Disputes not working - wont remove late status after foreclosures

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by CaliCat, Oct 27, 2011.

  1. CaliCat

    CaliCat Active Member

    Hi all. I'm looking for advice as to what to do next..

    We let 3 rental properties go into foreclosure. Two of the homes were taken by the bank in June of 2010, and the last in November of 2010. There were a total of 5 loans between the properties - all purchase money, non recourse loans. This was never disputed and they made no attempt to collect as per the applicable law.

    The problem I am having is that between my husband and I..there are a couple of the accounts still showing "120 days or more past due" even though the balance is zero. I have repeatedly disputed the status. For one of them, the first time it said the status was correct/confirmed. Since then, all of my disputes are ignored..I never hear back.

    I have tried to contact Bank of America (they serviced all of the loans) to have them correct it, but they tell me they show the accounts closed so there is nothing they can do.

    Should I send a certified mail letter to the credit reporting agency (Equifax has 3 out of the 4 errors, the other is Transunion)?

    Anybody have any other suggestions to get this fixed?

    Thanks in advance..this forum was such a huge help to me over the past year!
     
  2. JoshuaHeckathorn

    JoshuaHeckathorn Administrator

    So, it's reporting correctly on your Experian credit reports?

    You're saying that the incorrect credit reports show the foreclosure with a 0 balance, but they also include a "120 days or more past due" notation. Since it sounds like it's reported correctly on some reports but not on others, this leads me to believe its more of an issue with how the CRAs are reporting. I doubt BofA will be able to help you get this fixed.

    I would hit up the CRAs again with a certified letter and provide all the supporting documentation you have to show that this is account has been closed, settled, and should no longer be reported as 120 days past due. Hopefully they'll get it right this time.
     
  3. CaliCat

    CaliCat Active Member

    Thanks much for your reply. Guess I will work in the letters and hope it finally clears this up. And he's, Experian has all 5 loans documented correctly on both mine and my husbands reports. Equifax has 2 wrong and Transunion just one.

    Very frustrating!!!!
     
  4. JoshuaHeckathorn

    JoshuaHeckathorn Administrator

    Yes, it's always frustrating when one bureau gets it right and the others get it wrong. It happens all too often! Good luck with the letters and let us know how it goes.
     
  5. tpg2010

    tpg2010 New Member

    I have a very similar situation, but I wasn't aware that this is reporting incorrectly. What should the status read? My reports say 120 days or more past due, but also reads closed, and in comments it says Foreclosure.
     
  6. JoshuaHeckathorn

    JoshuaHeckathorn Administrator

    It should report as closed with a 0 balance.
     
  7. CaliCat

    CaliCat Active Member

    Shouldn't the "status" read closed? Some of mine actually show "Paid/paying as agreed" after the foreclosures. Im worried since a couple of my status read late, its affecting my score. On some of them, they have even been reporting them as current (shows green on the small box on each month) after the foreclosure! So why does it show late under "status"? Nobody seems to know...and they wont fix it!

    There doesnt seem any consistency with the reports, between each credit agency and between my husband and my reports. It's very frustrating! And when they wont do anything about the incorrect info, we are left with time consuming work.

    I have started drafting letters to try to get them fixed. Iam not holding my breath but hoping.
     
  8. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    The monthly statuses won't change, only the final status can be updated. The payment history is a rolling entry that is constantly updated throughout the life of the account. Unless the account was never late, the monthly statuses should if being reported correctly show a progression from 0, 30, 60, 90, 120+...

    Are you disputing directly to BofA, or are you disputing through the CRA? It makes a major difference as each invokes different sections of the FCRA.
     
  9. CaliCat

    CaliCat Active Member

    I tried disputing them through the credit agencies, but the disputes are ignored (Equifax - ignored all of them, never heard anything back) and Transunion (they said the info was confirmed). After multiple attempts, I contacted B of A directly (they held all the loans). They told me the account are closed so they dont report anything. They said I had to talk to the credit agencies.

    I dont understand how the monthly ledger can show green/paid on time for months PAST the foreclosure - but the status shows late. The accounts read closed. So why are they late? Im thinking it may hurt our scores. And its only on a couple of the entries. One that shows closed/paid on mine, may show closed but late on my husbands. No consistency!
     
  10. JoshuaHeckathorn

    JoshuaHeckathorn Administrator

    The old late pays can remain, but once the account was charged off it should report as closed with a 0 balance. They shouldn't be updating the status with more lates on a monthly basis. That's an error on their part.

    Have you received any recent responses from the CRAs to your letters?
     
  11. CaliCat

    CaliCat Active Member

    No...I recently did additional disputes on line also. I'm very frustrated!
     
  12. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    Did you have the Certified Receipts showing that Equifax received the disputes, and either (a) didn't perform an investigation, or (b) didn't provide you with the results of the investigation; as required by law. Even if Equifax is rubber-stamping the dispute as "frivolous", they need to provide a response that they have deemed it such, and what they would require to perform an investigation. They just can't circular file the dispute as if it was never received.
     
  13. CaliCat

    CaliCat Active Member

    Yes, they have been received

    They havent had the info long enough to do anything yet I think..Im thinking this stuff moves really slow.

    They arent reporting the accounts late..just the "status" shows "more than 120 days past due"...the balance has been zero'd out. On a couple of them, there have been "current" reports since the foreclosure..which seems odd, especially when the status shows late.

    Out of 10 total reports (5 on mine, 5 on my husband's) only 3 are incorrect..most of them show the accounts "closed" with zero balance, sometimes with a comment "foreclosure" or "charged off" for the 2nd's. A couple of them even say "paid account as agreed" under status. Love those!

    There is no consistency on how things are reported. And little recourse for us consumers - and a lot of work to try to get it corrected. This is why I only have one credit card which I try to never use. I really think most of us are better off without credit.
     

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