are Very Stressed Out Again I Am Just Another Person Trying To Make Things Right With My Credit I Am A Fan Of Yours Now I Love What You Do I Think More People Should Know About You.. You Are An Angel Giving Information To Me. This Is A Life Long Commitment Changing My credit And I Need As Much Help As I Can Get To Do it The Right Way.
Thankyou Again And Happy Holidays To you.
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Sounds like they are already out of bounds on the collection laws stated in the FCRA. Collections normally occur withing a 6 months time frame. At this point the creditor has already tried to collect and sell the debt for pennies on the dollar. The creditor takes a tax deduction from the IRS for the difference and the collection company keeps whatever they can collect on. That's how collection companies make money. So if they do not get your money they do not
get paid and go out of business which is good for you. Then you could dispute the file and have it removed since they cannot respond. So keep the phone number and check every 6 months or so from a pay phone or something.
In this case it sounds as if the file is very old and has been written off totally by the creditor in the first place. If this is so they collection company could afford to agree to a 1/4 payment because they have no investment. If this is the case collection might be illegal due to multiple collection on a written off debt to the IRS.
I bet the guy screaming was not even a lawyer. What do you want to bet. Tell us anything to get us to pay.
To be quite honest I paid every debt I ever accrued and feel everyone should pay ALL true debts. However if I was this far down the road I would not pay knowing what I know now. I paid an electric bill I owed 2 years late and it was redated. Same for another debt. But that was years ago before I got into this website on accident to help people like me. I found it very difficult to find information on the internet back then for credit help with the bureaus and even harder to talk to a real person.
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how much will my score rise if I have a collection removed

Hi, and thank you so much for your helpful information. One thing I was not able to find though was how much will my score rise if I have a collection removed? I know I have succeeded in doing the impossible but I did it, not paid in full, not evened, REMOVED. My score is now 643 with the collection on there. I don't want to do another as it may lower it more. So just ball park how much does a collection lower your score? 20, 30, 80? Besides that I never
miss a payment my credit cards are high right now so I am paying those down quickly. I have worked really, really hard on my credit the past few years and this collection from a hospital for $44 from 6 years ago popped up but now it's gone.
Thank you,
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if the collection is within the 2 year margin I would venture a guess of 25 points. But no one knows for sure. It is sort of like the bcs rankings. I do know this, a collection has 2 negative effects on your credit. 1. it shows you have 100% balance against high credit on that account. 2. It shows you diidn 't pay a bill that was sent to you over a period of time. Normally collections only show up after numerous attempts to collect.

Another note. 44$ is not a whole lot of money and if a small collection like that is over 2 years old either make sure it gets deleted fully or do not pay it. It is far better to have the collection 2 years old than paid and recent.
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I would really like to buy a house with in the next 6-12 months

hello, my name is REAL PERSON
I have put myself in a real bind with credit issues while I was in college. Now I have recently paid off my credit card debts and would like to know how to rebuild my credit score so I can buy a
house for my fiance and me. Everytime i go for a loan, they practically laugh at me. What do I need to do to get back on track? I would really like to buy a house with in the next 6-12 months. Thank-You
James Oakes
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my best help would be to say
buy a owner rent to own home
there are planty of home owners who rent
many will rent to own

my second best offer
would be to get a credit card by putting a downpayment with your app in
use it for 12 months then you will have a rated trade

of course you havent shown me your credit report
nor do i even know if you have seen it

so it is such an opened ended and opened beginning
no one even knows
probably not even you what is on your credit

after filing bankruptcy, law leave these accounts open with balances

Hello,
You must have had major problems in resolving credit reporting issues to help other people resolve theirs! My question is this: after filing bankruptcy and getting a copy of the credit report, I disputed the accounts that were included in the bankruptcy because the report stated there was still an account balance, past due amount and that the accounts were still open. I sent a copy of the bankruptcy along with the dispute forms and when I received the response from the credit bureau they had not changed anything.
Can they by law leave these accounts open with balances and past due amounts showing on the report?
Thank you so much for your help!
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I think they have to show account included in bk and zip the balance due part. Most times bureaus have to be promted. Well I should say always have to be prompted. No prompt no action. bureaus are in the data business. But yes most all credit items will show negative for 7-10 years even with the bk. Bankrupcies resolve debt issues not credit issues. 2 different issues with the same subject.

