Thanks for your help in advance. I have been reading the forum for a while. To make a long story short, in 2008 I hired a Credit Repair Company to clean up my credit. They did a decent job but I moved to Dubai in 2009 for work where I spent the next 3 years. That stopped our efforts to finish cleaning up the CR. It also introduced new issues as loans were sold to other companies etc and I wasn't receiving mail since USPS doesnt forward to other countries. I rehired the Credit Repair Company in January 2012 when I moved back to US but they have gone MIA and it looks like I am on my own to finish fixing this. A lot of negative info was removed, but there is still some left. My goal is to clean up my CR once and for all so I can move forward from mistakes made. I don't know what direction to go in though since I am at a loss as to what the Credit Repaid company did. Do I dispute through CRA again, CA, OC or send GW letters? Sorry for the long post but any help would be greatly appreciated. CAs - Not sure if either of these are legit. I don't believe they are. AFNI - Original creditor ATT Mobility - Date opened 02/2012 - Balance amount $209 - This began reporting in 2009 when I was in Dubai under a different CA, but shows date opened as 02/2012 so it must have been sold to AFNI. I have never received a phone call or a bill in the mail from them. On a CR from profinity it is showing as being reported by Experian and TransUnion but on a CR by Experian it is only showing as being reported by TransUnion. Not sure the best way to precede? Midland Funding - Original Creditor is HSBC Bank Nevada NA - Date opened 02/2012 - Balance Amount $676 - High/Limit $511 - Reported by Experian and TransUnion. Not sure if they were on previous CR. Have never received phone call or mail. Also not sure best way to precede? Charge Off WF Card/WB - Revolving - Equifax - Date Open - 08/2006 | High Limit : $8000 | Acct. Balance : $0 | last reported 04/2012 | Acct. Status : Settled | Amt. Past due: - | Days Past Due 90+ = 3 Experian: Date Open - 08/2006 | High Limit : $8000 | Acct. Balance : - | Last reported 06/2008 | Acct. status : settled | Amt past due : $9407 | Days past due: none TransUnion: Not listed Comments: Experian election of remedy Experian Amt Past Due Value is Charge off Amount Then in the experian 24 month history is has C C C C C C Any methods to get rid of this? I made phone calls to the OCs for all remaining negative info on CR today to see what they had in their records. HSBC/Neimn - Revolving HSBC said they have no records of this account anymore in my conversation. Equifax - Date open 03/2007 | High Limit :$505 | Acct. Balance : $0 | Last reported 04/2012 | Acct. Status aid | Amount Past Due : - | Equifax removed all negative items 04/12 Experian - all same info but high limit is $520 and last reported on 02/2009. There are (2) 30 days, (2) 60 days, (6) 90 days TransUnion - all same info but high limit is $520 and last reported 04/2008. There are (2) 30 days, (2) 60 days, (6) 90 days Comments: Experian Dispute resolved - consumer disagrees TransUnion Charge Account Not sure if it is more effective to go through OC or CRA on this. OC admitted they have no record. HSBC Bank - Revolving This took about 7 phone calls to HSBC and Capital 1. Finally a guy got on who worked for HSBC but was helping to transition all the accounts over to Capital One since they bought them. Equifax: No Record Experian - Date opened: 04/2007 | High Limit : $300 | Last Reported: 07/2009 | Acct. Status: Closed TransUnion - Date opened 04/2007| High Limit: $511 | Last reported: 07/2009 | Acct. Status : Paid Comments: Experian dispute resolved - consumer disagrees Transunion Credit Card Experian Sold To: LHR Inc Transunion Collateral : SLDTO LHR INC LHR does not show up on my credit report at all. No clue who they are. No clue how to precede ACS/Wells Fargo - Installment This was originally with Wachovia and was split into 2 different loans and sold to 2 different companies. I had no clue since I was in Dubai and continued paying Wachovia. As a result I got slammed. This was never disputed. The info is correct. (2) 60 day and (5) 90+ from 2009/2010. I have had a perfect 24 month payment history on it