Really upset - need help guys

Ok gang help me out with this one. But doesn't this fall under FCRA as "Inaccurate" information and they'd have to delete it.

 

Don't deal with Trans Union on this. Deal with JC Penny's. They are the only ones who can fix this, as the auto computer update is reporting the CO and there is nothing TU can do about it unless you sue TU *after* establishing that JC Penny cannot validate the CO.

1. Call around at JC Penny to find the right person there who has the authority to have the trade deleted. Post a question on CreditNet asking for contacts at JC Penney - or do a search for contacts at JC Penny. I think an old user named "Donna" got JC Penney to successfully delete an account. If you can e-mail her, you may be able to find out who she talked to at JC Penny.

2. When you reach whom you need to call/write, tell this person that the account is reporting a paid CO (do not refer to previous dispute efforts, b/c in all likelihood, they don't know that it was updated) and that you do not remember it ever being charged off.

3. Ask for the date it was notated charged off.

4. Know in advance the date it was a collection account and the date it was paid off and tell them that your records do not show that it was a CO when it was paid off.

5. Ask them to research and mail you their records showing the accounting date that it was charged off (they have to have these records for their accounting purposes).

6. If they can't come up with the records, ask them to delete the account as they can't rightly verify the payment history on the account and becasue a CO notation seriously damages your credit rating and is not true according to your records.

7. Ask them to send you a copy of the letter for deletion for your own records.


This same thing happened to me with Texaco. I had a 1997 collection account (thank God I had saved my checks and statements) that the month it went to collections, I had set up automatic payments until paid off. The month that it was paid off they reported it as a CO.

I called and called and called until I got the right person and asked for her to research the account. She said it was my responsibility to prove that it was a collection account and not CO -and I said "no ma'am, the LAW says that it is TEXACO's responsibility to prove this. The burden of proof is on Texaco and I'm telling you that my own payment and statement records do not have this as a charge off but as a paid collection. So please research this account and tell me when and why it was charged off and the balance on the account at the time of the CO."

She said it would take several days to research. She called back an hour later and said that they could not locate the account records and that it would take a month to do it, and she didn't have the time - so she'd simply have it deleted.

 

Maybe, maybe not....


It depends on your emphasis. If you focus in your conversation on "delete this account b/c the payment and account history cannot be verified" then you have a better chance of deletion. If you focus on "this is supposed to be a paid collection instead of a paid CO" then they'll turn it into a paid collection.

You want them to delete it, so focus on "what you're reprting now cannot be verified by my records or yours (hopefully non-existent)" when you talk with the person.


I prefer talking rather than writing b/c a "human" voice may elicit more flexibilty and compliance than a cold letter. Of course, it depends on the situation. I'd talk first and if that doesn't work -then scale up to letter writing. Be polite, but firm that their reporting doesn't match your records.



You have this going for you:

1. The account is old and they either don't have the records or won't care and simply delete it (it pays to be nice to get the person on your side).

2. You can easily write them and ask for a "goodwill adjsutment" to delete the negative account b/c you have learned your lesson and your credit has improved. It worked for me with Citibank and my letter is on here somewhere.

3. Worst case, if it is returned to paid collection, it will be somewhat less damaging than paid CO.


Personally - I'd go for #1, then #2.

 

1. Call her back and ask her to send you a letter stating that the account was paid off on 3/99.

2. Then write her asking for a letter stating that the account was paid off on 3/99. Get that letter any way you can. Include in your letter a "re-cap" of your phone conversation. Write that she told you that it was on you to prove that it was not CO'd , that she asked you to send *her* copies of check prior rto 1997, and that you are trying to find your records to clarify how you paid (okay - you have your records but you want them to think you don't so that they'll be dumb enough to send that letter).

3. Then please tell me that you have proof that the account was paid off on 3/97. Statements, etc...

4. After you get that 3/99 letter, write them RR/CC and tell them that according to the law it is THEIR responsibility to prove that it was CO'd and then ask them for your complete records from JC Penney on account payment history and balances. Learn the FCRA backward and forward.

