I think I screwed up. I disputed a negative on my report that recently showed up on my credit report. It was filed by a collection agency. I filed a bk in 04 and I think this debt was included in the bk as other debts from the original debtor were. I told the collection agency to call my lawyer and assumed it was resolved. Lawyer said it was but now its on my report. I disputed it online as being a part of the bk. No answer yet. I now realize I should have disputed by mail as not mine. Am I screwed? Did I just confirm the bk which I want to dispute later? Can I change my reason for dispute online? I disputed with transunion and experian. It does not yet show on my equifax. Any help appreciated.
BK 7 or 13? If 13 and you are current or 7, then it is likely best to drop this back in the hands of your attorney and the Bankruptcy Court. Let them sort the whole thing out (like make the CA go away), and then re-dispute to the CRAs, this time in writing and based on hard copies of the reports. As long as the CA considers himself in a position to verify the CRA dispute, he likely will, and he CRAs are not in your corner. Once the BK Court slams the door on the CA, you then have the muscle to get the TL removed. If you are 13 and not current, then there are other issues that likely are of higher priority. A question, if I may: Are all of the trade lines on your CR correctly reflecting the BK?
Bk chapter 7. Filed in May of 04 and discharged Aug 04. Yes all lines that were included in the bk are correctly listed. thanks.
Should I have disputed it as included in bk or not mine? I want to eventually try to get the bk off my report after I work on some credit cards. Have I acknowledged the bk by doing this?
Never dispute as "not mine" if you know it really is. Find some aspect of the reporting to dispute, such as the balance, status, date of delinquency, etc.
"Should have" seems somewhat academic at this point. You will need, I think, the assistance of the Court to clear up the confusion in the mind of the CA. I would think a formal re-dispute might better be pursued after the Court has a chance to work its magic. A complaint now might complicate things later. Do it once (and for all time) is a good maxim. As for acknowledging the BK? It is a matter of public record. Nothing you can do to hide that.
Hedwig, I was going to use the strategy outlined in this article to try to remove some of my negative ccard items. Are you saying I should not. They specifically recommend disputing all negative items as not mine. I am confused. Fourth paragraph down, "How to write a dispute" http://www.googobits.com/print/printer.php?article=2313
There is some incorrect information in that link, and some misguided information, but there is also some truth to parts of it. If you dispute as not mine, they only have to verify that it IS yours. As far as you being able to dispute every month - well, the CRAs are allowed to label your dispute frivolous. The worse thing that happens with your "included in bk" is that the item gets corrected to report as such. The BK is 3.5 years old, which also tells me the account in question is at least that old, if not older. While it will hurt you to some extent the whole time it remains on your report, the negative effects of it lessen as time passes. If the CA does not acknowledge that it was IIB, then further action should be considered.
There is much erroneous information floating around. That's why it's always good to check multiple sources before jumping in. If you dispute as "not mine" and it's verified as being yours, there's not much you can do. If you keep disputing as "not mine' (I notice the article says dispute every month) and it keeps being verified, the CRA will assume it's a frivolous dispute and will ask you to file the police report or other evidence of ID theft. If it's really your account, your only way out is to file a fraudulent affidavit of fraud. Now you are getting into the criminal activity area. Although there are places that will do this sort of thing, it is illegal, and you should stay away from it. You should examine the way the account is reporting and dispute certain items of it. But you should be working from hard copies of your reports from each bureau, not from the online trimerge services. They don't show items exactly the same as the individual reports do.
