Can I fight this?

[cuperry]

What is the name of your state? Indiana

Yesterday I recieved a letter from a collections company on behalf of a medical company saying that I owe them around $450. The medical company they say they represent I have only had interaction with once in my life. That was when I was 15 (I am now 22).

I remember very distinctly that I went to their facility to pick up a peice of equipment and I remember having to sign to take it. Now they say that they never receieved it back and that I owe them for the device.

I planned on writing my letter disputing it today as I have 30 days to notify them before they "send it to collections" and it appears on my credit, but I wanted to find out what I can expect from all of this and if it is worth my effort to fight. Thank you in advance for any help/advice you can provide!

[cmorris]

Go to [URL=http://www.creditboards.com]creditboards.com[/URL]. There is a lot of valuable information and sample letters.

I would send in a dispute letter, certified mail return receipt, asking for proper validation as per the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Tell them to only contact you by mail, as phone calls are inconvenient. Also mention you were a minor during that time period--that may be enough to scare them off completely.

Check your credit reports ASAP from the individual credit bureaus (no trimerges). If this collection agency is on there, dispute as "not mine," again certified mail return receipt.

This gives the collection agency 30 days (45 if you get free reports) to come up with validation, or the tradeline is deleted from your credit reports.

I think it is worth it. But only you can only answer if it is worth it to you.