You betcha! although you might wanna make sure and wait for someone else here to confirm this as I am not very confident. Better yet, why don't you give a call to the Discover Card guys because they can give you an answer better...

The SOL only applies for the time they have to sue you but since it's paid your clear. You can send the GW letter to the utility company with a 50/50 chance or you can dispute it with the CRA which may hurt you more if they update it and not delete...

Utility bills have an SOL as well, but SOL doesn't really come into play here. The Statue of Limitations is all about "how long does the creditor have to sue for the debt." In this case, there's nothing to sue for. You paid it.

The separate, so-called "reporting sol" is the 7 years the utility company quoted...

Is it reporting as "paid" anywhere? If not, maybe you could dispute it as reporting incorrectly. Other than that, all I can think of is a nice GW letter to the utility company...

This is how it shows:.

TRANSUNION.

Account Name: S C ELEC/GAS.

Account Number: XXXXXXXXXXXX.

Acct Type: Open account.

Acct Status: Closed.

Monthly Payment:.

Date Open: 8/23/2005.

Balance: $0.00.

Terms:.

High Balance: $190.00.

Limit:.

Past Due: $0.00.

Payment Status: Unrated.

Comments: Account closed by consumer.

EXPERIAN.

Account Name: S C ELECTRIC & GAS.

Account Number: XXXXXXXXXXXX.

Acct Type: Unknown - Credit Extension, Review, Or Collection.

Acct Status: Closed.

Monthly Payment:.

Date Open: 8/1/2005.

Balance:.

Terms: Unknown.

High Balance:.

Limit:.

Past Due:.

Payment Status: Paid, was a charge-off.

Comments: Credit line closed-consumer request-reported by subscriber.

For some reason it is no longer showing up on EQ, I disputed last week with them but I have not received a response yet, maybe I got lucky and it's gone from EQ. (I doubt it).

I wonder how bad this is actually hurting me, it might not be that bad but it still looks ugly to me.

I guess I will try a GW letter. Should I send it to the CEO, or the credit department?..

It's hurting you, all right. I see one thing I don't understand, but I'm going to let someone else with more knowledge chime in...

I would start by sending it to the credit department and then work my way up the chain. If you start at the top and get denied, you have nowhere to appeal to.

Reasons for dispute:.

You could dispute the "account type unknown" on experian since they should know the account type..

Other than that, it looks ok to me. I personally would go the good will route. My method is to mail the goodwill and wait a little over a month. If I haven't heard anything by then, I refile my dispute. Using this method I have gotten rid of a few "previously verified" accounts..

This post has been edited by jtoast: 13 January 2010 - 04:08 PM..

THEY HAVE BEEN PAID.

What is the benefit for THEM to continue hurting you for 7 years???..

I see no benefit for them!!! But they are very difficult to work with, they practically run this state and do whatever they please, and the employees have that exact same attitude.

I'm going to try and dispute the "unknown" account with EX, so hopefully that'll work.

I'll try the goodwill letter if that fails...

Thats pretty simple actually....if he comes back and applies for a new account in 5 years they know hes a risk and will charge him a deposit. This is much more cost effective than maintaining an internal database since they pull credit for all applications anyway..

This post has been edited by jtoast: 14 January 2010 - 02:52 PM..

I had the same situation happen as the OP. About how much would this lower a credit score? It's the only neg I have...

Anywhere from 0-250 points...depending on the rest of your file...

JUST CHARGE THE DEPOSIT TO MY CREDIT CARD.

Skip the pull.

IT IS NOT A CREDIT PRODUCT ANYWAY..

Update: I sent in a goodwill letter to the credit department, took about a week but got a response. They told me that they cannot adjust anything on my credit report due to the fair credit reporting act. Not only did they send that letter, they also sent every single bill I ever had at that location along with the collection letters. The TL says it will be on my report until 2013, thats a long time for $190.

Do I have any other options?..

I would re-work the letter and find some contacts further up the chain (google, or the utility company's website can help here). Take accountability, but explain that you never received any of the notices, or it wouldn't have taken so long to pay..

Be sweet as sugar. Media relations VP, just keep sending out letters until you find someone that will help you. Sometimes (very rarely) these things are a slam dunk. Usually, though - you're in for the long haul. Don't take no for an answer. It only costs you cents to mail a letter...

THEY SENT THE SECTION OF THE LAW FOR YOUR REFERENCE???.

NO LAW SAYS THEY EVEN HAVE TO REPORT..