I am looking for comments on the letter below, which I am planning to send to the original creditor tomorrow. I've removed names and private data, but the essence of the letter is intact. Comments and suggestions appreciated. -------------------------------------- 30 July 2007 Me CreditCo Re: Account # XXXXXX Dear Sir or Madam: As you have not yet replied to my letter of February XX, 2007, I am sending you this second letter, with the first letter as an attachment. During the time that I was an employee with OldCo I was given a CreditCo credit card as a company which I used exclusively for business related expenses. OldCo routinely paid my monthly statement, until I left in April of 2006. When I left OldCo, unbeknownst to me, there was an outstanding CreditCo balance due of approximately $350. My CreditCo bills went directly to my former secretary for approval and processing through OldCo's accounts payable department. When I left OldCo in April 2006, my former secretary was supposed to cancel this card, process any final bills for payment, and forward any mail to my new address. None of these events occurred. When I checked my credit report in February 2007 (as I do annually), I was astonished to find that I had a delinquent entry on my report from CreditCo. Upon such discovery, I immediately contacted CreditCo and paid the balance over the phone. A copy of this statement reflecting such payment is attached for your reference. Here are some relevant facts as they relate to CreditCo's deleterious role in this situation: 1. Not once did CreditCo contact me regarding this outstanding balance, nor send me copies of the late bills. 2. From speaking with CreditCo's credit reporting department, I learned that CreditCo â??left a voicemailâ? on my work phone. (To which I no longer had access) 3. When I paid the bill over the phone (immediately after discovering the unpaid balance), CreditCo's customer service representative assured me that he recognized CreditCoâ??s role in not sending me notice and that he was sure when I called the credit reporting department that they would remove the negative entry on my credit report The fallout from CreditCo's negligence in not exercising a duty of care to inform me of this unpaid balance has been great in that my credit score has been damaged. This could lead to being denied credit in the future, lack of employment opportunity, higher rates on loans, as well as countless other negative ramifications. Moreover, CreditCo to date has still not removed the adverse credit rating, now marked as â??paid collectionâ? despite the indication I receive from your customer service representative as mentioned above. I take my credit status extremely seriously as indicated both by my immediate payment of the outstanding balance upon discovery as well as my absolutely spotless credit rating prior to this event since first obtaining credit in 1993. Therefore, I am once again requesting that you remove this delinquent account from my credit history. The simple fact is that my credit report as it stands today does not reflect the reality of my very careful use of credit, in that I had never known about the unpaid balance, CreditCo by its own admission made barely a perfunctory attempt to inform or contact me, and upon discovery I immediately paid the balance in full. I sincerely hope that we can reach an amicable resolution to this matter, but do know that I will pursue all available lawful avenues to protect myself. Please reply to me in writing either at the above address or by fax at XXXXXXX Sincerely, Me cc: 1. Chairman of Board and CEO, CreditCo 2. President, CreditCo 3. Executive Vice President and General Counsel, CreditCo 4. Federal Trade Commission 5. Office of the Attorney General, State of California 6. Office of the Attorney General, State of New York 7. (well-known class action law firm)
I would put the request for action (removal of the credit report entry) in the first paragraph. If a person is reading it, you want them to know, up front, what it is you are asking for and then follow up with the supporting facts. I don't know if CC'ing the world is necessary or even effective. Instead, I would address a personal letter to the President and ask for his/her attention in the matter. The general counsel is probably going to look for the words "law suit" or "summons" and then throw it away if there is not imminent threat. The FTC will round file it and ask you to fill out a form letter. The letter doesn't really contain anything obviously actionable by the AG's office. I don't think there's any legal requirement for CreditCo to answer your letters especially now that the matter, as far as they're concerned, has been resolved. You paid the bill, albeit with a verbal admission of error so, legally, everything has been settled. In the eyes of CreditCo, apparently, you were responsible for the account and the account was late, therefore you were delinquent. They reported this accurately. You don't have any thing in writing regarding their error, other than the fact that they accurately reported a delinquency so, based on what you claim in the letter, you don't have much in the way of grounds for a suit. You might have had them on an FDCPA violation, but you didn't request validation after you were first contacted (i.e. saw it on your credit report), you admited it was yours (more or less) when you paid it immediately. Bottom line, I think you might want to try a less adversarial approach to get this removed from your credit report and make a few phone calls until you can speak to someone who can help. But, that's just me talkin'
