I have an old Sears Account that since January has had date of last Activity as 10/96 which means it would fall of soon. I tried to validate to get it removed a couple of months early and now the date has changed to 5/98. How can I dispute that? Can they do that?
First, what *is* the date of last activity (original delinquency date)? Is it really 5/98 but they've been reporting it wrong as 10/96, or do you not even know? Whatever they report -- if they choose to report -- must be accurate. Unless you have something to back it up, it's your word against theirs. Do you have copies of your old credit reports? I'm talking about ones that have this account on it being reported as ODD of 10/96 for the last number of years. If you do, make a copy (just the page with that account on it) of the OLDEST one that you have reporting the 10/96 date. Then pick one or two other ones (older ones) and do the same. Then make a copy of the latest one that has the ODD changed on it. Type up a dispute (e.g., "The original creditor violated the FCRA by re-aging the account. They reported it for XX years with an ODD of 10/96, but now that it's ready to be removed based on age, they updated the ODD to 5/98!"). Include the copies of the old credit report(s), as well as the new one. Use a highlighter to notate the account name, number, balance, etc., as well as the DATE(s) that were changed. Be sure to remove any OTHER information on the copies (e.g., other account information) before you mail it off. Not that the CRA doesn't need it, but if for whatever reason someone ELSE got a hold of it, they'd have more personal info on you. Re-aging a delinquent account is a clear violation of the FCRA.
Thank you - I started working on my reports last November - it has been 10/96 since then. It has now been changed to 5/98.
