National Credit Solutions - Collections Account Dispute

[Fowler]

I found out on 11/24 that I had a collection claim against me that dropped my Credit Score by 77 points with Experian. National Credit Solutions was reporting me for a Hollywood Video Account debt of $161. They are asking for $236. $236 for videos!!!!

Hollywood Video has been closed where I live for almost 2 years. I always paid my late fees and I turned in my videos. NCS is saying I owed late fees and did not turn in some videos. The store is closed and Hollywood is bankrupt! Who can I go to and say- your records are wrong!! This feels really fishy! I had an excellent credit score before this happened.

I feel like I have very little I can do to fight this. NCS said I have to provide proof that I paid for the late fees and returned the videos. Proof from 2009 via video store rental reciepts or bank statements.

I never received a notice that I owed any money until I saw an alert from FreeCreditReport.com. How can they send you to collection without at least contacting you first? How are you supposed to know you owe money or better yet-- why are you not given a chance to fight it.

I could really use advice on how to handle this. I feel overwhelmed and completely ignorant of the the process.

[Gibson2687]

Check out the beginner's section for answers on how to fight it.

I will say that YOU DO NOT HAVE THE BURDEN TO PROVE THE DEBT IS YOURS. That burden is on NCS. That's what the DV letter is for.

Yes it sucks and it's completely ridiculous, but with the right letters, properly and promptly sent, you have a good chance of getting rid of it.

Hollywood video has been in trouble for awhile, they probably had some terrible internal book/records keeping and its resulted in situations like yours. The only thing that matters now is protecting your rights.

Read the forums, you will find answers!

[JeremyKean]

Originally Posted by Maggiee

I reviewed my credit report today only to find out that my credit score went down approximately by 70 points due to collection account that appeared out of nowhere. Account belongs to National Credit Solutions based in Oklahoma City that was opened by NCS on August, 2010 and reported To Experian in October 2010 (but apparently the original claim is from 2005 from Columbia House for DVD balance of $62.00).
First of all, I do not order not receive any DVDs and I am certain I did not receive any Invoices, I am sure I would notice five (5) years worth of invoices from Columbia House.
Moreover, shouldn’t National Credit Solutions after acquiring or purchasing my so called “debt”/”account” that should even exist, attempt to contact me to advise me of their alleged claim instead of going straight to Credit Reporting Agency and destroying my credit? I am actually still at the same address.
I called National Credit Solutions and was advised that the only way for my credit to be restored is to pay $62.00. It is the matter of principle… why should I pay for item that I never acquired; it is $62.00 worth of debt that I was never informed previously of. Would National Credit Solutions be able to actually remove this entry from Credit Report?
At this point, I already disputed the claim on-line with Experian but it will take 30 to 45 days for them to investigate the claim and in all honesty I am in no position now to wait that long. Please help…

Is it only reporting to Experian? Make sure you pull the other 2. These are not that hard to get removed, but since you started with Experian online you may be looking at a long battle. With my experience with them you may need to dispute several times. I would advise going straight to the collector with a validation of debt request and verification of delivery of your mini-miranda rights ( by the way they never send them certified, so they rarely can prove they sent)

[Gibson2687]

UPDATE

I received an automated e-mail from Experian today saying the results of the online dispute were in. By the grace of God, the evil Experian did the right thing and deleted the account.

Given the terrible results everyone seems to have with Experian, I'm very surprised to say the least. I hope everyone else who is dealing with this garbage has the same result.

[chane]

Originally Posted by Gibson2687

UPDATE

I received an automated e-mail from Experian today saying the results of the online dispute were in. By the grace of God, the evil Experian did the right thing and deleted the account.

Given the terrible results everyone seems to have with Experian, I'm very surprised to say the least. I hope everyone else who is dealing with this garbage has the same result.

Congratulations! That's awesome! Any tips you can share with us on why you think it may have worked?

[Gibson2687]

My guess, since there are now a couple other people in this thread dealing with the same situation, is that National Credit Solutions has almost no information about these accounts they are reporting. I never received a phone call or letter about the alleged account--and with most CA's you at least get some letters and harassing phone calls.

I do have a very clean credit report, i was at 700 or above on all three, I don't know if that plays into it at all--it certainly shouldn't as the CRA has a duty to verify the alleged account on its own merits, not based on the rest of the info in someone's file.

My process, again, just so its documented as being successful:
1. Account appeared as a credit alert through credit monitoring service. No collections calls or letters ever received.
2. Initiated an online dispute with Experian within hours, selected "No Knowledge of Account" as the reason.
3. Sent DV letter next day, CMRR.
4. Still have not received the green return receipt and online tracking still does not show as delivered
5. Eleven days after the online dispute was initiated, results were e-mailed, account deleted

[JeremyKean]

No doubt! Experian is the absolute DEVIL

[Fowler]

Today, I got an alert that my credit score had changed. I checked it and my score was exactly where it was before the Hollywood Video/National Credit Solutions bull crap. After checking with Experian and TransUnion and ordering a new Credit Report and Score--- the claim is gone!!! Awesome! In less than 30 days- that crap disappeared.

Experian said that on the 7th they got a notice from NCS to remove the claim- just like that!! Not knowing this, I sent a Dispute Validation letter to them that was received on the 17th. Hopefully, this is it and I don't have to deal with the jerks anymore!

It really helps to fight! Thank you everyone for your advice and for anyone still dealing with this load of crap- Good luck, hang in there and keep arguing!

[thrasherduck]

Hi Everyone!
Bing and Google are Great, just searched for NCS and Hollywood Video and BAM!, tons of links! Long story here, but I hope the details will help others.

Our story, so others have more info to go on:
Wife and I both 750+ scores, EXCELLENT Credit our whole lives.
Our state requires the CRA's to provide for 2 free credit reports per year to its citizens - great deal.
So as I do every December, this year Dec. 20th, I pull all 3 reports for the second time of the year.
Experian was first on the list and right off the bat, 1 potentially negative account - National Credit Solutions for Hollywood Video. Opened in October, Reported in November, $26 original Amount, $101 Recent Balance. This was the first time we had "heard or seen" anything in regards to this - no letters from Hollywood Video or NCS - over a month after this had been reported.
So I disputed right away - No knowledge of account was my choice for dispute reason. The other 2 CRA's had NOTHING negative on their reports.

On January 12th of 2011, I got an e-mail from Experian stating they had the reuslts of their investigation. My outcome was "INVESTIGATED", which per their (Experian) definition is " This item was either updated or deleted: review this report to learn its outcome".
When I viewed my report at that time, it showed NO potentially negative items, and nowhere on the report was NCS listed. So I am thinking great, all is over and done, think again.

Today, Jan 18, we get a collection letter at our home address from NCS dated January 12th! The same day Experian sent me their results of the investigation!
So I called NCS and asked why I received a letter from them. The rep gave an explanation that it was for late fees from 2009. So I requested that he provide me with the correct address to file a written dispute. His response was "you already disputed this with Experian and they stated it was valid". To which I stated, that when I viewed the results of their investigation that it had been removed from my account. He stated that it was "still a pending claim". Maybe that means that they were actually going to have to send me a letter before the could report it!
So after finding this site (the MOST helpful one I found), I am sending a DV letter CMRR tomorrow to NCS. I may pull reports from the other 2 CRA's again to see if anything has come up in the last month on those as well.
I will report back and keep everyone and anyone who is interested, as to what occurs next. Hopefully, this will finish it once and for all!