I struck a deal to pay Sears and in return they were supposed to stop reporting negative information on the account. I have the letter signed off by Sears.
If Sears declared bankruptcy, it would have been under Chapter 11, for business reorganizations. Sears did get convicted of fraud for getting consumers who had filed for personal bankruptcy to reaffirm their debts to Sears without approval by the bankruptcy courts. http://www.searsarchives.com/history/annual_reports/1998/notes3.htm
If that entry is your account, it doesn't appear they are keeping their agreement. If you never filed bankruptcy, it is also inaccurate. If you had filed bankruptcy and the debt was discharged, but they got you to reaffirm it, that is exactly what they were convicted of. Have you disputed it with the CRAs?
Not yet, it's only appearing under Experian. Do you think if I start disputing so much information my FICO will go down?
What would I say in my dispute? It's in accurate...but do I have to prove that.....or can I just say it's inaccurate, 1) I have never declared bankruptcy, 2) When account was paid, they agreed not to report futher info and here is the proof?
What is the literal wording of your agreement with Sears? Was the agreement with Sears, or with an independent CA? Was part of the debt in dispute, and was that a component of the settlement adjustment?
The high balance was 1271. They settled for 955.00 (which was basically teh amount of teh debit - all their extraneous tacked on fees). I paid it in full... And the wording is.... Dear Joyce XXXX: We have received yoru settlement payment of $955.00 and have eliminated the remaining balance. Your account will be reported to credit reporting agencies as satisfactorily closed. Under this settlement, the terms of the settlement and previous delinquent payment history will not be reported to any credit reporting agencies. If this office can be of futher assistance, please call 1-800-829-0923. Sincerely, COMPUTER INSERTED SIGNATURE S. Lee Account Manager cc Business hours, etc.
When a party breaches a contract, you notify them of their breach, and demand that they remedy. Notify Sears that they are in breach of their agreement with you by reporting damaging and erroneous information, include a copy of the agreement letter, and a redacted copy of your credit report page showing their erroneous entry, and demand that they remove their erroneous and damaging entry and comply with the terms of their agreement. Send it CRRR. Their easiest path is to remove the whole entry, and not quibble over whether they can make any entry at all.
Do you thinkn I can take the shorter route and dispute the item at teh CRA stating that they have failed to take even the least amount of caution - because if they checked they would have seen no chapter 13 bankrupts, and additionally, send a copy of the letter from Sears, and advise them that Sears is breachign their contract and that that allowing an entry to remain could be reported to someone or other, or make them a part to a lawsuit?
No. Given your agreement, Sears is apparently in breach, and for them to be liable for that breach, you must notify them of it and demand that they remedy. Your notification would, of course, also point out the erroneous CH13 entry. They said they would do, or not do, certain things in exchange for your payment of the principal amount. Both parties reached agreement of this, viewed as equitable by both parties at the time, resulting in waiving of late fees and not reporting the account negatively, and the letter documents that agreement. You performed your part; they must perform theirs. Sears is the party reporting in error, and they are the party in breach of your agreement, of which the CRA is not a party and knows nothing. All the CRA will do is ask Sears if the information they are reporting is "correct", and likely some low level clerk will only check their computer files and say "Yes, it matches." Of course, it does. Those are the files causing the error to be reported, and a CRA dispute, which is only coded into a limited number of choices, with no copy of your dispute actually forwarded to Sears, might not get Sears to check any archived records. You don't want to be separately arguing with the CRA about what information is accurate or not, when Sears agreed to remove. You would go down the CRA path if, say, Sears said "We don't think we are reporting that". Then your CRA dispute would formally verify, or allow Sears to change, what they are reporting, to position you for an FCRA suit if they fail. Of course, by that time you would also have a letter from Sears saying whether they intended to report it or not, so they would have taken a position that can be measured by a court against compliance with your contract. You don't want Sears to just remove the Ch13 notation, but add late payment history. Any change they do must be in compliance with your agreement. FCRA compliance, regarding the erroneous Ch 13 notation, would be an additional issue you could raise if you need to go to court. Frame the issue as black and white as you can, with only 2 parties, and responsibility clearly assignable. You add a third party, and you just get finger pointing. Note, I am not an attorney. This is just how I see it, as a consumer who expects companies to meet their obligations.
