I mean, I know officially they don't but unofficially do they? It seems obvious that the CRAs say things are verified when they clearly didn't even ask the CAs (e.g. CAs that are out of business). Also, CRAs have advised me in the past to just call a CA to work out a dispute and then provided their number. Obviously it's terrible advice to tell a consumer to call a CA rather than getting things in writing -- and you know the CRAs know that.
The relationship between CRAs and CAs is closer than most people suspect or than they'd like us to think. First, CRAs work for their CUSTOMERS as does any business. WE are not their customers (those who pay for their information), creditors and CAs are. Second, CRAs offer services that allow CAs to monitor our credit reports for new activity, new addresses and the like as a trigger to renew collections. Third, in some cases, CAs are ACTUALLY divisions of the CRA. For example, Risk Management (RMA) was at one time owned by Equifax. Equifax also has Equifax Check Services that attempts to collect NSF checks. Conclusion: don't ever think you're dealing with a neutral third party when you're dealing with a CRA. Greg
Great info Greg. I think it's obvious that they're partisan. When they say "we checked w/the CA and they said it's your debt." It has that "I just checked w/my manager..." feel that you get at a used car lot.
