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> You instruct the debt collector that the debt is disputed, the credit rating is not affected. The debt collector couldn't care less if the debt is disputed.

> You instruct the debt collector that the debt is disputed, the credit rating is not affected. The debt collector couldn't care less if the debt is disputed. You instruct the rating agency, and then hope they see things your way. If they don't, your credit score will be affected. I'm surprised at how often people say "just block payment and dispute the charges". Do people really believe getting out of a debt is as simple as saying "trust me bro, I don't owe them anything"?

cvalka 3y ago
You don't know what you're talking about. If you dispute the debt, unless they verify it, they are not allowed to report it to the rating agency.
- roarcher 3y ago
  I do actually, because I've been through the process of disputing a debt before. All the creditor has to do to verify the debt is to show their records to the reporting agency, i.e., their justification for charging you. It's not like the agency has a team of detectives that are going to stop at nothing to get to the bottom of the issue. If it looks legit, then for their purposes it is. I've had a completely illegitimate debt "verified" simply because they were able to show a paper trail saying I owed it according to their own internal rules, none of which were written in anything I signed or agreed to. It probably didn't help that it was a government office (DoD), but their idiotic "that's just how it is" justification was good enough for the reporting agency. Years later after an audit they admitted their mistake and refunded me, although they never refunded the late fees they charged me for a debt that they now acknowledge I never owed in the first place. If you pull the braindead maneuver of not cancelling a service before cutting off payment, they're going to have no problem coming up with the records they need. Is it fucked up that they can deliberately make it difficult to cancel? Yes. But that doesn't mean it won't cost you points on your credit score. That's why there's a demand for a "click to cancel" law.
naniwaduni 3y ago
For Americans with otherwise good credit, it often is!

cvalka 3y ago

You don't know what you're talking about. If you dispute the debt, unless they verify it, they are not allowed to report it to the rating agency.

roarcher 3y ago
I do actually, because I've been through the process of disputing a debt before. All the creditor has to do to verify the debt is to show their records to the reporting agency, i.e., their justification for charging you. It's not like the agency has a team of detectives that are going to stop at nothing to get to the bottom of the issue. If it looks legit, then for their purposes it is. I've had a completely illegitimate debt "verified" simply because they were able to show a paper trail saying I owed it according to their own internal rules, none of which were written in anything I signed or agreed to. It probably didn't help that it was a government office (DoD), but their idiotic "that's just how it is" justification was good enough for the reporting agency. Years later after an audit they admitted their mistake and refunded me, although they never refunded the late fees they charged me for a debt that they now acknowledge I never owed in the first place. If you pull the braindead maneuver of not cancelling a service before cutting off payment, they're going to have no problem coming up with the records they need. Is it fucked up that they can deliberately make it difficult to cancel? Yes. But that doesn't mean it won't cost you points on your credit score. That's why there's a demand for a "click to cancel" law.

naniwaduni 3y ago

For Americans with otherwise good credit, it often is!