Well I sent a dispute in sometime ago about unauthorized inquiries. When I called EXP about why they felt it was "not their responsibility" to investigate they mentioned I had a CA account with one of the unauthorized inquiries. I told the rep. for EXP that is **news** to me, because I am looking at my EXP report right now and there is NO ACCOUNT SHOWING for this CA. The rep. disappeared to talk to a supervisor and returned saying "it's a hidden file." This same CA recently pursued me for a debt that was not mine. Eventually TU forced them to delete the CA account and now I am left with the three hard inquiries on my TU and EXP report. The CA has sent a UDF to delete the inquiries, but who knows if they really did. The CA account EXP says is "hidden", is from 1998, I was told. The CA account with the same CA I was being pursued for was from 2000. I have no account with this CA, and certainly was never notified of such "hidden" accounts. So EXP was telling me that even if they did investigate the inquiries, which they weren't going to anyways, they would keep this inquiry on because of a "hidden" ca file on my report. Section 609 of FCRA says you must supply all information in my file. Wouldn't this include "hidden files?" If it is not a valid account, it should be completely deleted from my file, not "hidden" and then used against me. I see nowhere in the FCRA where it gives CRA's permission to hide BS files that should not be on your report anyways.
Hmmm~ I don't have any direct experience with this and hope that I never do, but it sounds fishy. Did you ask to speak to that supervisor and ask why a file may be hidden from the consumer's credit file? I would ask, and record their answer if you live in a one party state.
Something along these lines has nagged at the back of my brain for a while...CRA's can keep negative info 7 years, except for the usual judgment/lien/bk stuff, which is longer. But then I remember another exception about life insurance policies over a certain amount, and jobs that pay over a certain amount. And I wondered, where do they come up with the old info to compile a credit report on someone who has applied for a high paying job or big-limit life insurance policy? Doesn't it figure that it must be stored away somewhere? Another question -- I've noticed a lot of board members are ordering "3-in-1 reports". Isn't that just helping the CRA's to merge info from the 3 bureau's? I recall a few people mentioning that suddenly some old thing popped up on, say, a TU credit report that, up to that point, had only appeared on Exp. Is it possible the people who are experiencing this problem have also ordered the 3-in-1? Just guessing. Just paranoid. Also, I don't know squat yet.
I have always wondered about this myself, especially regarding items that are disputed off the rpt. It seems like a record would be kept for awhile. I know they're not supposed to but I wouldn't be surprised if they did. I know that EX can find my "dispute history" when I call them. Do they only save this for accts that remain and for how long? I saw 2 accts on worthknowing that aren't present on the report that TU sent me around the same time I pulled worthknowing. Now these accts are in good standing and I have never disputed them and one is new but not so new that it wouldn't be on the regular TU report. Why would worthknowing have them listed and not the regular TU? Like I said they're not accts that I have ever disputed or inquired about so this wouldn't be a factor. I wouln't even mind them being on TU!
I have never seen this alleged ca account on my report, nor do I recall any notification from the CA about this account. The EXP rep. said that at some point the CA asked to temporarily delete this account from their system. Like I said, I know nothing about this CA account other than what EXP is willing to share with me about this hidden file. Unfortunately, I live in California and can not record without permission. Also, the EXP rep. said they placed the "hidden file" in dispute. GEE>>> Thanks EXP for placing hidden CA files that you were told to delete in dispute, how big of them.
Incomplete consumer disclosure See this about the completeness (or, should we say incompleteness?) of credit file disclosures given to consumers: http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttalk/board/showthread.php?s=&pgnum=1&postid=209016#post209016
Re: Incomplete consumer disclosure G. Fisher, I think that you are saying and documenting what I was trying to say in my post. It just seemed kind of curious to me that depending on where you looked for your credit information, you might find different information. And I am not talking about resellers not having updated info. This seems to be a case of not giving the consumer all that is in the files. I would be interested in learning of any response that you receive from TU.
Re: Incomplete consumer disclosure sue for failure to investigate INQ -- clear violation. sue for failure to disclose credit file -- clear violation.