5. If they refuse or don't reply - then you can play hardball b/c you have their letter saying that it was paid in 3/99 but statements/checks (get them from your bank) saying it was paid in 3/97. You also have them ont he fact that you can assume that she culd not verify the pay history since she asked *you* for copies of your checks.

You need to write the corporate office on this. Then, if they don't respond, write the legal office and file a lawsuit. Tell them you will hold them for damages related to a lost mortgage.


BTW, it won't be stuck for 10 years. It will be "stuck" 7 years from the date of last activity. What does the TU report say about date of last activity? 3/97 or 3/99?


You need LizardKing and Marie to help you through the legalities. Just get your hand on a letter saying it was paid off in 1999 ONLY if you know you have proof that it was paid iin 1997.

 

I went through a similar debacle with JCP...they reported an account tht had long been paid off with a perfect pay history as something like 13 times 60-day lates on EQ. EQ blamed JCP, JCP blamed EQ...you get the picture. JCP did say they had no record of late payments, sent a letter....EQ didn't like it, had to call about 10 times to finally get someone who would request a signed letter (EQ would only take a signed letter).

In the course of all this mess, I did get a fax number for JCP Credit Bureau Disputes in Florida. The fax number is 813/969-1298. I think, too, that one reason I got results--finally--is I faxed a letter detailing how much I had been through with this.

The only bad thing is that department doesn't talk with customers by phone, or so they say. But they did get it fixed very quickly and got me a signed letter faxed out in about 3 hours.

Hope that helps; at least it is another avenue.

 

This wouldn't be GE Card Services you are dealing with as JC Penny's recovery service would it? I'm getting ready to file suit against them for taking my husband's name off an account when he filed for bankruptcy and putting it in my name as opening the account (I was an authorized user). I finally got over being embarrassed today long enough to ask my boss (he's an atty) where to go from here. He is going to write them and see if he gets better results than I did (I was simply ignored and received no responses to my many letters) before we file the Complaint.

Good luck!

 

Since it's 5 1/2 years old, it's not affecting you as bad as it would if it were 1-3 years old. But negative information is negative information any way you slice it.

 

we think... there's an idea out there that the scoring software picks up the "verified" date as the date of last activity... and that then the impact on the score is higher if you ask for a reinvestigation and you just get back "verified" and nothing else changes.

I'm actually investigating this right now.

 

Marie,

So if this is true, then instead of using the "real" date of last activity that is listed, they could in turn possibly continue to list the item, using the date of verification or update? So not fair; 7 years is bad enough.

I guess we'll see if my dh's stuff falls off after the "real" 7 years or if they leave the ones that came back verified in 1/02. Hmmm.....

 

Mirabelle-
If I'm reading your post right (which I'm probably not), I think you're under the impression that Marie was indicating it gets re-aged.(meaning your verified on from 1/02 wouldn't fall off until 1/09) This isn't the case. It's just the software THINKS this, but EXP reps are supposed to manually remove these 7 years from DOLA.
I completely think that Marie is right. I have had my score go DOWN just from being verified, which makes no sense.
If this isn't what you were thinking, Mirabelle, then disregard this message....lol.

 

Sort of a combination of the two things--like it doesn't "really" reage, but like you said the computer scoring model "thinks" it reaged, so to speak.

I am seriously starting to think that all this is a plot to sell more ibuprofin! (by confusing us too the brink of insanity. (it's bad when I start confusing myself, ya know?!)

 

After three months!!! Well, I called GE Card Services again last night in a last ditch attempt to get this worked out. The lady kept telling me that in order to get documents supporting that it was my account, I would have to send a written request...at which point I kept telling her that I had written repeatedly, some cerified, return receipt requested, and was being ignored. Finally she put me on hold and came back and took my number and said a supervisor would call me back in ten minute. I could have fallen over when he actually did, and then could have fallen over again when he says they will delete with all three agencies and send me a letter to that affect and apologized for my frustration! I just cannot believe it!

Anyway....he told me that GE Card Services had only taken over JCP's stuff about a year ago and they had no documentation and so could not go back and verify that what I was telling them was accurate, but on the other hand they could not disprove it, and there were a lot of indicators that what I was saying was true (no kidding!).

So don't give up!!!!