Hi all, I'm a newbie here...well, and new to the whole credit repair thingie. Spent too many years in fear of it after a nasty divorce and BK with the ex. Welp, i'm finally deciding to be a grown-up and get a grip on it after a good nudge in the backside from a CA 3 weeks ago. The call came out of the blue, and they were referencing a CC I had with Providian till 2 years ago. Providian was "nice" enough to sell my account without notifying me, and I had to track down the new company in order to find out what was going on back then (not getting monthly statements). Long story short, they slapped me with late payment fees for those in between months and informed me that my interest rate had jumped to a whopping 29.99%, so I closed the account right then and there, requested a billing statement and paid the account in full asap. Providian promptly did the same thing with my MC account the next month...so I tracked down the new company (didn't wait 4 months that time), got a statement, paid in full and closed the account. Fast forward to 3 weeks ago. The phone call was from Wolpoff & Abramson to notify me that my Visa aco**** had been turned over to them and that I owed $1799. I told them "No sir, no way, not me". They demanded that I send them proof that I had paid it off. Instead, I came here and started reading, then sent THEM a VOD letter. Haven't heard back yet and don't expect to, but I'm prepared to pursue it if'n I hafta! Ok, so that experience got me feeling brave and I decided to get my CR's and see just WHAT was on them other than the old BK. Lo and behold, I found my ex's address instead of my own, two of my ex's credit cards listed and so many confusing entries regarding the Providian accounts that I don't know WHERE to start to correct it all. I have sort of a plan of action, but wanted to check with you guys for advice before I do anything. (terrified of doing it in the wrong order and screwing it up even worse). 1) Need to contact CRA's to correct my name and addresses. Do I tell them that I never lived in NY and that it is my ex's address from 1998? I lived in Wisconsin back then! Does it matter to them to know that info? 2) Need to figure out who to contact first regarding the Providian TL's. Should the account numbers listed for the CA's match the account numbers listed for Providian??? They don't, and the balances don't match either, so I don't even really know which is which. The CA's just say Providian in the account number section and then 4 XXXX's. Do I send VOD's to both of the CA's AND the OC's at the same time or take them on one at a time? Since they have NEVER contacted me about collections, does the 30 day rule apply to my VOD? Wolpoff & Abramson isn't even listed on my CR's so I guess that there's nothing more to do with them unless they show up in the next month or two and don't list the account as being disputed. 3) I have 2 listings for a Capital One account. The first is mostly correct. It says that the card was reported stolen, which it was, back in December 1999. I had not used it for months so I told them to NOT give me a new account or card, to just leave it closed, end of story (or so I thought). The second Capital One account looks like it was opened in the beginning of 2000 and has a balance of $1,798, but also says that it was charged off....YIKES!!! Obviously the second card is the result of whoever stole my original credit card, so who do I file the "not mine" dispute with? Do I contact Capital One and request validation? Are they required to respond? 4) I have 2 JC Penney cards listed. One is my account and the other belongs to my ex. It's a lower priority for me since he seems to be making regular payments on it. I'll just tackle that one after the big stuff. My last item/question is regarding my BK. It only included a mortgage for one home that we were not able to sell (bad market and Fleet Bank wouldn't be reasonable and allow a short sale). Had no other outstanding debt at the time. I know that the actual BK listing will stay on my CR's for 10 years (only 3 to go), but what about the Tl for the mortgage? It doesn't list Fleet Bank as the lender, it has someone else that i've never heard of and there is no comment anywhere that states that it was charged off in the BK. The date opened is 1987 and I know that the date of last activity was 3/1997. Can I try to get the listing dropped from my report or does it stay till the BK falls off? Ohhhhh, before I end this novelette, just one more quick thing. Am I correct in thinking that I need to dispute each of the CA's and OC's before I start to dispute the TL's with the CRA's? If so, how long should I wait before writing to the CRA's? I'm assuming that it will help my case with them since the TL's are SO different between each of the CRA's...it's incredible to look at my report...lol Talk about feeling like I'm Alice in Wonderland! I guess what's really motivating me here is that, since my divorce from the deadbeat ex and the BK, I've worked my tail off to have and maintain good credit, only to find out this week that on paper, it looks like I'M the one who's a deadbeat. <sigh> Thanks for any hep you can give me, Red
Fast forward to 3 weeks ago. The phone call was from Wolpoff & Abramson to notify me that my Visa aco**** had been turned over to them and that I owed $1799. I told them "No sir, no way, not me". They demanded that I send them proof that I had paid it off. Instead, I came here and started reading, then sent THEM a VOD letter. Haven't heard back yet and don't expect to, but I'm prepared to pursue it if'n I hafta! You don't have to prove anything, send them anything, or answer any questions from them. They have to prove that you owe the money. Just stick to your guns. Go on and dispute these accounts with all three CRA's now. Ok, so that experience got me feeling brave and I decided to get my CR's and see just WHAT was on them other than the old BK. Lo and behold, I found my ex's address instead of my own, two of my ex's credit cards listed and so many confusing entries regarding the Providian accounts that I don't know WHERE to start to correct it all. Before you do anything else, opt out. 1-888 5OPT OUT. You might want to get a PO Box while you go through this, but, dispute any old addresses on your report. That's one of the things that ties you to the account. If you are going to give them your real address, wait about 30 days from opting out to change it. But definitely do get the ex's address off your reports, or he will get all your stuff. Dispute everything negative or incorrect on your report with the CRA's, see what happens. Some may come off with no more effort. I have sort of a plan of action, but wanted to check with you guys for advice before I do anything. (terrified of doing it in the wrong order and screwing it up even worse). 