How to Find Out If You Have a Debt in Collection

A landlord turned down your rental application because of a collection account. Or a letter arrived from a company you have never heard of. Either way, you want to know what is out there with your name on it.

You can find out for free. Check three places: your credit reports, your mail, and the court records where you have lived. The court records are the one people skip, and they are the one that matters most.

How do I check my credit reports for collections?

Go to AnnualCreditReport.com. It is the only site authorized to provide the free reports federal law guarantees, and you can also call 1-877-322-8228.

You can get a free report from each of the three nationwide credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, and all three now let you check weekly for free. Pull all three. A collector may report to one bureau and not the others.

What to look for. Look for accounts marked as collections or charged off, which means the original lender wrote the account off as a loss. Note the name of the collection company, the original creditor it lists, and the balance.

Expect to see the same debt more than once. An account can show up under the original creditor and again under the collector or debt buyer that has it now, which is one debt, not two. Here is why collections show up on so many reports.

Why isn’t a debt I know about on my report?

Collectors don’t always report to the credit bureaus. A debt can be in collection, or even in a lawsuit, without showing up on any of your three reports.

Federal rules also say a debt collector can’t report a debt to a credit bureau until it has spoken with you about the debt or sent you a letter or electronic message about it. So a new collection item usually follows some contact, even if that contact went to an old address or an email you no longer check.

That is why the credit report is a starting point, not the whole picture.

What should a collection letter tell me?

A debt collector has to give you a validation notice, a standard form describing the debt, in its first contact with you or within five days after. It can come by mail or electronically.

The notice has to name the creditor you owed on a set reference date, called the itemization date, and the creditor that owns the debt now. It also gives an account number, a breakdown of interest, fees, payments and credits since that date, and the current amount.

Look for the date the validation period ends. That is your deadline to dispute the debt in writing or ask for the name of the original creditor. How to use that right, and what to say if the collector calls, is covered separately.

How do I find out if I have been sued?

Search the court records. A credit report won’t reliably show a lawsuit or a judgment, and court papers can be delivered to an address you left years ago.

DC Superior Court. The court’s Case Search for civil cases runs on a system called the Odyssey Portal, which covers Civil Division cases, including small claims and landlord and tenant cases. You can search by first and last name, it is free, and you can browse without registering.

Maryland. Case Search, run by the Maryland Judiciary, covers District Court and circuit court civil cases statewide, including Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. You can search by party name, such as the plaintiff or defendant.

Virginia. The Virginia courts’ General District Court Case Information lets you search civil cases by name, but one court at a time, so check each locality where you have lived, such as Arlington, Alexandria or Fairfax. Circuit Court Case Information covers only some circuit courts, so for the others you may need to call the clerk.

Search every name you have used, and try the spelling a creditor might have on file.

What if I find a case against me?

Look at the status first. An open case with a future date is something you can still defend, but the deadline to respond is short and it is printed on the papers.

If you find a judgment, meaning the court has already ruled against you, don’t ignore it. A judgment can lead to wage and bank garnishment, and in DC and Maryland it can be enforced for 12 years. Whether it can be undone depends on how you were served, when, and how quickly you act.

Either way, call a lawyer before you call the plaintiff. If you already have a lawyer in that case, call that lawyer.

What if a collector is trying to find me?

Collectors use skip tracing, meaning databases and public records, to find people they want to sue or garnish. If old neighbors or relatives are getting calls about you, a lawsuit may be on the way.

Here is what skip tracing means and what collectors are allowed to say.

Should I pay a collection as soon as I find it?

Not before you know what it is.

First confirm the debt is yours, the amount is right, and the company asking for money actually owns it or is collecting for whoever does. Then check how old it is. A debt can be too old to sue on, and in some places a payment or a signed promise on an old debt can cause problems.

Never pay a caller you can’t verify. Look up the original creditor yourself and work from there.

What should I do right now?

Pull your three credit reports and run the court searches for every place you have lived. Write down every collector, creditor and case number you find.

If you find a lawsuit or a judgment, or the list is longer than you can handle, call me at (202) 448-5136. The consultation is free, and I will tell you which debts need attention first and whether defending, settling or bankruptcy makes sense.

I defend debt lawsuits in DC and Northern Virginia, and I handle bankruptcy in DC, Maryland and the Eastern District of Virginia. Don’t wait. The case you don’t know about is the one that turns into a garnishment.