I have a problem with at&t, they reported me to a collection agency but it was a mistake.. What do I do?

I got a cellphone from Cingular on Sept 28 05, I set up payment so they would auto bill my credit card. On Oct 18 07 I called and had my phone canceled, my 2 year contract was over. I was told I did not owe anything by the representative I talked to. From that point on I went on with my life. I got out of the Marines on Jan 8 08. Then today Feb 13 08 I got a letter forwarded from my military address from at&t, it was a threat to report me to a collection agency dated Dec 7 07. They said I owe $70 somehow. I called at&t, they told me they turned me over to a collection agency Dec 18 07. I explained the situation to at&t, after going through multiple representative and them hanging up on me I was able to get them to agree they were wrong and zero out my balance. Now my questions, I'm sure this will show on my credit report but how soon will it? Should I wait a few days to call the collection agency to see if they see the zero balance? Will they be able to remove it from my report?

Can the collection agency just erase it since at&t made a mistake by charging me when they should not have. Do I talk to the collection agency and tell them what happened?

In a perfect world, AT&T and the collection agency 'should' take care of this problem. But I suggest you have AT&T send you a paper document clearing you of all charges and/or wrong doing IN FULL DETAIL. Them makes three copies of the document and send them all to the credit bureaus. If you leave this up to them, you could end up with a lower credit score because they really dont care about you and there really isnt anything you can do to make them feel differently. Its sad but this is usually how it is with big companies. I would recomment you call one of the numbers below to see what they suggest. You can never be too safe when it comes to your credit scores. Good luck!

Equifax
PO Box 105873
Atlanta, GA 30348
800-685-1111

Experian
PO Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013
Consumer Credit Questions
888-EXPERIAN (888-397-3742)

TransUnion
Post Office Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022
(800) 888-4213

Honestly, I feel your pain..... almost everyday! These big companies hire people that have no common sense, or we are just running out of common sense in this country. Maybe its like oil or something?! Limited supplies. Anyway, thats why I told you, you should do this yourself.

Yes. It is their fault, but there are no laws MAKING them fix this problem. I have been in this situation more times than I care to admit and it always seems to take time and patience or you will end getting screwed because they dont get paid to care.
Try demanding to speak with the head of public relations or human resources, after you write their full name down. Tell them you will report them if they do not let you speak with upper management. Sometimes they change their tune drastically when you sound like you know what your doing.

This is At&t's responsibility, not yours. You should demand repair of everything, creditor and credit report from At&t. You should call the credit company just to check in and see what they show and make sure everything is getting fixed, including your credit. If they say At&t has not said anything, call At&t and demand a manager who fixes mistakes that are At&ts fault. We had a somewhat similar problem a few years ago with a hospital and our bank. We were reimbursed by both. Money was illegally taken out of our account though.

The credit bureaus update their records as soon as they receive the information from the creditor, but there can be a time lag in getting the information from the creditor. Sometimes there is a 60-day lag in reporting updates. If you have already confirmed the payment of this account on the credit report, then you will have to wait a few months for your score to go back up. Meanwhile, you will need to keep making regular payments on your other accounts.

According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the reporting agencies must update and keep accurate data in their credit files. If you believe that that a particular debt was incorrectly reported on your profile, then you will need to notify each one of the 3 credit bureaus (typically through a certified letter) and then wait one reporting cycle (90 days) for the errors to be removed. The credit bureau must investigate your claim within 30 days (unless it is frivolous). If the charge is incorrect or cannot be verified in that time, the credit bureau must delete it or change it as you requested. If they make changes to your report, the credit bureau must send you a new copy. You can also request that a new copy be sent to anyone who has gotten your credit report in the past 12 months. The credit bureau cannot re-insert the item without giving you written notice.

Here is how I would handle it.

Get a letter mailed or faxed to you ASAP from AT&T stating that this was an error on their part and it has been corrected with the balance zero. Make sure on there it notes the account number and the date this was corrected. Inform them that they can be held liable if this affects your credit and it should get a letter sent out real quick.

Take that letter (but make a copy of it) and send it, along with a demand to validate letter to the collection agency. Send it certified mail with return receipt.

That alone should be enough to get them off your back and have your credit rating restored. They will have that letter from AT&T stating it's been cleared up, so they will probably drop the case and go after AT&T to refund the money.

Do you some research into debt validation. If they screw with you and you cover your butt, you could have an easy $1000 lawsuit against them for FDCPA and/or FCRA violations.