Experian Report

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by RichGuy, Nov 4, 2000.

  1. RichGuy

    RichGuy Guest

    I have an interesting situation here. It's disturbing to me, but fairly mild compared to the classic CRA horror stories. Any technical information, or even intelligent comments about general principles, would be appreciated.

    Using my ClickCiti MasterCard, I ordered a report from Experian, and received it a few days ago. I had frequently wondered why I got declined when potential creditors pulled the Experian report. Expecting the worst, I opened the envelope and found a frightfully simple answer.

    About four years ago, I had two delinquencies. One of them was charged off in 4/97, and the other...was bought in 2/2000 by an outfit called Gulf States Credit of Duluth, Georgia.

    These clowns did a hit-and-run on my reputation by claiming the account was opened in 2/2000 and charged off in 3/2000. In their haste, they then proceeded to litter the Experian report with four hard inquiries over the next four months.

    The primary effect of all this was to create the false impression that I defaulted on an account within the last year. Now that I see the damage, I understand how it could scare away the likes of Target.

    Although I'm saving more specific questions for a later time, I'm trying to figure out now what the best general strategy would be. Should I challenge the whole thing, hoping that these fly-by-night losers have lost interest and won't even bother to verify? Or should I challenge the date alone, and hope that Experian prefers to remove the whole thing?

    Should I challenge the derogatory item and the inquiries together, so as to emphasize the general negligence and carelessness of Gulf States Credit? Or should I focus on the derogatory item alone, and worry about inquiries later?

    Ironically, Gulf States Credit never even bothered to contact me. I think they were looking for a telephone number through which they could make a few quick threats. Unfortunately for them, I don't have a conventional telephone. Expecting a quick payoff but failing to obtain it, they quickly lost interest and walked away from the mess they made. The fact that I have never had any contact with them whatsoever increases my confidence in a favorable outcome. This whole thing should be incinerated in the Memory Hole as soon as possible.
     
  2. roni

    roni Well-Known Member

    Boy, it never stops. I would dispute the item based on incorrect dates. Maybe that will get it deleted. I have seen GulF States name mentioned on several discussions board. They have a bad reputation. This may not be too easy. Posters have mentioned having difficulty contacting them. Nonetheless. Good Luck!

    Roni.
     
  3. RichGuy

    RichGuy Guest

    I'm beginning to get the idea. Who wants to bet that Experian never has any difficulty contacting them, even at disconnected phone numbers?
     
  4. Mo

    Mo Guest

    At the very worst, you will be able to get the proper dates reinstated...and since the blemish was almost 4 years ago, it shouldn't cause too much problem after that.

    Regardless of how you decide to dispute this, you can certainly quote Experian's very own Maxine Sweet, who runs the "Ask MAx" column on their web site. She has answered the question many times about how collectors change the dates of a newly bought debt, and Experian is fully aware of this abusive tack. Getting the dates restored should be a piece of cake.

    Now the inquiries are a pest that will be very difficult to ameliorate without G-S taking them off. There have been many discussions about abusive inquiries (search on this board about "poisoning" by CreditDefenses. A real mess.

    A note on G-S.....they got a $300 charge-off on me back in the mid-80's. They didn't go away until the mid-90's. They never did anything, but they would send a letter occassionally, and once in a while post an inquiry.
     
  5. RichGuy

    RichGuy Guest

    Mo,

    I appreciate your response. Having checked out both "Ask Max" and the postings by Se~or Villase~or, I realize that I have a lot of reading and thinking to do.

    I may not challenge the date at first, since I don't want to acknowledge any relationship to Gulf States. On the other hand, I may get only one chance to challenge, since the second time Experian may be a lot less willing to listen.
     
  6. Crdt Dfnse

    Crdt Dfnse Well-Known Member

    Possible Tapping

    Hi Rich:
    As MO mentioned this could be a case of CBR â??poisoningâ? but it could also be â??tappingâ? (collector-speak for artificially seasoning an account). Iâ??ll explainâ?¦

    Pools of accounts are regularly sold to agencies, classifying such agencies as acquisition creditors. When the pools are examined old or stale dated (SOL) accounts are culled out, because those donâ??t make the collector money through traditional recovery means.

    On occasion acquisition creditors have been known to â??tapâ? certain account, by reporting them as well within SOL and falsifying queue comments and histories to make these appear more current. The expression derives from tapping one on the shoulder, as though in a selection process.

    Once the account is successfully tapped it can then be sold off to another acquisition creditor, often for twice as much (if not more) as the individual account was to purchase. Itâ??s a lazy way of making money targeting other acquisition creditors. Yes, sleaze is even perpetrated against other collection agencies that may pursue collection under false pretenses.

    Mind you this is not a very common practice but it still goes on as a carry over from the old school (stand-on-the-desk, yell at the debtor) collection days. Yet there is a remedy but it takes a bit of time and aggression on your part. That is, once youâ??ve a more sound reason to believe tapping is whatâ??s going on.

