How to Find Out Who to Contact to Settle an Old Debt

If a debt goes unpaid for a long enough period of time, usually 180 days, the original creditor will sell the debt to a collection agency, which will then attempt to recover the unpaid balance. If those efforts prove unsuccessful, a collection agency will often sell the debt to yet another collection agency. This can make it challenging for consumers to find out whom to contact if they decide they would like to settle an old debt.

Instructions

1

Pull a credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Not all creditors will report an account to all of the credit bureaus, thus the old debt may only appear on one or two of your credit reports. Tracking it down successfully will require you to have all three reports.

2

Locate the account for the original creditor on your credit reports. Note the amount of the debt and the date on which it was charged off.

3

Review the "Derogatory Accounts" section of each of your credit reports. Attempt to match the date the original creditor charged off the debt with a collection account that reports a debt that was acquired on or around the same date.

4

Check the amount of the debt when you find a matching account. The collection agency will most likely have added fees to the account, but the amount owed should be similar to that charged off by the original creditor.

5

Write down the account number and contact information for any collection agencies whose information closely matches that of the original creditor. This information should be included within the account entry beneath the name of the collection agency.

6

Call each collection agency and give the representative you speak with your name and the account number in order for him to locate the account. If the representative informs you that the account has been sold, ask for the contact information of the company the debt was sold to so that you may call and work out a settlement agreement.