I have several questions about the best way to dispute information on my credit report. 1) I received an upgrade in July from MBNA Platinum Plus to MBNA Quantum. However, the old tradeline and balance at the time of the upgrade still shows up on my Equifax credit report. I have taken this up with MBNA with no results after 60 days. Should I take this up with the CRAs or continue waiting for MBNA to act? 2) My student loans were sold several times from one lender to another. On some of the entries, there is no indication of status other than "Pays as Agreed"... is it in my interest to dispute this status? The balance shows as $0 at each of these lenders. In any case, my loans have been paid off. 3) Three years ago, I ran into a little financial crunch, and ran late in paying one bill, a lease payment to Toyota Motor Credit (TMC). I called them in advance of the late payment back then, and they said that since I called it would not be reported to the CRAs... however, this tradeline is on my credit report as having 2 30-day lates. Is it worth disputing? I realize that I should have gotten something in writing from Toyota, but I'm now a little older & wiser. Another possible strategy-I may be buying another Toyota in the next year... could I take a loan contingent on TMC removing this derogatory information from my report? Would this work? Thanks very much for your help, everyone. I have learned much from this forum.
Just my opinion: 1) Re: MBNA call them again, but talk to no little people. It's the big guys that make the decisions, the little folks just follow scenarios fromtheir training manual. Also yes dispute with CRAs also, but simultaneously. Whatever MBNA agrees to get it in writing as support documentation. 2) Student loans: No negatives? If your score is decent with them on there, why bother. Age and payment history helps your score. This will show potential lenders that "Oh yeah, he can pay us our money back! Look at all these paid student loans." 3) First...my opinion...I will never again walk into a dealership without my own financing. Call your bank or credit union ahead of time. Their terms seem much more favorable to the consumer than a bank that doesn't know diddley about you. Dispute the late on TMC and use your IDEA (the letter or phone call) as a bargaining chip. Even ask them if there is a dealership in your area that they would recommend (SUGAR). After they remove it, fix it or whatever, have your salesman work out the deal, tell him you need time to work out the figures and make sure that it's a payment you can afford and you will let him know tomorrow. Tell them to write it up for you. Take your paperwork home...run to the bank and pick up the check..they will be so pissed..this is what I did with my car and then my dad works for GM so I threw in the discount at the last minute...They were pissed. Oh yeah, the DOC fee is BS..never pay this and watch them because they add crap in and change your contract when you get back there with the Finance guy.
1) You have to take up with MBNA, the CRA's will do nothing. You could try disputing the item with the CRA as inaccurate and if they delete it, it will show up the next time it is reported...however that really does you no good because it removes the trade's positive effects. So I would continue to hound MBNA to update your account with accurate information. 2) I am not sure but I think they have no negative effect by saying "paid as agreed" without "never late"..what section of the report are they in? They may actually be a positive effect to your report as a fully paid off loan. 3) Dispute this for sure...as well as call Toyota and see if they will honor their original agreement now by sending a letter to the CRA to update the account as paid on time/never late. -Peace, Dave
Oblomov, I had the exact same problem you are having with Toyota with BMW. I called about 5 times and finally got a name from group called "Exceptional Processing Dept" within BMW. I wrote this lady a letter explaining the situation to her and practically kissed BMWs arse. I practically begged her. The end result was she called me back and get this, apologized for all my troubles and sent me a Universal Data Form in which she requested all the CRA's to remove all negative information from the tradeline. I got the fax from her today. Get a name and go for it.
This is supposedly a form all the all creditors and CA use to request changes. How do I know this? I got a CA to send the exact information they are sending to the CRA to get an account deleted. It looks just like the the one I got from BMW. The top part of the form has the subscriber information and a whole lot of CRA info which is greyed-out by BMW. The middle part has my personal information and the bottom has the current and historical information about the tradeline and the very bottom has the action the subscriber is requesting of the CRA's. I have had great success writing to creditors to remove derogs or entire tradelines by getting a name and writing to them. It has done wonders for me. 2 CA's, BMW and Providian has all responded favorably to these kiss arse letters.
Everyone- Thanks for your replies on this issue. As of this writing, I have followed up with Toyota and MBNA. I'm going to try the "kiss ass" approach with Toyota, and I'll report back here when I find out the results. I will not dispute the student loan info since these credit lines are marked "never late/pays as agreed". BTW the Toyota tradline is my only negative credit info. Otherwise I have very good credit (FICO 756). I'm planning to buy a house within the next 3 months, so it's important to me to clear this up, if possible. My regards.