1) Need to contact CRA's to correct my name and addresses. Do I tell them that I never lived in NY and that it is my ex's address from 1998? I lived in Wisconsin back then! Does it matter to them to know that info? See answer above. 2) Need to figure out who to contact first regarding the Providian TL's. Should the account numbers listed for the CA's match the account numbers listed for Providian??? They don't, and the balances don't match either, so I don't even really know which is which. The CA's just say Providian in the account number section and then 4 XXXX's. The account numbers and balances won't match. Just folow through with the CA's and validation. Wait for an answer from the CA's, or until some time has gone by and they have an opportunity to answer. Then contact Providian. Find out if they have any account information on you. Chance are, they may not. Find out what they have. I would use mail, certified, return receipt. Do I send VOD's to both of the CA's AND the OC's at the same time or take them on one at a time? [color-blue]I would do the CA's and then the OC's, if necessary.[/color] Since they have NEVER contacted me about collections, does the 30 day rule apply to my VOD? Wolpoff & Abramson isn't even listed on my CR's so I guess that there's nothing more to do with them unless they show up in the next month or two and don't list the account as being disputed. Chances are, their correspondence went to the address on your credit report. Chances are, the ex gave them your phone number. Send validation letters, act like it's your first communication from them, you have a good reason, if it comes down to proving anything. 3) I have 2 listings for a Capital One account. The first is mostly correct. It says that the card was reported stolen, which it was, back in December 1999. I had not used it for months so I told them to NOT give me a new account or card, to just leave it closed, end of story (or so I thought). The second Capital One account looks like it was opened in the beginning of 2000 and has a balance of $1,798, but also says that it was charged off....YIKES!!! Obviously the second card is the result of whoever stole my original credit card, so who do I file the "not mine" dispute with? Do I contact Capital One and request validation? Are they required to respond? Contact the CRA's first. Dispute as "not mine" and see what happens. 4) I have 2 JC Penney cards listed. One is my account and the other belongs to my ex. It's a lower priority for me since he seems to be making regular payments on it. I'll just tackle that one after the big stuff. My last item/question is regarding my BK. It only included a mortgage for one home that we were not able to sell (bad market and Fleet Bank wouldn't be reasonable and allow a short sale). Had no other outstanding debt at the time. I know that the actual BK listing will stay on my CR's for 10 years (only 3 to go), but what about the Tl for the mortgage? It doesn't list Fleet Bank as the lender, it has someone else that i've never heard of and there is no comment anywhere that states that it was charged off in the BK. The date opened is 1987 and I know that the date of last activity was 3/1997. Can I try to get the listing dropped from my report or does it stay till the BK falls off? Dispute as obsolete, out of date, whatever. It should be off by now. Ohhhhh, before I end this novelette, just one more quick thing. Am I correct in thinking that I need to dispute each of the CA's and OC's before I start to dispute the TL's with the CRA's? No, the opposite is true. Dispute with CRA's fist. If verified, then go to validation with CA's, then proceed to Oc's.[/color] If so, how long should I wait before writing to the CRA's? I'm assuming that it will help my case with them since the TL's are SO different between each of the CRA's...it's incredible to look at my report...lol Talk about feeling like I'm Alice in Wonderland! I guess what's really motivating me here is that, since my divorce from the deadbeat ex and the BK, I've worked my tail off to have and maintain good credit, only to find out this week that on paper, it looks like I'M the one who's a deadbeat. <sigh> Hey this isn't too bad. You can do it!!!
Re: Eegads! Got my CR and lost...h Thanks Breeze! Everything you explained makes good sense, but I'm a little confused on one teensy thing. What exactly is Opt Out and what benefit is it to me? I've never heard of it before. I guess I should have clarified that my ex wouldn't have gotten any notices either, since he hasn't lived at that address in over 7 years. I'm quite sure he isn't still having mail forwarded from there. He doesn't have my phone number either...lol...he's not the kind of man you want to allow to get that close! I figure they found my phone number by contacting my mom...her address is also listed, not sure why or how it got there, but it's there nonetheless. Okies, I'll get started with doing the OPT Out thingie asap and then wait to do the address corrections, and THEN tackle the disputes in the order you listed. Thanks again for your help, I'm starting to think that I might actually be able to do this! In the long run, I'm sure I won't be able to get my credit scores up anywhere's near my husbands 794, but by gum I'm going to get it high enough so's we can buy our next home jointly!!! =) Red
Re: Eegads! Got my CR and lost...h LOL, 794? that's a terrific score!! You can get over 700 pretty easily, I'm sure. There are folks here with way worse reports than yours who've done it. When you opt out, you are telling the CRA's that they cannot sell your information. What it will do for you is prevent them from selling your address and phone number to collection agencies. They sell lists, and any kind of activity on your part can put you on the list that the CA's buy. Then they try to match up your name with names in their files. Believe me, those who don't opt out before they start cleaning up their reports, suddenly find that CA's are coming out from the woodwork, trying to collect on old debts, even some that aren't theirs. When it's really bad, is if you apply for a mortgage. It can actually keep someone from getting their house, and sometimes the debt is one that isn't even theirs. Of course they can sue for that, but I think most people would rather have the house.
