This is actually the "new" method of illegal collection practices that is growing by leaps and bounds, and you have posted an EXCELLENT question.Here is how it works:Fly-by-night collection agencies are purchasing extremely old collections from companies for pennies on the dollar. These are collections that have even exceeded the statute of limitations for collection, in most states.These companies start reporting them to your credit report with a NEW date, as if you JUST had the collection happen. The purpose of this is to dramatically drop your credit score (because newer collections hit your score harder than older ones), and force you to contact them, which most people do.They tell people that call, that they are a legitimate collection firm, that there is no such thing as a statute of limitations, that they can keep renewing the date-of-last-activity on your account FOREVER--you name the lie, they tell it. Keep in mind, these representatives work on commission, based on what they are able to collect.They are able to scare enough people into paying, to keep the business going.These companies violate every collection law possible, but because the credit repositories are so huge, and have millions of contracts, and all you have to have is a state license to be a collection agency, they are as rampant as cockroaches in an abandoned building.However, there is hope. Contact the Consumer Protection Division in your state. This is typically the agency that licenses collection agencies, and file a complaint with them, and you would be shocked at how quickly they move.They are required by law to report the CORRECT date of last activity, and for collections, if the DOLA has been longer than 7 years, it is not supposed to appear on your credit report at all.
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