I disputed a cc account w/ 5 or 6 lates from 1999...I check my report today, the CB has added another account from this cc, same number, same balance due, but kept the old one w/ the lates on there. This added to my outstanding balances, and has dropped my score by 10 Points! Help!!! Dispute as a duplicate?
one more thing-the new account listing doesn't have any lates....looks like an account in good standing.
Dispute the original the account with the lates as a duplicate. Tell them the new one in perfect standing is the correct account. You might even get away with just a call to the bureau.
Yes, LKH....I had something similar w/a department store account-hopefully, this one can work out the same way. I am just curious as to how this happens-is it the creditor, or the CB just being lazy?
I have had two credit card companies delete their listings in their entirety BECAUSE they got caught (by me) putting duplicates on my files. It took me about 60 days with one company (I went straight to the VP of Credit) and about 45 days with the other. I think I used 4 letters for each of them. Be specific as to what you want and make sure they know that you will exhaust all means to achieve satisfaction in the matter. Tell them that in light of their error and negligence that you do not feel that they can be trusted to report accurately either now or in the future and therefore demand that they delete the accounts from your CB profiles. Don't back down! Call, fax, and bug the crap outta them. You've really got some leverage if you have applied for any credit and possibly could have had better terms than you ultimately received or if you were turned down altogether. In that case let them know that they may have some liability.
Mist, please do let me in on the details - CITI is doing this to me - listing each account three or more times - chargeoffs- looks like I have 10 chargeoffs instead of two. I need help with this! I would be very appreciative of any advice you can give - I am already disputing w/ the bureaus Thanks!
My account is an active account, not charge off. I would appreciate having the positive, but would settle for deletion entirely. So, you guys think this is the creditor screwing up, rather than the CB?
When I went thru my ordeal with duplicates I first had disputed with the CB's. They came back verified and unchanged. I then went after the creditors. The first letter was explaining the duplicate and asking very nicely for correction. When they ignored me (and I sent if Certified RR) I sent a second letter which was a little more agressive. They ignored that one, too. I then obtained the name of VP of Credit and included the first two letters. In this third letter I was VERY agressive and accused them of negligence and willfull noncompliance with the FCRA. I threatened everything from lawsuits to letters to my State's AG, Senators, and representatives along with those to Consumer Advocates, the media, investigation by FTC and BBB and anything else I could think of. I stated that because they have proven themselves to be unable and unwilling to report accurately in the past that they have forfeited the right, in my opinion, to report the account AT ALL and could not be trusted in the future. Therefore, I demanded that they DELETE the accounts from reporting to the CB's. Five days after sending the third letter with copies of the first two, I sent a fourth letter (again including the previous three) telling them that I was now in the process of retaining a financial investigator (at $500 an hour) to assess damages relating to the pricing of any credit I had obtained or been denied for during the period in which the errors had been on my reports including my 30 year mortgage. I told them that inaction on their part of having the account deleted from the CB's would only serve to escalate my efforts to obtain satisfaction and to seek damages. Needless to say, the accounts were deleted and a letter, which I also requested, was sent to me to keep in my files should the accounts ever show up again.
I have disputed this as a duplicate (the previous one)....I cannot determine if they verified w/ an account in good standing, or if they simply chose to list the account as being in good standing (looks like all of the lates were at least 2 years old-have had some creditors in the past drop lates after 2 years of on time payments on their own). Mist, I cannot believe the hassle you had to go through. Was this all because of a dispute? And I would think (yeah, I know) that the CB software would have some mechanism for overriding the insertion of a duplicate account. This is simple code, not nuclear fission. And finally, I see this as a means of dissuading me from disputing, quite honestly. This particular CB likes to throw curve balls to me every 3-4 disputes.
Experian does not have a way to exclude dups. Nor are they willing, even presented with clear evidence, to delete obvious dups. They "claim" to verify information which is false. I did everything I could with them and they just said I would have to take it up with the creditor since "We don't put anything on your reports...the creditors do." One of the accounts was for a company with whom I had a previous account and had closed. About a year or two after having closed that account I had opened a new one and the new one had a differing account number. There had been a late on the old one which still showed and it ALSO showed on the new account which had a perfect payment history and WAS NOT EVEN IN EXISTANCE at the time of the late on the old account. The other one was an account on which there were two 30-days late (from my having moved and not receiving statements). For this there were dups making two lates look like 5 as they not only dupped the correct account but had reported the account twice and also indicated 2 lates IN THE SAME MONTH which is impossible. It was very messy but all is well now. Mist
