This may have been a rookie mistake on my part, but live and learn I suppose: I had a 30 day late on an old Discover Card account. I was fairly sure that I was never late on this so I disputed it with Experian online. Well, apparently Discover never got back to Experian and the whole account was deleted and not just the item I was hoping for. My questions: Looking at the info from the account is it worth and/or possible to write Experian explaining the error and asking the to 'reverse' the dispute? I'm pretty sure this would hurt my numbers if the whole account is deleted. I can't say for sure. Maybe it's worth the 15.00 bucks to get the Experian score? Opinions please! edit: Can't put an image in yet so here are the details of the deleted account Status: Paid, Closed Reported since 9/2000 Date of Status 02/2006 Last Reported: 02/2006 Credit Limit; $1500 High Balance: $2200 Account Closed at credit grantor's request 30 days past due as of July 2004
Eep! Yeah, since that 30-day would have fallen off in July of this year, I probably would have let it sit. I firmly believe in "don't rock the boat". But as you said, live and learn. In this case, it looks like they did you a favor. That's not a particularly good entry. "Closed at grantor's request" means Discover canceled your card, and your high balance is 147% of your credit limit. I think you may have accidentally done yourself a favor.
Yes I have a few of those 'closed by credit grantor' because I was on a debt consolidation plan. The other accounts with this are not listed in the 'potentially negative items' section. To tell you the truth, I never meant to dispute this item. I have no idea how it happened except maybe I meant to dispute the account above it and hit the wrong button? (sigh). I'm really not a moron or a drunk so I don't know what the heck happened! I was up very very late combing through the report though. I'm all prepared to send off a written request to Experian, but I see that you don't think that is wise. To know for sure I would need to get my score before and after the deletion. Are there any simulators/methods that you can recommend to do that? Thanks!
Not really. I seem to recall MyFICO advertising some kind of "credit simulator" that I thought would forecast your score based on certain events, but the "simulation" choices you had were fairly generic. It wasn't "what would happen if I paid this entry in full" or "what happens if this gets deleted", it was "what happens if I paid down my credit card debt" with answers like "this could raise your score between 10 and 250 points". I can't remember exactly who it was, but it was pretty useless. And FICO is a closely-guarded secret, so there aren't any third-party sites that will give you an accurate estimate. Honestly, I'd let this one go. While it doesn't show up under the "potentially negative" category, any person who actually reviews your report manually -- such as when you go for a mortgage or car loan -- will most likely see that as a negative entry. Just walk casually away, whistling innocently.
I think you may be right as I pulled the Experian FAKO and my numbers were decent (700). OK. I'm moving on as noted above I don't think it hurt much if at all. Also, this account was indeed listed as a 'potentially negative' account even with that one 30 day late. Thanks to all for the advice. On to the next... (while whistling).
