(long, sorry)Been at this repair for more than 1 year now and am down to 1 derog left (all 3 reports). I've managed to have several derogs deleted after many hours of research and much helpful advice from this board. Most were small amounts and had blatant violations which made removal relatively easy. This one has me stumped, though. Sears has violated my rights so many times, but they won't budge. They won't acknowledge my letters to them and all they do is verify to CRA's. I don't know what the best way to tackle this animal is and it is (supposed) to fall off in '04 so I don't want to screw that up. But, I would really like to take care of it--even if it means I have to pay them the whopping $200 that I don't owe them, because this really hurts my scores, and I also don't want it to 'reappear' with RMA in '04. ** Background: acct charged off 8/97 (DOLA) I agreed to a settlement with their CA/atty in May 2000 for 50% of amount plus legal fees. CA verifies this info to me over the phone (have recorded), says they received payment in full for ENTIRE account balance and reported this to Sears and that Sears is 'notorious' for incorrectly reporting account information. CA won't ever send me a copy of the information as I request, though, and I (stupidly) did not keep any records of the transaction. Well, Sears just applied the settlement to the balance due, leaving a 'past due' amount of roughly $200 (this is illegal by Arkansas state law, but how to enforce??). Since MARCH of 2001 (?don't know where they got this date from?) they have monthly reported this 'recent balance' to CRA's significantly damaging my scores. They have verified the tradelines below. I approached Sears with a confidential settlement offer for alleged account which I thought was reasonable (2/3 of disputed amount for deletion), but they have done nothing but ignore me. They have never contacted me about this alleged amount due?? **EQ Whose Account INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNT Date Opened 04/1994 Last Activity 08/1997 Type of Account Revolving Account Status CHARGE-OFF Months Reviewed 52 High Credit $0 Terms Balance $200 Past Due 200 Date Reported 02/2003 Times Past Due Previous High Status: 120+ days past due 02/1998; 120+ days past due 01/1998; 120+ days past due 12/1997; 30 Days 04 60 Days 02 90 Days 06 Description CHARGED OFF ACCOUNT CLOSED ACCOUNT Credit Grantor Information Sears **EXP Account charged off/Past due 180 days. $590 written off. $200 past due as of 2-2003. Status Details: This account is scheduled to continue on record until 9-2004. This item was verified on 11-2002 and remained unchanged. Date Opened: 04/1994 Type: Revolving Reported Since: 05/1994 Terms: NA Date of Status: 03/1998 Monthly Payment: $0 Last Reported: 02/2003 Responsibility: Individual Credit Limit/Original Amount: NA High Balance: $1203 Recent Balance: $200 as of 02/2003 Recent Payment: $0 Account History: Charge Off as of 10-1999 to 2-2003, 10-1998, 7-1998 to 9-1998, 3-1998 to 5-1998 180 days as of 2-1998 150 days as of 1-1998 120 days as of 12-1997 90 days as of 11-1997, 3-1997 60 days as of 10-1997, 2-1997 30 days as of 9-1997, 6-1997, 1-1997, 8-1996 Balance History: $20001/2003 $200 12/2002 $200 11/2002 $200 10/2002 $200 09/2002 $200 08/2002 $200 07/2002 $200 06/2002 $200 05/2002 $200 04/2002 $200 03/2002 $200 02/2002 $200 01/2002 $200 12/2001 $200 11/2001 $200 10/2001 $200 09/2001 $200 08/2001 $200 07/2001 $200 06/2001 $200 05/2001 $200 04/2001 $200 03/2001 Between 3-2001 and 1-2003, your credit limit/high balance was $1,203 ??How can they report the full balance or even a 'recent balance' as being due every month since 3/2001? ??I don't even care if I have to pay those $%*^('s the full $200 anymore (even though I do NOT owe it and SOL long over), but how can I do this without further damaging my CR's? ??Assuming I pay it, how do I keep them from reaging the acct again?? ??How could I dispute the gory details of this mess to CRA's without getting called 'frivilous'?? HELP???? Thanks in advance!!
Recent balance?? Noooooooooo!! Sears is spiteful and vindictive - if you sue them they will show up in court most likely, and they won't settle for deletion. That is probably your only choice. If this is really your last derog, I would send one more letter - a copy of my credit report, highlight the "recent balance" part and tell them you intend to sue them on such and such a date if they do not remove that notation. Then do it. They will not respond to your letter, most likely, and they probably will show up in court. If it were me, I would go apply for something score driven, and get declined, so I had more of a reason to sue. You might not even win it, depends on the judge's mindset, but at least you won't have been a doormat for them. I don't think there is anything you can do about the settlement since you handled it the way you did - live and learn. Always get their agreement in writing before you pay, and keep everything.
It really can't reappear in '04 no matter what happens. If so it is an illegal reageing of the debt. You could really hang one on them if they did that. Not Sears if they didn't do it but whoever caused it to reappear.
Sorry, I kind of miss-spoke...what I really meant was that I didn't feel like dealing with RMA (or whatever scumsucker CA) that they might choose to use when the 7 years is up in '04. I think what bothers me the most about this mess is the fact that Sears doesn't even seem to want the money. Through my original settlement (including more than $300 in 'legal fees') and through the payments I made originally to them, I have more than paid them what I owed. They simply seem interested in damaging my credit profile as badly as possible. Oh, how I wish that I had found CreditNet some 3 years ago, so I would have known to keep the documentation from the settlement. Guess I did learn that one the hard way.... I am holding out hope for the CA/atty that Sears used in original settlement. They have been very helpful and provide all of the info I need over the phone, even say that they stopped handling Sears accts because of this type of behavior by them. They are supposed to fax me a copy of the settlement this afternoon--which does contain the original amount and that I paid with a cashier's check marked 'acct XXXXXX paid in full', and the complete terms of the settlement. I would be more than willing to go to battle with them if I had that in my possession. Hopefully.......