    Watch your CBRs closely for the next few months; say six (6) months but no more than nine (9). About every two (2) or three (3) months order (or obtain a free) CBR and check to see if the account is once again sold. If it is this is a good indication of tapping, and should be redressed by threat of litigation. Granted Iâ??m not one to jump to recommending the filing of lawsuits, but in the case of tapping this threat alone will generate some action.

    Please understand I base this assessment on several factors, one of which is that you canâ??t reach the agent to deal with the issue. This is possibly intentional in that they wouldnâ??t be interested in dealing with you, if their intent is to tap and sell the account (in a pool along with many others). There are other reasons of course, but those can be a bit heady to explain and probably wouldnâ??t interest you anyway. The point being is that tapping is an issue to watch for, based on what youâ??ve indicated in relation to Arizona SOL.

    Keep The Faith,
    Anthony Villaseñor
    CreditDefenses.com
     
  7. Saar

    Saar Banned

    Write to the CEO. Tell them they have 15 business days to correct it, or you'll be going for class action. No point in being courteous - we're dealing with bottom of the barrel collection practices. Also, I'm sure Anthony can give you the address of the local gov't agency that licensed them.

    Pat would say "sue anyway", and in this case - he may be right.


    Saar
     
  8. Shari

    Shari Guest

    RichGuy,

    I had the exact same experience that you had with Gulf State Credit. Only I started receiving sporadic letters from them claiming I owed them money, but they did not include who the original creditor was. So I pulled a copy of my credit report and noticed that they claimed I opened an account with them 1/00 and that it went deliquent in 3/00. I haven't opened any accounts in the last 4 years.

    I decided to send a letter to Experian because they seemed to be the only one reporting it. At the same time I had just received a letter from Gulf State Credit saying that I had agreed to make montly payments with them and had failed to honor this obligation. I never made any agreement with them at all.

    So, at the same time that I disputed with Experian (Saying that this account wasn't mine), I also sent a letter to GSC asking them to provide proof of the debt and proof that I had made an agreement with them to make payments. (I guess they were attempting to restart the SOL by claiming I had made a renewed promise to pay).

    I never received a response from GSC and Experian deleted it from my file on the first attempt. (Hopefully, it will not reappear). I also received 2 inquiries from GSC within a 6 week period, but I have not yet disputed them as they are the only 2 from this year.

    I just recently learned that Equifax reports via CSC so I sent for that report and GSC is also on that report. So, I am thinking of doing the same thing.

    If you need to contact them, this information was on my report:

    Gulf State Credit
    2425 Commerce Ave. Bldg. 2
    Duluth, GA. 30096
    (770) 451-4862
     
  9. Reshod

    Reshod Well-Known Member

    Shari,
    you must also be a Texas Resident. CSC can be time consuming, when doing online disputes straight to Equifax.

    Reshod
     
  10. RichGuy

    RichGuy Guest

    Thank you for your response and your moral support, Saar. I'm wondering which CEO you have in mind: Experian or Gulf States Credit? It looks like Gulf States Credit, but I'm not sure.

    I'm also a bit shy about ANY contact with a sleazy collection agency. They might use that as an excuse to reset the 7-year clock, which thus far hasn't been tampered with. The biggest falsehood right now is the phony "account opened" date, but I'm sure GSC is capable of much worse than that, especially when provoked. How else could they have haunted Mo for 10 years or so?

    I will, however, keep in mind the possibility of legal action. Thanks again.
     
  11. mba in Pit

    mba in Pit Guest

    Seems like a number of companies are buying defaulted loans and repackaging them on consumer credit reports as recently defaulted loans. Seems that these companies often do ot contact the consumer. Rather they wait for the consumer to apply for a loan and to be rejected, and then when the consumer learns that the rejection resulted from the repackaged entry, the consumer frantically contacts the new company to see what can be done to resolve the matter. A class action was filed in Philadelphia a few weeks ago against a company - not the one you write about. Perhaps the lawyers handling that class action would be interested in hearing from you about Gulf States.

    Feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss this.

    November 4, 2000
     
  12. mba in Pit

    mba in Pit Guest

    A few years ago, a company out of Baltimore, CREDITRUST CORPORATION, tried to say that I had made a deal to settle an old account at a reduced rate and that I had failed to live up to my settlement agreement. There had never been any agreement as the debt was stale and I well know that. I sued CREDITRUST for defamation for saying that I had not kept my settlement agreement. This case is reported at 7 F. Supp 2d 589 (W.D. PA. 1998.

    Shari wrote:
    -------------------------------
    RichGuy,

    I had the exact same experience that you had with Gulf State Credit. Only I started receiving sporadic letters from them claiming I owed them money, but they did not include who the original creditor was. So I pulled a copy of my credit report and noticed that they claimed I opened an account with them 1/00 and that it went deliquent in 3/00. I haven't opened any accounts in the last 4 years.

    I decided to send a letter to Experian because they seemed to be the only one reporting it. At the same time I had just received a letter from Gulf State Credit saying that I had agreed to make montly payments with them and had failed to honor this obligation. I never made any agreement with them at all.

