unathorized inq.

I think the widespread panic about signatures is way overblown. Your signature assures the communiciation is from you. Are you worried about their "lifting" your signature? Then sign it over a watermark, like the date or even the purpose of the letter - "Citibank, 11/04/03"

Less obvious watermarking would be to incorporate a name as your middle name, or in your name itself itself. Most signatures are very hard to read, leverage it!

A letter on PFB could be from/for anyone - no way to authenticate. I have NO problem with requiring decent identification, like a letter w/a postal address, before making changes to my account.

 

Send Citibank a CRRR letter asking them to explain their permissible purpose (PP) for the inquiry. If they refuse to respond or respond with an inaccurate reason, then you can sue them in small claims court for $1000. If they refuse to explain their PP to you, then make them explain it to the judge.

This is assuming that they had no valid PP in the first place. Why do you think they made the inquiry? If they really had no valid PP, wouldn't it be much better to get a check from them for $1000 than to simply get rid of the inquiry?

Personally, I would not send them either my signature or a copy of my credit report as the FCRA does not require you to do that in order to dispute their information. They are just stalling and are hoping you will get frustrated and simply go away.

 

Re: Re: unathorized inq.

On second thought, my letter to Citibank would definitely have my signature at the bottom, so I agree with DanS and would have no problem providing them my signature in that manner.

 

"Less obvious watermarking would be to incorporate a name as your middle name, or in your name itself itself. Most signatures are very hard to read, leverage it!" DanS


Maybe this is naive of me to ask, but I am curious as to how to do this in particular. Could you explain it, sounds like a good idea, just not sure how to do it. Thanks

 

Re: Re: Re: unathorized inq.

What I meant was that although I wouldn't specifically send them a signed letter just because they asked for it, I wouldn't be afraid to sign my name at the bottom of my letter requesting an explanation for their PP. Usually that's the letter I send first. I've used these letters as evidence in court to win $1000 judgments and feel that my signature makes the letter official and shows the judge that I have nothing to hide. You want the judge to think that Citibank is the one playing games and not you.

However, it sounds like you have already requested their PP and they have (twice) refused to provide it. In my experience, the creditors either don't respond or else they send you a letter saying they have no knowledge of the inquiry and requesting a copy of your credit report so they can investigate it further (and I do not send it to them because they don't need it). I also received one letter documenting a PP that was not valid, and that should prove very useful to me at my upcoming trial in December.

Did you have an open account with them or an overdue account that would provide a PP for either account review or collection purposes? Could the inquiry have been a promotional inquiry? If not, then it's time to cease writing to Citibank and begin filing a suit in small claims court. Like I said, if they refuse to explain their PP to you then let them explain it to the judge for $1000.

 

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In my opinion you should not bother replying to their letter and should proceed with filing your suit in small claims court. Use your previous two letters as evidence to the judge that Citibank failed to explain and provide a valid PP for the inquiry. The obvious reason they failed to explain it is because they know there was no valid PP and therefore they are liable to you for the statutory $1000 violation under the FCRA. The statute of limitations for filing suit is two years from the date of the inquiry, so don't wait too long to file.

The rules for filing a lawsuit vary from state to state. Contact your local court and ask for a copy of their small claims procedures. Read and follow those procedures exactly as stated. You will also need to provide service of process against Citibank before the suit can proceed. Contact your own Secretary of State (or their web site) to see if Citibank has a Registered Agent in your state for the service of process.

Read the FAQ on this board before proceeding to understand more about filing a lawsuit in small claims court. The good thing about small claims is that you really have nothing to lose other than the small filing fee and a few hours of your time, yet stand to gain $1000 if you win. If your facts are as you state, then you have an excellent case.

 

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Maybe you can find out this information from your state's banking department if they have one (I know NY State does)