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So for a not so dumb reason 5 years ago I decided not to pay a utility bill (charged me $300 for 2.5 days of service when my normal bill was < $100). Fought with them back and forth and told them to take it to collections because I wasn't going to pay it.

And it has sat there a sour spot on my credit report, but I have been waiting for the day when it goes away. Today I got a new credit report and noticed the debt had been sold to another agency, and when it sold, the day of it disappearing went from 2015 to 2020. Is that right, should I dispute it? I was always told that after 7 years a debt is taken off your record, but here it is looking like it will take more than 12 years.

Can one agency sell a debt and mark it as a new collection?

warren
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Jeremy Boyd
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1 Answers1

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Debt being sold to another third party doesn't restart the collection window. The information being reported on your credit report is incorrect. The statute of limitations begins from the date of last payment. I worked collections for 6 months before I realized it wasn't for me but one of the techniques I learned was getting responsible parties, debt holders, to make a really small "good faith payment" which was really meant to restart the debt collection window. A few links will help with statutes reference and consumer rights when dealing with collection agencies. Good luck.

Statute of Limitations on Outstanding Debt

Consumer Rights and Debt Collection

Chris W. Rea
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Frank Dobson
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