Credit reports and collections agencies

Ultimanecat

So, I'm applying for US student loans and got notice today that my one of my applications was rejected after the cursory credit check (which only checks for "adverse credit" and doesn't take into account my score). Having no idea why I would have adverse credit, I bit the bullet and went through one of those credit report sites to see what the hell was going on.

Apparently I have a "derogatory" entry for $56 dollars owed to a collections agency for a parking ticket. I don't remember ever getting a parking ticket...but that is beside the point because I really need to get my loans sorted within the next two months before my classes start.

The website for the collection agency has a handy online payment, but to access it I need to know the citation number or the license number of the vehicle. Now since I don't remember a ticket I don't have a number for the citation, and I've never owned a car and the few that I've used don't seem to be the culprits. I would call them up but it's a toll-free number that I can't access since I'm currently abroad.

I have a few questions:
1) I kind of want to just pay this off since dealing with this is going to be a fucking hassle if I'm not even in the country. There is a time element and I'm already late in applying for a loan as it is. If I somehow got this sorted, how long would I have to wait for the entry on my credit report to go away?
2) If push comes to shove, how do I dial a US toll-free number while I'm here?
3) Can I dispute this later? Is there any way to get this resolved quickly now and then deal with the issue of "how on God's green earth did I get a parking ticket?" later?

Crashtard

There should be a way to dispute the entry on your credit report on the credit agency's website. Like when I used Equifax, you could file a dispute for anything on your report (which I did, and won). Basically they will contact the place and verify the debt entry (in your case, a collection over a ticket). You need to check on this ASAP, because it sounds like you likely won't be able to get ANY student loans now for your entire college career because of it. Paying them won't be enough because it will still stay on your report for 7 years (I think that's the right time period).

Ultimanecat

Well jesus WTF? I've been abroad for a year so I wouldn't even know if something went to collection with my name on it.

If I have to quit school now because of some bullshit parking ticket I don't even know about I will probably go insane.

Crashtard

You may not have to, but you need to get on this thing soon. Like right now. go to annualcreditreport.com and get a free copy of your report. From there you should be able to see who's handling it and file a dispute. When I did mine online it was completely taken care of in about a week.

Alternatively, you can go here to get a free 30 day trial from Equifax which gets you a credit report, 3 in 1 monitoring and free fico score. From there you'll be able to see who's handling the collection and should be able to file a dispute online. That's probably the better route.

Jasconius

Collection agencies will usually remove their negative mark if you pay it promptly.

With that being said, I am utterly shocked that you didn't know about this, because it is against the law for a collection agency to post something negative to your credit report without contacting you and making an attempt to collect (and answering machines don't count).

So either you answered a call and forgot, or it's a clerical error.

VisionOfClarity

Collection companies will mark the debt as being paid, which is better than it being listed as open, but it rarely is completely removed.

Also, as for notice (per the FTC):

What does the debt collector have to tell me about the debt?

Every collector must send you a written “validation notice” telling you how much money you owe within five days after they first contact you. This notice also must include the name of the creditor to whom you owe the money, and how to proceed if you don’t think you owe the money.

Ultimanecat

Well like I said, I've been in Australia for close to a year now. It's possible they sent something to my home address, but I wouldn't have been there to read it anyway. I guess that counts enough for "contacting" me, though...

I would love to actually call some people and see what the hell is going on - but I can't call toll-free numbers in the US while I am here. AARRGGH...

Sir Headless VII

How can you have a parking ticket if you've never owned a car?

Ultimanecat

Well I figured out the ticket part of it, at least: the ticket is for my brother's old POS. He gave it to my mom to pay her back for something, and she had me junk it since she didn't want to deal with the hassle of selling it. I signed for it to have it junked; nobody knows (yeah right) when or how the ticket was issued but since I signed for it, I got saddled with the ticket. I NEVER EVEN OWNED THE CAR!

Fucking awesome. I'm not really sure if I could even dispute this successfully now since a ticket likely does exist.

Also, to clarify: I was approved for the same loan last year, so this was reported after I had already left the country.

HeraldS

Something sounds seriously wrong here. You're being rejected for a loan you were approved for last year and the only difference is a fucking $56 dollar parking ticket? There's either something you're not telling us or something the company offering the loan isn't telling you. Assuming it's the latter get them on the phone and find out what is really going on. Screw the collections company.

Get a calling card to make the calls; they're all over. It's what I used to call home when I was in Australia. If you're forced to deal with the collections agency and still can't call 1-800 numbers even with a calling card find a direct line. If you can't find a direct line from where you are get someone back home to call on your behalf and obtain a direct line.

Whoever you deal with to resolve this you will likely have to go up a level or two in the food chain until you reach someone who has the freedom to make this go away. But I don't think you're in nearly the amount of trouble you seem to think you are. You have an outstanding parking ticket whose face value is smaller than most people's monthly cell phone bill, not a default on a mortgage or anything.

FyreWulff

The ticket should have gone against the current title holder of the car, not the last person to sell it to the junkyard. I'd just dispute it and say the reason is "never owned a car".

I had a freaking bankruptcy that one of the stupid agencies had put on my credit report. I simply put "This is not my bankruptcy" and they took it off.

Ultimanecat

Yeah, it's the only negative thing on my credit report. But I think since it's outstanding and reported as being seriously overdue, it counts as "adverse credit". The loan is a Federal Grad Student Plus loan - it's offered to grad students in school so that they can get the money without having to work and study at the same time or get a private loan when they likely have spotty credit. The credit check for the loan isn't score-based, only the aforementioned "adverse credit" based.

That's why I was hoping I could just pay it and move on...but who knows?

I don't understand the dispute process - the city contacted my brother and he told them he didn't own the car. Somehow it got transferred to me since I signed for it to have it junked. He says he doesn't know anything about the ticket (I don't know whether I believe that) but there's a good chance that the ticket actually exists. Now that it's gone to collection I'm not even sure if the city gives a shit who got the ticket. I'm going to talk to people administering my loan and see if paying off the ticket is good enough, because otherwise I'm going to go nuts and probably end up wanting to physically harm everyone involved.

FyreWulff

I can't remember the specific agency but it was a button right under the entry on their website.