Reported to credit agency as closed account

[pocketlizard]

I closed my Verizon account in October 2014, and I had called Verizon several weeks in advance to ensure that there were no additional fees to closing. The employee I spoke with told me that I would receive bills for the next 6-8 weeks while their system processed the account closure. The employee told me to not pay the bills I would be receiving. I called Verizon again twice to ensure that this was the case, and during both phone calls the employees told me to not pay the bill I had received and to ignore any incoming bills.

Unfortunately, the employees were misinformed and I should have paid that last bill, as I realized when I received a letter from the collection agency in January 2015. I called Verizon and was told that my account had not been credited and that “my negligence” had been reported to credit agencies. I paid the remaining bill and late fees immediately and was told that a new credit report would be issued.

However, while my credit report does say that the account is closed and paid in full, it is still negatively impacting my credit report. My payment history until that point was exemplary and having this as a negative account on my credit report is harmful to me as a young person beginning her adult life. I would understand keeping this on my credit history if I had been purposefully shirking the bill, but because of this misunderstanding between myself and Verizon's employees I do not think it is appropriate to maintain this negative account.

Would any users care to advise me in what to do next? Would a goodwill letter help my case?

[ElizabethS]

Sorry you are having difficulty, an agent with access to your account will reach out to you directly by email, private message in the Forums and/or the billing telephone number on your Verizon account for more information to help you resolve your issue.Please remember to check your spam/junk folder if you do not hear from an agent.

[pocketlizard]

It's been a couple days and I have not yet heard from an agent.

[ElizabethS]

We will send them a further note 🙂