I would like to start a thread so everyone could contribute the name and address of any CRA/collcetor that they are now or have dealt with in the past. Especially the companies owned by Equifax. All others are welcome to. It seems that most of them start with a C** and have generic names that dont imply their parent companies, such as Credit Bureau of ******. One of the ones here in the midwest is the Credit Bureau of Columbus, po box 1838 columbus, ohio 43216
Mine is called The Credit Bureau, 19 Prince Street, Rochester NY 14607. 716-256-8800. There is another for TU: Credit Bureau Services PO BOX 1426 Buffalo, NY 14231-1426 800-632-1765 The one for TU, is not on my reports, they send me copies of my reports.
I guess that they report only the information that they get rom the Big three Repositories(Equifax, TU, EXPERIAN).No mention of them is made on your report. But, if you were to mail a request to one of the big three, the would force you into dealing with their regional affiliate.
The Credit Bureau appears on all three reports. (bad debt that is paid) However, the local transunion bureau is the agency I must deal with.
Equifax affiliate that I have to dispute to. ------------------ CBC Credit Services PO Box 30877 Middleburg Heights, OH 44130 440-234-3601
Wow, they are so close together. I was looking through the National Yellow pages and I found that there are affiliates in a lot of cities. They provide reports for local businesses but they do not work directly with consumers unless it is collection related. Is yours a CRA or does it operate as a CA only?
I wish it was mine I think a little demolition would be in order, just kidding. CBC is the CRA who Equifax directed me to for my disputes. I believe they are a CA as well. pat
I cant believe the proximity of these two. Only an hour and a half apart. I wonder what would happen if I wrote to your CBC. That would be interesting to find out. Thanks
I just spent a week in the El Paso - Juarez area vacationing and visiting relatives in Juarez. Actually only spent a very few hours in El Paso itself.
I don't think we know or care whether or not they are owned by the credit bureau(s). It is enough that they use them and that a pattern of such use resulting in obsfucation of the issues and usually misrepresentation of the facts as well as evasion of both law and our personal intents and demands is existant and rampant. It must be fought with all vigor regardless of who owns or controls them. They are actual credit bureaus even though that fact is never brought out by Equifax or whoever, so we need to recognize them and include them in our disputes Make sense?
To add insult to injury, Equifax and others simply tell us that C?S Services has validated or verified the report. They tell us nothing more, so we have then no way to gain the information or action we originally sought. These "rogue" credit bureaus act as an insulation or buffer and an excuse to thwart our attempts to get stuff removed from our credit files, and so, since they are actual credit bureaus in their own right, we must then hold them to the same standards as we do the big 3. The difference is that if we ignore them, they hurt us and if we treat them as full fledged credit bureaus in their own right, we can then put a stop to the evasion tactics employed by the big 3. What do you think?
your absolutely correct Greg, I do not know who owns them. But when I called them they told me that they were affiliated with Equifax. I am not sure how this all relates but I would love to know. Maybe someone with your credentials in dealing with these CRA's could give us this valuable information.
Oh by the way, I called a CB located in dayton OH, they said that they only did consumer reports for businesses and that they were also collection agents and mantained information on public records at the local courts. They got their information from CBC of columbus. Monday I think I will Call Cincinnatti and find out their deal. If I had the time I would call them all.
Yes, Guess what else I found out. Many of these C** companies are not giving in person interviews. I believe that it is required under the FCRA. If anyone has experienced this, please tell. I thought that we were by law allowed to set up in person interviews. Has this changed? If anyone wants to see a CRA that is in direct violation of the law call CBC of Columbus for a good example. Here is their phone number #6142225300. Mr Fisher was also right that they give out a recording that tells you how to contact them through the mail. You know what, it seems to me that Equifax has a major problem with this still. I had lost their direct line # and all that I could find is their recording line that informed us how to mail them a letter.
Here in Virginia it is Retail Merchants Association - Retail Alliance - where I am. They advertise themselves as Equifax affiliates. When they called my Mom last year about a medical bill (collection) where the hospital had filed the medicare claim with the wrong diagnostic code, and was demanding that she (a 79 year old cancer patient) correct their errors, they identified themselves as Equifax Collections, but my caller ID said Retail Alliance. They used her credit report as a weapon to attempt to coerce her to pay. I fixed their butts though! You should have seen that letter I wrote. Parasites. That's what they are. breeze
