Dispute your credit report items with the credit bureaus. My husband had 2 NCO-MEDCLR accounts on his credit and he didn't know what they were. I tried to get proof from NCO so we could pay them, but they refused. I then disputed the accounts with all 3 bureaus and they were deleted.
That is probably your best avenue for relief.
Guys, dispute these accounts with the credit bureaus. Send them a letter directly and omit the collection agencies from the equation. Once they get your money, they don't want to do anything further.
I actually told a collection agency that was trying to collect from me that since they were already trashing my credit with this account, what incentive did I have to pay them? My suggestion to them was for them to send me a letter stating that they would clear my credit once they receive payment and I would then pay the account in full. They told me to get lost (in so many not-so-nice words). So, I wrote a letter to each credit bureau and got the debt deleted from my reports. One bit of advice - be persistent - the credit bureaus will eventually back down.
This happened to me with Wells Fargo Auto Finance. I hounded them, wrote to the BBB and everyone else and demanded they refund my NSF fees and fix everything. I went to my bank and disputed the double charge. Sometimes, the bank will reverse the double payment within 3 days. And, I wound up getting a check from Wells Fargo for the NSF fees they caused. Be persistent - don't give up.
