We all discuss having cra's "verify" or "validate" items. What is this really? Do they simply contact the co. that first (often erroneously) reported to them and say "so you still thing Joe Consumer owes you? Okay then ... verified!" Or are they required to dig deeper and, de-facto, act like judge/jury of whether a certain charge or item is sensible and true?
We all need to understand the enormous distinction between verification and validation. http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/special/19990820.asp He says a credit bureau's typical investigation "consists of calling the creditor and saying, 'Is this a legitimate debt?' and they say, 'Yeah, it says it is here.' " Once the credit bureau has done this, it replies to the consumer that it has verified the information as accurate. Generally, that's the way it's done, acknowledge representatives of the big three credit bureaus. This is the main reason I don't like the "not mine" dispute. It's just too easy for them to "verify". Them: Is it his or not? Answer: Yes Them: Okee doke, bye
1*Do they simply contact the co. that first (often erroneously) reported to them and say "so you still think Joe Consumer owes you? Okay then ... verified!" kseab ==================== 1*Howe'd Ya guess? You can liken verification to asking the fox guarding the hen house if he's killed any chickens.
So what we should request is that they "Validate" an item? How is this done differently - a whole other form/set of letters or simply a one word change from "verify" to "validate" will do it?
Its not the only way that they verify. I was down paying an old utility bill (courtesy of the ex-wife) and I saw sitting on the clerk's desk a big stack of forms with "Experian" typed across the top of them. They were verification of debt forms for disputed accounts. There also is a system where they can verify via electronic messaging. Here's a link for info about how it is done. Its really a great and informative document: http://www.jtexconsumerlaw.com/FCRA.pdf Anyway they do it, the system stinks. Lots of room for errors and sloppy confirmations. This fact can work to our advantage though.
