Hi, I'm new to the forum but have a question... is a credit reporting agency allowed to add an account previously found inaccurate and deleted back to your report? Short version: I got a free copy of my credit report and found an inaccurate account in collections. I contacted the reporting agency. 30 days later I got a response saying that the collections was accurate and was going to stay on my record. I called the creditor and they didn't have any acount associated with my name, the account the credit reporting agency reported, or my social security number. I contacted the reporting agency and gave them the information I collected. 30 days later I got a response saying that the collections accound had been deleted. Their mistake cost me over 200 every six months on insurance. I emailed them and asked if they would pay the extra amount because it was their mistake that cost me the extra money. I didn't hear back from them, but the collections account suddenly appeared on my account again- with a different creditor this time... but same account. I have hard copies of both letters they sent me. (The first saying the collections were correct and the second saying they were incorrect and would be deleted). Can a credit reporting agency do that?!?
They won't pay you just for asking. They claim they are not responsible for anything. They can claim the DF (the CA) originally verified, and then either didn't reply, or didn't verify the second time, and even that the systems they had in place to ensure "highest accuracy" did result in your file being corrected. And they can assume it will cost you more than $200 to go after them for $200. Did the CRA send a corrected credit report to your insurance company? Did your insurance company notify you that pulling this credit report was the reason for you getting a higher rate? Did you contact your insurance company, and ask them to adjust your rates based on the corrected report? From the CRA's perspective, the TL placed by the second CA, although showing the same account number, is a separate TL, and requires a separate dispute. Since the TL was removed in response to a dispute thru the CRA, if the first CA had placed the TL back on, they would have been required to "certify" it is accurate to the CRA, and the CRA would have been required to send you a notice of reinsertion within 5 days. Whether that would have actually happened is another matter. You are stuck disputing again, and the account may then be passed on to another CA again. Each time you dispute, and get the CRA to remove.
There is another possibility: Is the second CA related to the first CA? If they are just passing the account among related parties, in order to defeat the CRA's legal obligation to block previously investigated TLs, you may also have some leverage. What, if anything, do you know about this account? Do you have any indication of the original creditor, is it likely to be your account, whether paid or not, or someone else's? Is it someone else's account, perhaps with similar name, or SSN but different name, whether misidentified, or id theft? As you have seen, you could be disputing for the rest of your life, and a bogus account could just be passed from collector to collector, each time damaging your credit, with no resolution. If the account is not yours, the result of id theft, or paid, you want to make it permanently go away, which may require forcing the other party into court. and that may take catching one of the CA's in violations of FDCPA, FCRA, FACTA, or state consumer protection laws. That is how you get the matter into court, or get the leverage to negotiate its termination.
It would also appear that your claim for damages is strongest against the CA. They are the ones, according to the CRA, that erroneously verified the TL as accurate. Of course, they may claim no such dispute was forwarded to them by the CRA.
Update: I spoke with the creditor. As it turns out, Capital One sold the account to another creditor... However, this brings me to another question- which I will also put in a sepearate post: I graduated in 2002 and moved to Cali in May. My roommate had never paid a bill on time- so I called SBC to cancel my phone and internet. My roommate was going to get it hooked up in his name. Apparently, SBC did not cancel the service. They kept billing my roommate and subletter on my account. Those two stopped paying and moved out. By then, my forwarding address was no good and I had gotten my cell number changed... so even if SBC tried to contact me, they wouldn't have been able to. Forward to today... I wanted to get insurance in Ohio and my agent told me my credit score brought my rates up... so I checked into it. I found the collections on my account for 153 with SBC... the problem is, they sold it to Capital One, who in turn, sold it to some place in San Diego. I called the place in San Diego and they told me in order to cancel the collections they needed a letter from SBC saying that the account was closed with a zero balance. I called SBC. When they sell an account, they erase all notes and everything related to that account... so basically there is no record of anything other than me owing them money... of course there are no notes saying I asked them to cancel- but I can show proof that I was living and paying rent and utilities in Santa Barbara, CA. Even though it's SBC's fault- I'd pay the freaking money. It's 150 bucks... However, I want it off my credit report as it was an SBC mistake. Any idea if I can do anything? I tried to negotiate with someone at the San Diego place- but he said he couldn't take it off my record. I want to call and talk to his boss- but was wondering if anyone had any idea if there was anything I could do. I feel screwed right now.
If SBC truly erased all information on the account, then if you requested validation from the CA who bought the debt, SBC would not be able to provide it to them. Of course they may all be lying. But unless you request validation, in writing, they can say anything they want. Dispute it and see. If SBC no longer has any information, the CA should not be able to provide it, and they should remove. Or if SBC does have information, maybe the validation will show the transfer of the account to the roommate, or some other mix-up consistent with your closing the account and their failure to correctly process it. By the way, in the future if you close an account, send a follow-up letter. For all the effort the phone companies go thru to promote doing things by phone, the lack of a paper trail is a major reason why when they screw up, the consumer pays. If the "San Diego" place is the party putting it on your CR, then they are exactly the ones who can take it off. What TLs does your CR show for this account? SBC? CapOne? San Diego CA? Regarding your increase in insurance rates, get a letter from your agent or insurance company (an Adverse Action Notice) documenting that this is the reason for your rate increase. You may be able to use this to show damages, assuming you can show the account is not legitimate, and you have problems getting it removed.
The story from SBC is that they erased all notes attached to my account. So basically, it's my word versus theirs that I had my account canceled. I offered to send in documentation showing that I was living and working in California at the time and would have no reason to have the account- but, as you pointed out, it doesn't matter because they no longer own the account. I don't think it seems right that I ask someone to cancel an account and they don't and then tell me it's my respnsibility. I DO mind paying the money- but I will if I can get it off my record. Thanks! John
No guarantees it will fix anything, but there is no reason not to. If you don't ask, you don't get: File complaints with CA state AG, CA PUC, and CA BBB. State that you cancelled your phone service with SBC when you moved on xx/xx/xx, SBC agreed to terminate the account, but SBC failed to terminate your account, kept the line active, and allowed other occupants at that address to ring up charges on your account, for which they are now trying to collect from you. CSRs and CAs are not going to fix this, they will seek payment, and even on receiving it will blacken your credit. If you only deal with SBC or the CA on the account, that is all that will ever happen. Whether you end up paying or not, they deserve their black mark too. Make it visible. Maybe the person who handles regulatory complaints will use his discretion just to make it go away, particularly if they have been dealing with several similar cases lately. This is hardly uncommon. It happens all the time. When you get paranoid enough, in the future you will send a cancellation letter following every cancellation or closing of any account by phone. Keep a copy. Not quite the phone company image of the ease of conducting business by phone.
