Expert Opinion

Dear Harold,

Unfortunately, no. A company or credit grantor is not required to notify a consumer that they may or when they will be turned over to a collection agency. However, if you paid the mutually agreed upon balance, you should be able to have the item removed from your credit bureau, since this has been reported in error. If you have a letter, bill, invoice from the gas company that corroborates your balance issue, you can use that to dispute the account with the credit bureaus.

Do YOU have a question for Melissa Douros? Email at melissa@dovcocs.com.

As the owner of Dovco Collection Solutions, Inc., Melissa Douros uses her eight years of being a collections specialist to offer advice and answer questions pertaining to debt collection. With running her own successful collection agency, she seeks to keep debt collectors accountable for their actions and in line with the law.

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