we missed almost 5 months of mortage payments

Hi Bo:
My name is John Wilson..I live in Louisiana..and ave had trouble getting a job and got one in Memphis..and am working there..not to mention the hurricanes my wife stays home and keeps house in Louisiana.. my credit is terrible..around 495..we missed almost 5 months of mortage payments..even though we sold a piano and brought
it current..plus a lot of other stuff.. do you have a service to help people get their credit up..if so, I'm a great candidate..look to hear from you..
Awesome site..
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I do not have paid for service. Everything is free and online.
Well John this is a perfect case for some one to step up and do something THATS RIGHT. They are correct in that you were late as you clearly state. I would probably have asked for relief from the start. But t is never too late. I would call each creditor.
---------------
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bureau might make a mistake and eventually take the bad record

Quoting Real Person

How are you,
I like the support you've put online for the rest of us. Thank you. I've been told by friends that if I get my report and send my first dispute letter and if the bureau doesn't take the bad record off of my file (no matter what reason), that I could resend another dispute letter right after and after doing this a few times the bureau might make a mistake and eventually take the bad record off my file (perhaps from overlooking something or just out of confusion).
Do you think that's a good strategy to get bad records off? I'm not talking about bombarding with mail, but waiting till a response
comes and then resending the requests.
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This does happens sometimes
I would say not often and it makes bureaus mad.
Try around this time of year and you have a better chance.
More than likely they will send you back a frivilous dispute request letter for duplication of efforts

I would try the creditors a little if your dispute does not turn out
and write down everything you do and who you talk to and what happened on what day.

Hit them with all you can using lawyer like tones and facts.
Explain your rights under the fcra
Keep checking your credit online
The creditor might make a mistake and check your credit which is unlawful.

I am sure that they can not produce my signature on the collection as my ex husband signed my name.

Quoting Real Person :

Dear Mr Majors,

Years ago (I believe 1985) my ex husband opened an account with Sears in my name (without my knowledge). As far as I know, no payments or action has shown on the account since the late 80's. Today I received a phone call from a collection agent. I explained to the woman on the phone that it was my ex's account and she said it didn't matter. I told her I wouldn't pay it and that it was not mine. She said that collections would proceed.
I am sure that they can not produce my signature on anything as I had never used the account. What recourse do I have? I thought after an account recieved no payments after so many years that collections agaisn't the account could not be done....I thought this matter long dead as it's been at least 15 years since I last heard from Sears regarding this matter.
Thank you for you answer in advance
Sincerely Real Person with credit fraud.
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Sounds to me like you have a valid legal arguement by the FCRA
I would send them a letter stating I believe rights have been violated by the law and wish to see my signature on any documents they have in my name. In addition I would state if they cannot provide this information To elimnate the collection or face the possibility of suit and reporting to the FTc. If you find the signature on the documents to be foorged you plan to follow all your legal avenues as far as forgery and illegal collections on a forgery. Send the mail with confirmation recipt requested and keep a copy of wht you sent them.
Explain you are not trying to be rude but just trying to make sure no one has violated your rights by the Fair Credit Reporting Act governed by the FTC. They must produce a copy of the signature or thus be sublect to FTC laws. Rememeber to not be overly demanding, but to just state the facts and ask for all required documents by law.

Email Bo a Question

how long does your credit report reflect your bad credit

How long do credit files stay on my record? How long does your credit report reflect your bad credit?
7 years for bad credit, late payments, collections, charge off's. Lawsuits and judgments 10 years or until the statute of limitations runs out in the state. 3 years for inquiries. Diminished effect on my credit score takes place at 2 years out. Good or bad! If you have not used credit in 2 years you score will be gone. Must have used credit within the last 2 years.