Hi all! I've been doing a lot of reading on the boards and am in need of some advice. In 2002, I had a cellular account balance for under $150 go into collections. I received no calls on this account until 2007, when a CA called asking how I was going to handle this issue. I asked if he'd negotiate and he said yes, so we came to an agreement that I'd give him half of what he was asking for and he would close the account. Fast forward to now... This account shows up on my Exp. and TU reports (don't know about Eqx, since I have to mail in to get it), but it shows up differently on the two reports. Exp. shows status as "Paid,Closed/Collection account" w/ monthly payment of -0- and last reported of 05/07. TU shows status as "Payment After Charge Off/Collection", "Account Type: Open Account", "Date Closed: 05/07", "Past Due: $0". I know that I'm a jackass for taking this guy's word that he'd close the account, but what's going on? My loan agent pointed to the "Open Account" part as a hit on my FICO score. It's closed on Exp. but open on TU. What do you guys think? What should be my first move? I can't very well send a "not mine" after I've paid on it, and the debt is effectively gone since the balances on all reports are $0. Do I dispute with the CRA's with vague language about not understanding the fields, or should I validate with the CA? I'm really interested to know if it helps me that the two reports conflict. Thanks in advance, and I'm sorry if this is simple info that's been repeated on the board before. I'm really stoked that I found you folks, even if you end up hating me for my noob-ness!
I'd go ahead and dispute as "not mine" anyway. Others on here have differing opinions, and I respect that, but here's my reasoning: 1) The CRA has no idea who you are or what you've done in the past. All you are is one of hundreds of millions of faceless records. And all they have is a database entry from the OC or CA. 2) Your previous activity has nothing to do with "not mine". If it did, then anyone who ever had to dispute a past due credit card, repossessed car, foreclosed home, delinquent student loan, or overdue utility -- basically, anyone who ever disputed just about anything -- would be out of luck. 3) The law says they must conduct a reasonable investigation. For the CRA to simply say "Well, the CA *says* it's his, so it must be his" isn't good enough. Since the law doesn't really say what they HAVE to do, a CRA is simply going to do the minimum amount of work that their lawyers feel will keep them out of court. Thus, they'll send a letter to the CA asking for documentation. 4) The CA may or may not respond. If they don't, and even if the debt is actually yours, it may be stricken from your report. Ok, end of my philosophizing. My suggestion is to dispute online as "not mine". If they come back as "verified", dispute as "account was paid / account is closed" or whatever is closest to that. Remember, even if they smash a "not mine" dispute, that doesn't automatically mean the rest of the information is correct.
Ok newb, LOL, mortgage agents are usually the worst at credit advice. ON TU - Type-Open. The account is still not open (as if you could add charges to it), it is reporting as an open ended type loan. (like a credit card), other options in this field might be installment account or charge account. Others may disagree, but I am of the opinion the CA's cannot report an Open Type account. They never issued you credit .
I agree with Jlynn. You already have a violation of the FDCPA and if they verify the "open" account status you have an FCRA cause of action against the furnisher and TU.
Thanks for the responses guys! I wish I knew about this place before I paid the damned CA. On Friday, I disputed the Trans Union one as containing multiple inaccuracies, no explanation. On Experian I said the same and demanded that they investigate. I'll let you know what happens. Thanks again!