    So, at the same time that I disputed with Experian (Saying that this account wasn't mine), I also sent a letter to GSC asking them to provide proof of the debt and proof that I had made an agreement with them to make payments. (I guess they were attempting to restart the SOL ....
     
  13. RichGuy

    RichGuy Guest

    Shari,

    Thanks for your response. I think I'm going to use your "not my account" approach, but initially contact only Experian. If that doesn't make the whole thing go away, then I'll try again and contact both Experian and GSC, focusing on the false date issue.

    You and Saar did get me pumped up for action, which I needed. I tend to worry about the possible dangers of conflict, even as I forget the possible rewards. If I win this dispute, and it could take me a year or more to do so, my credit will be nearly perfect.
     
  14. RichGuy

    RichGuy Guest

    RE: Possible Tapping

    Anthony,

    Thank you for your detailed response. While tapping may not occur frequently, when it does occur it is most likely perpetrated by the likes of Gulf States Credit.

    You also mentioned watching my credit report. One of my biggest regrets right now is that I don't have an Experian report from 1/2000, to see who owned the account then. Who knows, maybe the account changed hands a month ago, and that's when GSC made up the 2/2000 date.

    Regular perusal of my credit report would have armed me with information and strengthened my position. I intend to order Experian reports frequently from now on, and use their sense of integrity, feeble as it may be, to "delouse" my credit report.

    Anyone with a brain would recognize something wrong with this account anyway. Who ever heard of a real account that was opened one month and charged off the next?
     
  15. Crdt Dfnse

    Crdt Dfnse Well-Known Member

    Consider Thisâ?¦

    Rich:
    Youâ??re assessments are valid although bear in mind account pools are bulk sales, so there could also be a legit reason behind the collectorâ??s conduct (okay, hopeful thinking). Often times a tapped or tampered with account will be sold to private buyers, folks whoâ??ve taken a course and become instant collectors (a dangerous lot).

    In any event I checked out Gulf States for you and didnâ??t find much. They arenâ??t a member of ACA, and since Georgia requires little in the way of regulations (no licensing or bonds required)â?¦

    Hay Iâ??m totally with Mo (and probably Pat) on this one for sure. If the agent responds to your CBR dispute hit `um, and hit `um hard! This is a prime example of cases Pat and I have discussed (through email), where litigation is a make sense tool to have the right thing done. But this case would never get to trial.

    I say NEVER because opposing counsel would be foolish to resist making an offer, from the gate! A good lawyer could probably negotiate a settlement without even filing an action, given the situation. Put it this wayâ?¦

    Initial costs of defense alone could run as much as $5,000 if filed Federally, thus half of that is a good deal for both parties. (Can you sing, â??Youâ??re In The Money?â?) So please keep us posted as to your progress and what eventually transpires?

    Keep The Faith,
    Anthony Villaseñor
    CreditDefenses.com
     
  16. Saar

    Saar Banned

    GSC, of course.

    No use suing the CRA, since they did what they had to - turn to GSC.

    I agree with Anthony - Normally this won't go to trial; As soon as your lawyer contacts theirs - chances are you're done. In the unlikely event that it doesn't end there, you must sue. If you don't, the people of this board will never forgive you! :)

    Go RichGuy!


    Saar
     
  17. RichGuy

    RichGuy Guest

    Target Card

    Half of $5000? Wouldn't that be $2500? This could quickly get out of hand. All I really wanted was a Target card, but they pulled Experian and turned me down. The rest is history. Greatness has been thrust upon me, entirely against my will. :):)
     
  18. pat

    pat Guest

    sue 'em

    I suggest Attorney Larry Farber
    tel (413) 256-8429.

    He is in MA, but can sue anywhere in federal court. He represented Denise Richadson, filed suit in US District Court & obtained settlements from Fleet Bank, two or the three CRAs, and a collection agency.

    He has done work for me too. I base my suggestion on my opinion, from dealing with him, that he is a good lawyer, and has experience in an area in which most lawyers do not- consumer credit law.

    I don't work for him. I don't get anything for mentioning him to you. I do so merely as a client.
     
  19. Crdt Dfnse

    Crdt Dfnse Well-Known Member

    Go For It!

    Rich:
    Donâ??t hold me to the $2,500 because it all depends on negotiations, but generally half of defense costs are reasonable and generally acceptable.

    Now if youâ??re thinking this is a way to make money, youâ??d be right. In fact I knew of a gent when I was on the AOL (TheWhiz.com) staff, who made an extra $25k per year suing collection agents (or so he claimed). He was also in the collection business so go figure.

    The point being is that it can be inadvertently profitable for consumers to defend their rights, and thatâ??s a good thing. So I say go for it, you certainly have nothing to lose and at the least a redress of your CBR to gain.

    Keep The Faith,
    Anthony Villaseñor
    CreditDefenses.com
     
  20. Shari

    Shari Guest

    RE: sue 'em

    Pat - Do you have an idea of how much it costs to retain this lawyer to handle a case like this? I ran into the same situation as RichGuy with Gulf State Credit and I am curious...(Wondering if it's out of my budget and worth pursuing :)
     

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