over the past 2 years. I thought a GW letter would work here since this is a student loan and I will be paying it off for a while. Wells Fargo - Installment Perfect 24 month payment history but again living in Dubai messed things up. Equifax: (4) 30 day later, (3) 60s | Experian (3) 30 days, (3) 60s | TransUnion (2) 30 days, (2) 60s Comments: Experian Dispute Resolved - consumer disagrees Transunion student loan I though GW for this too since my payment history has been great the past 2 years HSBC Bank - Revolving This was a line of credit that was closed due to (1) 60 day late. Again living in Dubai. I continue to pay the balance off monthly with HSBC. Equifax: Shows Acct. Status Closed Transunion: Shows Acct. Status Open Experian: Act. Status Closed Comments: Experian account in dispute - reported by subscriber (FCBA) - What does this mean?? Not sure what the hell is going on with this or how to precede Chase Auto: Paid off Car loan in 2009 when I moved to Dubai Equifax: Acct Status: Paid |(6) 30 day lates Experian : Acct Status: Paid | (9) 30 day lates Transunion: Acct. Status: Closed | (8) 30 day lates Comments: Experian dispute resolved - consumer disagrees Not sure what to do with this. GW? Again thanks for helping me formulate a plan to attack these.
General disclaimer: We aren't lawyers, and we can't provide specific legal advice. Most of the Senior members have spent years of personal effort in learning how things work, but we can only say what we would personally do if we were in your situation. I am typing this on my cell phone so I can't easily refer to all the accounts specifically, right now. In general, my recommendation is to usually do the following process... 1. Request validation from the CA. It's not only to determine if it's your debt, but also to make sure the amount of the debt is correct. (Certified Mail or FAX) 2. When the CA receives the validation letter. Send a specific dispute to the CRAs that are reporting the debt. 3. Wait the 30 days for the CRA to complete it's investigation.
So, if I were in your place, I would use the above method to do disputes with AFNI, LHR, and Midland. The OC not having records any more may or may not help to get the account removed, a lot of people have found that at times they may talk with 20 people at a company, and none of them are able to pull up the account, and yet if they talk to the 'right' (or wrong) person, guess what the whole thing becomes visible magically. The verification process is largely automated, which means that there is a chance that the computer which researches the dispute may be able to find things that the CSRs can't access on their own. So both Wells Fargo accounts were one account, then the Wachovia/Wells Fargo merger split the accounts, and the payment only went to one of the accounts, instead of both? A goodwill on both accounts should be able to help, if not keep going higher and higher until you see movement. "Experian account in dispute - reported by subscriber (FCBA)" Under the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), and Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a creditor must report a notation to credit files if the account is in dispute by the consumer. After a bit of research, I found the following contact information for you. I would address them via facsimile, and keep the fax receipts for evidence. Then you can fax the disputes to the CRAs as well. Afni, Inc. Ronald L. Greene, President, CEO Alicia Williams, Ethics Contact 404 Brock Dr Bloomington, IL 61701-2654 Phone: (309) 828-5226 Fax: (877) 435-8073 Greg Call, Esq., SVP & General Counsel Midland Credit Management Inc 8875 Aero Dr Ste 200 San Diego, CA 92123-2255 Phone: (858) 569-3978 Fax: (858) 309-6977 LHR Inc. Wayne B. Lewis, President Susan Crandall, Ethics Contact 56 Main St Hamburg, NY 14075-4905 Phone: (716) 648-6489 Fax: (716) 648-3484
I am a newbie as well, look at all the letters in the sample letter forum. Use the validation letter (DV) letter to send to the CA. Adjust the letter to fit your situation. Nunna's advice is right on.
Just keep in mind that the sample letters ask for some unneccessary things. Simpler is often better. "What the $#@& are you talking about." qualifies...
