I have disputed several student loans on my Equifax report 5 times. I recently disputed them on the 15th of july and they came back verified today. I finally called Sallie Mae to find out if they were actually recieving these disputes from EQ. Of course they only recieved one dispute on the 28th of June and they only verified my name address and account, well that dispute was because the DLA is wrong. So they failed to verify four times and the 1 time they did verify they didn't verify the correct info. Sallie Mae agreed to write me a letter with date they received the 1 dispute and what info they verified. So what do you think I should do. I would settle for a complete deletion but taking them to court might just payoff my student loans. By the way did I mention they reinserted a previously deleted tradeline without notifying me or providing me with certification! ( they have agreed to remove this though) They are also reporting my stu loans as being currently 120 days past due and at the same time transferred or sold. How can they be transferred or sold with a DLA of 01/98 and currently 120 days past due? DO I send the intent to sue letter? DO I ask for deletion or a cash settlement? What do you think? Thanks creditnetters......
Even though you may continue to get dis-satisfaction, you must keep up the evidence trail. Therefore your next step is to send a procedural request to EQ and request the "process" that they went through for the verification...ie, who was contacted, when, how, what information was provided for the verification. Also, definitely try and get that Sallie Mae person you spoke with to send you something stating when they were contacted by EQ and what they were asked/provided for proof (as you said they just provided your name and address not balance info or DOLA etc... Hopefully that will clear up the "who" that is providing the bad info you see on your report and you can proceed to legal avenues for the final blow. Usually the procedural request fails miserably, but you have to go about it before you take the next step so be patient and send the formal request provided for in the FCRA and see what happens next. -Peace, Dave
Dave, First I would like to thank you for replying to my post. You always seem to offer advice when I post and I need all the help I can get. (these student loans are my last baddies on EQ) I have requested written proof from Sallie Mae as to when they were notified of my disputes and the information that they verified. It has to be typed up by a certain department and they said I would receive it in the mail in 5 to 7 days. I spoke with a women today at Equifax and she freely discussed with me the dates of all my disputes and what info they verified, so tommorrow I will call back and request the procedure letter. (she was in the cunsumer relations dept. for EQ. I won't call the reqular customer service number they truly are morons. Customer relations seems to be the place to get things done 1-800-846-5279) I am considering sending the intent to sue letter to see if I can resolve this matter quickly. I believe I will have more then enough evidence to sue and at the very least motivate them to delete. They know they didn't verify the proper info and when they see the letter from Sallie Mae that should seal the deal. You are right, I really need to exercise some patience here, and I will try but what do you ( or any other creditnetters) think about sending the intent to sue letter first. Thanks. FT
That is fantastic. You may need this. Slam dunk after you get the procedural request response from the CRA. Not 100% correct...you send the procedural request letter (Example in the Sample section), to the CRA and request they provide you with the information they received during the dispute/verification process. That is fine. Can't hurt, and I have seen it work many times. However don't expect anything, as the CRA's get intent to sue threats every day...sometimes more than one a day LOL (I think everyone who gets frustrated ends the call or letter with "my lawyer will be contacting you" or "This is the last thing you will hear from me before you get my lawsuit" ) So they are kind of immune to the threat...but as I said, if you make the documents look official (all the court papers filled out) and CC: an attorney, you might get their legal department to reply to your letter. Good Luck -Peace, Dave
I was in a similar situation with Sallie Mae and Trans Union. (Sallie Mae said Trans Union never contacted them to verify). Hovever, I've come to beleive that Sallie Mae is the one not telling the truth. Since then, Sallie Mae has continued to verify incorrect info, even after telling me they would correct it. They are also listing transfered loans as transferred, currently past due and listing one loan three times (with late payments on each). They will not, or cannot as they say, correct this. I've written letters to them, called etc. They say they'll fix it, then I get letters from them telling me they can't correct this because the information that the CRAs have is correct. So, I'd bet the problem, in your case, is with Sallie Mae as well. Trust me, they have no clue what they are reporting or why. They also say they keep accurate records of their dealings with the CRAs, I don't beleive this either. I've got a nice intent to sue letter going out to them today. Let me know if you need the address of their legal dept., or their "Serving" address.
Scout, I have a problem with Sallie Mae also. On EQ they report the previous payment history, but they do not report that it has been transferred or sold. Any suggestions?
You could call them and try to get them to update. If you call, try and get a supervisor, the Customer Reps will have no idea about credit reports. They don't understand what you're talking about. So, see if a supervisor will listen. They may ask you to fax over your reports, so have the stuff ready. Keep in mind that whatever you fax to them they will scan into the computer and will keep it on record. I was able to get a couple accounts that were transfered (but not being listed as such, they were being listed as open with a full balance) updated to transfered. They have seriously bungled everything else....good luck!
