Should I pay the OC or the CA?

[Vbp6us]

Which is preferable, to pay the OC or the CA? I called the CA on my credit report for this entry and they said the debt was kicked back to the OC and gave me their phone number. I called the number and asked if they could remove it from my record, aka pay for delete if I paid in full. She said no. I told her I would have to think about it and hung up at this point.

It's only for $177 but I would like to do this the right way so I can get a deletion. When I was talking to the OC, the rep told me a new CA was assigned to it, but that I could just pay them (the OC) and they would take care of it for me.

Can someone please advise me on what the best approach would be? I looked up the newly assigned CA (Allied RMS) but I couldn't find any contact information.

Thank you.

[bozzscaggz]

Hello. If they are collecting on behalf of the OC, I would say it wouldn't really matter. I could be totally wrong, but I usually always try to deal with the OC. I HATE 3rd tier CC's. OC will usually work with you versus CC's. They just want there money and then they once they get it, they do not care about anything after that. Plus the fact that if you say it has not even been reported yet chances are you can clear it up before it does. Hope this helps.

[Lian]

First and foremost, the OC has no authority to delete any reporting made by the debt collector, or to compel them to delete their reporting of the collection.

Since the debt collector no longer has collection authority from the OC, you can now offer payment only to the OC. You could not offer PFD to the debt collector since they have no legal authority to accept payment. So you are kinda stuck with attempting deletion of the reported collection only by way of a good-will letter to them.

In my opinion, I would want to block the reporting of a new collection by another debt collector. If the OC will accept payment now, then I would pay it. If they wont do a PFD of any prior delinquencies they have reported to your credit file, they might at least agree to promptly terminate any referral to another debt collector, thus avoiding the reporting of another collection.

As for the broader question of whether to PFD the OC or a debt collector, in my opinion, it would depend on the severity of the prior reportings of each. The debt collector has reported a collection, which is a major derog, but what has the OC previously reported? If they reported several increasing monthly delinquencies and a charge off, they might cumulatively be having more impact on your score than the collection.

The kicker is often that when an OC contracts with a debt collector, their agreements often specify that as long as their agreement is in force, all payments can only be made through the debt collector. If that is a term of their agreement, then you will find that the OC will simply refuse any offer to pay them directly. If that is the situation, you would have no option.

[Vbp6us]

Thanks for the replies everyone! Some clarification:

The OC said I could pay them or the CA. They gave me the CA's phone number after asking for it this morning. I think a PFD with the CA would be the best option right?

I have no idea what they (OC) reported so far honestly. All I know is there was a different CA on my credit report about a year ago. Wouldn't the best case scenario be that the entry is removed from my CR, regardless of who reported what? Can you re-advise with the new information please?

Thanks

[Lian]

Usually, the consumer wants to get rid of the reporting of a collection, for more reasons than just FICO score impact. It looks very bad on a manual review, indicating the level of effort that might be required to get you to pay future debts. Deletion of just OC reporting with the continued inclusion of the collection would still lead one reviewing your CR to the obvious conclusion that there must have been prior derogs on an OC account, even if the OC has deleted them via a PFD accptance.

However, with the connotation of a reported collection put aside for a minute, it could very well be that the overall scoring impact of information reported by an OC could be more severe than the point impact of the collection alone. A chain of OC account delinquencies, from 30 to 60 to 90 to 120+ and a charge-off could cumulatively be hurting more than just the reporting of the collection.

Who to offer a PFD to, in my opinion, depends upon both how much you want the collection reporting itself deleted, and how much the overall reporting impacts of each party are affecting your score.