Credit Reporting Issues...

[hardcz]

Hoping someone has some good info I could use to resolve some long standing credit issues I've had...basically I spend hours on the phone, talk to someone who says they'll correct the problem they made which dings my report, and it never gets taken care of...submitted reports to the credit agencies via their sites... a host of google info, but not really sure which is legit and which isn't.

[kgoings]

Originally Posted by hardcz

Hoping someone has some good info I could use to resolve some long standing credit issues I've had...basically I spend hours on the phone, talk to someone who says they'll correct the problem they made which dings my report, and it never gets taken care of...submitted reports to the credit agencies via their sites... a host of google info, but not really sure which is legit and which isn't.

Get a free report from each of the credit reporting agencies...they will have information on how to dispute a claim...Dispute it, they have 30 days to prove the claim...if they dont they can not report it again.

I have done this and cleared some things off my report.

[hardcz]

Originally Posted by kgoings

Get a free report from each of the credit reporting agencies...they will have information on how to dispute a claim...Dispute it, they have 30 days to prove the claim...if they dont they can not report it again.

I have done this and cleared some things off my report.

I've disputed each one several times...one is on there twice, and is the same company and is messed up because it shouldn't even be on there in the first place. I've done it with experian, trans union, and equifax, used the handy little dispute link. Only Equifax wouldn't let me dispute it again. So was thinking I could finally follow up on these issues, as they're several years old and I'm tired of seeing them ding the report.

[Kneo]

Originally Posted by kgoings

Get a free report from each of the credit reporting agencies...they will have information on how to dispute a claim...Dispute it, they have 30 days to prove the claim...if they dont they can not report it again.

I have done this and cleared some things off my report.

This is your best bet. I work for a credit card company and many times they will not take the time to respond to the claim unless you actually do owe them a good amount of money. I have used the dispute service many times and they usually do a great job. You can also use https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp to get free credit reports every year also.

[hardcz]

Kneo, thanks, that's actually what I use each year, and each year I dispute the claim. One was for $0.68 that was 30 days past due, and the CS rep and manager told me they didn't send a bill because the amount was too low, and that's why he was having it removed...though alas it never was.

[Kneo]

You might want to put a note on your credit reports also then. Stating that you dispute it all the time and that they never take it off.

[hardcz]

Originally Posted by Kneo

You might want to put a note on your credit reports also then. Stating that you dispute it all the time and that they never take it off.

Know of any official way that makes it so I can verify that they received it and make it a pain in the butt to ignore?

[Kneo]

You are allowed to leave notes on your credit report that anyone checking it will see. You should be able to do it straight from the CB's website.

[dunng]

The last step seems to be - Get a Lawyer...

http://consumerist.com/consumer/how-...kes-239688.php

[bvilchez]

I had a similar issue once. I had a cell phone company who sent my account to collections for an old account that I had already closed with them.

They had stated I owed something like $283 or something like that. So I called them on this issue and all they kept saying was how was I going to pay for this. They apparently never noticed they were trying to charge me for an account AFTER I had closed it. I closed my account in August of 02 and they were still charging me until January 2003. They couldn't een get there story straight and they would keep giving me different amounts that I supposedly owed. Push came to shove and the account showed up on my credit report as a collection.

I called Sprint one last time and told them to correct this or else I would contact the Better Business Bureau (BBB). They ignored it so I put in a dispute with the credit agencies.

The next part was vulnerable to my transaction. I wrote a letter to Sprint Corporate headquaters and sent the same letter to the BBB. 2 Weeks later it was off my credit report.

Sorry if I was long winded but persistence is key. That all took me about 7 months to do.

[Jonesee]

When you dispute an item on your credit bureau the credit reporting agency will send notification of the dispute to the creditor. The creditor then has to verify the reported item as correct. If they don't the item will be removed from your bureau.

Ultimately, you will need to deal with whoever is reporting the item to the bureaus. It sounds as if you have done all you can over the phone. You should send a well worded rational letter "certified return receipt required" to the creditor asking for evidence of the derogatory item. If it is on an installment contract, request a statement of acount too.

Once you get their response, it will dictate your next step. If it is factual, or contractual, or a product complaint there will be little you can do. Any issue with the facts and you can have it removed.

Keep all your documentation as you will need to send it to the bureaus later. There really isn't a short cut. The process will likely take weeks or months.

If you need help, drop me message and I will try to help a brother out. I spent 25 years in lending and banking in a previous life.

[AAlmeter]

Originally Posted by hardcz

Know of any official way that makes it so I can verify that they received it and make it a pain in the butt to ignore?

Last year, I went through to clean up a few lingering items I had found that were mistakes. I disputed all of them through the proper channels (Equifax, TransUnion, and uh uh, the other one all have methods to dispute) as well as sending a registered letter to the creditor. It will take some googling and digging to find where they are, but there are now a lot of consumer protection laws in place that are enough to scare them into action when you send a registered letter. Generally speaking, if its been on there for a while, the debt has been sold to a collection agency, generally a PO Box in some seedy hell hole.

[hardcz]

HELL YES!!!

Experian is finally updated! Two more to go!

GEMB/SAMS CLUB
Status:
Open/Never late.

[scottw]

I am in the debt business and one guy I find helpful is Bud Hibbs. He is a consumer advocate against the reporting agencies, collection agencies, debt buyers, etc. go to www.budhibbs.com and perhaps you can get some good advice. No, I don't work for him nor the site, I actually work on the commercial end of the spectrum but have found his information helpful.

[hardcz]

Originally Posted by scottw

I am in the debt business and one guy I find helpful is Bud Hibbs. He is a consumer advocate against the reporting agencies, collection agencies, debt buyers, etc. go to www.budhibbs.com and perhaps you can get some good advice. No, I don't work for him nor the site, I actually work on the commercial end of the spectrum but have found his information helpful.

Thanks, going to check it out.