Hello everyone - I am a newbie, and this is my first post. I have been reading for several weeks and I have picked up quite a bit during that time, thanks to the wealth of shared experiences and contributions on this site. I am now ready to contact the CRAs regarding the erroneous and inaccurate information in my credit file. I obtained my free annual credit report from each agency directly in January 2007. I found out that Experian is reporting 18 (!!!) incorrect addresses in the personal information section. Some of them are old, many of them are iterations of the old ones. I also found some strange spellings of my name, and two old telephone numbers. QUESTION 1 Do I have to give a reason for deleting the old addresses? The incorrect ones are simply incorrect, but the old ones are actually previous addresses that are now outdated. QUESTION 2 How far back do previous addresses need to date? Do they need, for example, more than 5 years of history? One more issue. I had an AMEX corporate card several years ago. It slipped into delinquent status while I was waiting for a reimbursement, and was reported to the bureaus as a 'Collection account, closed by credit grantor' and suchlike in July 2004 before I paid the balance in full. I paid sometime that month, and the reporting was updated to 'Paid Collection' with all the negative remarks intact. This tradeline has been haunting me ever since. I contacted AMEX last month to see what could be done, and I was told that the tradeline will be deleted in its entirety, as it was erroneous for a corporate account to have been reported late when it was less than 180 days past due. QUESTION 3 Should I now dispute the AMEX tradeline with the CRAs as 'Not Mine', Or should I leave it alone and wait the 30 days for it to be removed by AMEX's request? QUESTION 4 Would removing the AMEX tradeline have a dramatic or marginal effect on my credit score? (DLA is July 2004) QUESTION 5 Would the corporate account delinquency blacklist me for a personal AMEX account, even if it was deleted? QUESTION 6 There are three more items I want to dispute for each CRA. Should I include them on the same letter as the erroneous addresses, or should I wait 90 days after sending the address corrections and send a different letter? Many thanks in advance. I am looking forward to some feedback.
Hi there! It's good to meet you. I am fairly new in the process too but I will try to help with a few of your questions as I have just finished that stage. Quote: "QUESTION 1 Do I have to give a reason for deleting the old addresses? The incorrect ones are simply incorrect, but the old ones are actually previous addresses that are now outdated. " The CRA's will likely request the names/addys disputes to be in writing along with a copy of ID and possibly a copy of a utility bill and possibly if SSN's are disputed a copy of your SS card. When I did mine I did the following: Names and addys that are totally incorrect I disputed as "never known by that name" and "never lived at that address." Names and addys that were mine at one time got this: "I am no longer known by that name and fear this could create a potential for identity theft" and "I no longer live at that address and fear this could be a potential for identity theft". Allow 30 days for these to be completed and don't start disputes till this is completed. And don't be surprised if some do not get deleted. TU deleted easily, but Experian and Equifax only removed a few. It's harder for a CRA to verify a negative item if the addy/name linked to it doesn't exist on your report. Sometimes it makes it easier to dispute and have deleted inaccurate information. "QUESTION 2 How far back do previous addresses need to date? Do they need, for example, more than 5 years of history?" That all depends on the negative items you want to dispute. If some date back further than 5 years you may want to dispute those. I disputed all of them except my current legal name and current legal addy. "QUESTION 6 There are three more items I want to dispute for each CRA. Should I include them on the same letter as the erroneous addresses, or should I wait 90 days after sending the address corrections and send a different letter?" Dispute old names and addys first and allow up to 30-45 days for those to be completed. Then begin your other disputes. That way if the items you are disputing as incorrect can't be matched with a name/addy on your report they will possibly delete easier saving you letter writing, certified mail fees etc etc later. It's hard to wait, I am a impatient sort and wanted to "get down to business" lol. While I was waiting I took the time to apply for some positive TL's and got a couple approved so I could get some positive things reporting on my credit reports. If you don't have any positive TL's (like I did) you might want to apply for a few. I did my apps all together so the inquiries all hit my credit reports at the same time. Hopefully they will all drop at the same time too. If you haven't already you may want to sign up for a triple report monitoring service such as Truecredit or Privacy Matters so you can pull your 3 reports every 24 hrs + 1 minute to monitor your progress. Other services are availible also. Pulling your reports frequently may also eventually help "bump" off some of the hard inquiries presently on your report. It's called "bumping", but be careful some people have reported getting "split files" from pulling every day. That is where your credit report gets split into 2 and the problem with that is you can't be sure which report a creditor can get when they request your report. But alot of people have done this for years without any trouble at all. And it has been said Experian won't "bump" at all. I cannot comment on your other questions since I have no experience there but hopefully someone can. Keep learning, and don't give up, it's your credit, you have the right for it to be correct. I wish you luck, I look forward to seeing your progress. Tegleg
Welcome to the forum! I hope we can help....I will pick up where the previous post left off. The information given regarding old addresses and names is good. You should try to remove all old addresses up to five years ago. Beyond that there is no reason for them. Re: AmEx status: if AmEx said they will delete, allow them some time (30 days) to delte the tradeline for you. I recommend that you call back and request that statement in writing, (should you need to dispute directly with the credit reporting agencies). As a suggestion, keep detailed notes of any conversations with all the "5Ws", you never know when you'll need that information. Removing the AmEx tradeline should help you FICO score somewhere between 20-40 points. Regarding "blacklisting by AmEx", you should not be blacklisted if it were a true "Corp Card". I would call AmEx and ask them about this before you apply for any card. AmEx is notorious for blacklisting you once you have any negative history with them. As for the other disputes, it is better to remove all the old personal information first. Sometimes the old negative info falls off on its own once you correct the information. Take everything one step at a time; I know you're eager and anxious, but credit repair is a process, and you get the best results by following the process step by step. Patience is a key factor (along with determination and persistence). So, wait for the results of deleting old information, you should get copies of your updated reports once the changes are completed. Then review, and make a plan for disputing the negative tradelines remaining.
I would just dispute the addresses and names; except for the most recent addresses. Do it simply, these addresses are not correct.
Thanks very much for the feedback. My three CRA letters requesting removal of the old addresses are signed and sealed, with copies of my ID enclosed. I will be on my way to the post office to get them CMRRed shortly. I will wait 45 days and start on the other items, if they are still reporting incorrectly. I hope to be able to update this forum with good news about an accurate report and FICO score increase.
