Is it legal to have a collection agency place an item on your report then do inquiries on your credit (peek at your file) at will? I noticed that a particular agency has been doing that.
I thought that the owner of the file had to grant permission to do inquiries of any sort?
DG
Favorite Answer
There is no legal prohibition for the creditor of an outstanding debt obligation to do period checks on the status of your credit (i.e. inquire on your credit report). Collection agencies do this quite often and the inquiries alone should not affect your credit score (the bad debt will though). If you believe the underlying debt they are collecting is improper, then you should dispute it through the three credit bureaus - TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian.
Anonymous
Yeah, they can legally do it.
As Hermitcrab states, you have a previous business relationship with the creditor, and you most likely gave them permission at that time to check your credit. The continue to have access to your information during the collection process, and they use it to locate your employer, where you live, phone number, or other information that can be used to either locate you or your income.
It's in the Fair Credit Reporting Act...see below.
Anonymous
Yes it is perfectlly legal.. I used to work at a collection agency and our company did that all the time. They are checking to see what you are doing and to see if they can place a garnishment or lein now or in the near future.. do not be suprised if you get a summons to court.
Keep in mind I used to work at one and do not anylonger. It has been 3 years now... so I am not a bad guy anymore...LOL I now work at a church.
mrsbusch
I would contact one of the three major credit reporting agencies (i.e., Experian, Trans Union and I forget the third) to report the agency - that is wrong
Anonymous
It wouldn't shock me if they do have the ability to do that, mostly so they can see what other bad credit issues you may have, so they can determine if they will actually get your money. If you have tons of bad credit hits, they probably figure they aren't getting their money and will proceed to court faster.