Verizon account open on credit report but not collections?

SoOverThis

Hey everyone,

I was contacted by a collection agency that Verizon uses to collect unpaid debt. In my case, I moved over to a different carrier from Verizon in the summer and immediately Verizon locked me out of the account.

Within this time I was in the process of moving to a different state and so the information on the account was incorrect. It never crossed my mind that this would matter since I left the account with a balance of “0” prior to switching carriers. To my surprise I was contacted by a collection agency a few days ago in regards to an unpaid bill.
My issue with this is that I never received any communication from Verizon about an “unpaid balance” because they had the wrong information and now it is showing on my credit report that I have an “open account” with Verizon but not a collection which still has a negative impact on my score.

First, why is Verizon reporting anything to my credit when they no longer “own” the debt?

Second, why is it showing as an open account and how do I get this removed from my credit?

Thanks.

Verizon_Support

We don't want you to have any problems with the account in collections. We've sent you a private message so we can better help you.

~Jesse