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Sears (ugh!) Question Legal? Illegal? Questionable??
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Posted by piggybank
(65.161.12.25) on July 18, 2002 at 18:55:19:
A question regarding a Sears account:
charge off in 1997 (last date activity)
CA/Atty offered settlement in May 2000 (50% plus legal fees=total was $950--I paid roughly $475)
How naive I was at the time to think I was done......
Sears simply 'uncharged' off the account again, and reports a 'recent balance' of $269 (the amount of the legal fees--which CA/atty said was PAID). I have nothing in writing from the CA--but I do have several phone conversations recorded (legal in Arkansas) where they told me the following:
-Acct was paid in full (I did write this on the cashier's check)and closed by there records
-This amount INCLUDED the $269 in legal fees from Sears
-Sears was notified of this in June 2000 OK-
From June 2000 (when CA reported to Sears) until March 2002 (when I recorded CA conversation) Sears INCORRECTLY continued reporting the full amount due on all of my CR's when in fact the amount had been paid in full. Only after I began making inquiries to CA did Sears change it to 'recent balance' The CA will still tell me to this day all of the details of what the settlement included (have recorded 3 times)
?Can Sears continue to try and collect this amount--when THEIR attorney has records that show this ENTIRE amount was paid in full (settlement agreement)?
?Does the almost 2 year span where they kept reporting the full amount due on all of my CR's (after I paid) give me any leverage? FCRA violation? (or will they get away with calling it an 'honest mistake')
?Should I try and validate the paid debt with CA to get written records of settlement?
My inclination is to try a good will type settlement offer to Sears for deletion (SOL has long expired in AR and they did NOT re-age the account)--mainly because I don't want to go through the trouble again and I just want it gone(this is my last derog!!) I just would like to have a little ammo (i.e. legal knowledge) before I take them on. I'm fairly certain I can get them on a few, if not many violations (I even have the CA on several violations, but they have been very helpful in giving me all of the info I requested) I am so disgusted by all I have endured and all I have read in re Sears collection practices that I wouldn't mind taking them on--just to prove a point! They are going to keep railroading people until they are forced to correct--common sense tells me to just find the quick way out, though and offer to settle AGAIN. :-(
Any advice, comments, suggestions?
Anyone else care to share their Sears nightmares? Thanks, as always for this forum and all of the helpful information and sorry for the ramble!
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