Nave-I forgot that I sent the procedure request letter the last time I disputed. Of course I got the standard form letter back. I went to the court house today to pick up my small claims papers, it costs $170 to file in my county for the full $5000 max. I have them on about 20 different individual violations for each trade line that they never verified. At this point I'm just waiting for the letter from Sallie Mae before I send the intent to sue letter. My whole case depends on the Sallie mae letter. My only concern is if Eq gets a letter from Sallie Mae saying they did infact receive all the disputes and did verify the info then I will be done for. I mean they could have received the disputes, but the person I talked to just didn't see it. I guess that is the chance I take or is there some other way of making sure the info I get from Sallie Mae is 100% accurate? What will happen if both sides show up in court with different letters from Sallie Mae? If I get good info from Sallie Mae this should be a slam dunk. I know I have them for failing to notify the furnisher of information about the disputed info, but s there any other violations that I am missing? Thanks for all the help
Scout, I am ready to sue Sallie Mae, for reporting a student loans incorrectly so please post information here. thank you.
Tony- Have you written to Sallie mae disputing the accounts? If you have then you have THEM on violations for not reporting it to the CRA as "disputed by consumer", I'm assuming they are falsely reporting info, that's why all the comotion with EQU. I would write a follow up letter to Sallie mae in 4 days (if you haven't received the letter promised), recalling your conversation and the name of the person, if you have it. Like someone else said Sallie mae, may be the culprit. Also, can Sallie mae "see" if the investigation was completed by "tape" or do ALL of their investigations go thru a clerk???
KHM- the problem is not Sallie Mae they are actually reporting info in my favor showing that my DLA is 01/98 when in fact it is some time in '99. The fact of the matter is the info is wrong. Really thats not even a factor at this point because sallie mae is saying they were only notified once when I have proof of 4 (possibly 5) disputes on 6 different accounts. Thats either 3 or 4 violations, for every account, every time that they failed to do an investigation (18 or 24 violations). SallieMae very well may be the reason for the problem but I have no choice but to go by what they tell me or what I can prove, and if they send me a letter saying they only received only one dispute notice, then I have to use that info to force Equifax to delete. I don't want them to correct the info, I want them to delete it all. It might be all done by tape but it registers in your records if there was a dispute, the rep also new what info they verified (name, address, dla, amt., etc). so they are writing a letter saying they were notified of a dispute on june 26 and that they only verified my name address and account #. This was the only dispute I sent CRRR which is probably why Equifax verified it, but the dispute was for the DLA, which they never verified and even the rep at EQ told me they didnt verify that. So if I get the letter from sallie mae I'm golden. The question is, is the letter from salliemae worth the paper its printed on? anyway thanks for the reply, sorry if I'm ranting but I just pulled my EX report and a student loan just showed up on there(showing a status date of 08/02). I only had 2 baddies left and one is definately coming off or there getting sued to. Hey, what can you do? I'll win this war, even if I take some temporay setbacks. Thanks for the help.
KHM- I just sent an intent to sue to Sallie Mae for exactly the reason you mentioned (among other reasons). They did not list the item in dispute even after 2 letters, a fax, and god knows how many phone calls. They know this is an error, but they continue to report it (another violation of the FCRA). Tony-I know Sallie Mae has told you they are going to send you this letter. I wouldn't beleive it until you see it. In my case, on the phone they told me I was right, and that they would send me a letter showing that they were "fixing" their mistakes. Well, two weeks later I get their letter. All it says is that they,"Can't Change Correct information. This will stay on your report for 7 years, etc". I was so F*ing pissed! I guess it comes down to who do you beleive? The CRA or Sallie Mae? I think they're both full of it. We all know the CRAs are incompetent, lazy, and full of liars. But, from my dealings with Sallie Mae, they're just as bad.
"I am ready to sue Sallie Mae, for reporting a student loans incorrectly so please post information here. thank you. Uniondiva" diva, I just sent my intent to sue yesterday. I beleive I have them on two violations of the FCRA and I also said I would be seeking damages for other things (i.e., defamation, negligence, etc.) The FCRA violations are covered in my post above. So, we'll see what happens... I remember when I first posted about this, I thought it would be an easy fix, I mean, Sallie Mae is clearly making a mistake, but, they're dragging their feet every step of the way. Anyhoo, here's their address for the "legal" department, in case you need it! Corporate Borrower Services PO Box 4200 Wilkes Barre, PA 18773-4200 I also sent a letter and a copy of my intent to sue to the PA Attorney General's Office, Consumer Protection Division, Allentown Office.
scout- I'm just going to try and be patient right now. I have everything ready for the lawsuit. So if I get a useable letter from SallieMae I will take the next step and send the intent to sue letter. If not, well its back to the drawing board. thanks for the info.
Tony-Sorry if I seemed a little angry in my post. Just thinking about Sallie Mae gets my blood boiling! I just wanted you to be aware of how Sallie Mae operates. They will tell you one thing on the phone, and then send you a letter stating something completely different. Keep an eye on your reports to see what they do with the tradelines. Maybe you can get Equifax and Sallie Mae!
