I read some info online today that stated that it is possible to write to the CRA's and request they add an account that is not reporting. The info went on to say that as long as the company you have an account with, has a membership with the CRA's they will request validation from the company and then post to your reports. Is this really possible for banks and finance companies that aren't reporting a consumers account?
The CRA won't report the tradeline if you write them, even if the creditor does have a relationship with the CRA. It's unfair really. Best bet is to contact the creditor and request (maybe beg) they report to the CRA's.
I think I got a flyer with my trans union report that said they'd add an account that wasn't being reported after they verified it with the creditor and if the creditor has an account with tu. But they charge you a $5 fee to do this. Luke
Luke, that's just what I read about. A small fee and if the company is a subscriber then it can be added. I will be calling all three CRA's tomorrow to find out for sure. Let's just say I have a few old accounts that have never been reported but I know the finance company is a subscriber.
I've asked my mortgage holder (VERY SMALL BANK) to report my mortgage payments - "Sorry, we're just not set up for that, but you can have a potential creditor call us for account verification and payment history." Basically, they've told me that it costs too much to get set up to report and they don't have enough accounts to report on... Yet they still pulled my credit report when I applied. Nope, not fair, I think if a creditor uses credit reports to make a decision, then they should also have to report payment history once they have extended you credit. Then again - it doesn't hurt my score if I'm ever late.
TeeBee, the big 3 CRA's allow companies of any size to subscribe to their services. The catch is even if a very small lender subscribes to be able to pull reports from the CRA's, that same lender needs to have a min of 500 accounts to report to the CRA's in any given month. The CRA's claim this has to do with the trouble it takes them to upload account data into their systems. The data is not upload via the net but rather but tape disks are sent in code their systems can read. Also keep in mind that as a small lender or even a landlord, you don't need to be a subscriber of the CRA's to get reports....you can always just go through one of many 3rd party venders out there who do have accounts with the CRA's....although the venders can pull reports for a company, each company still needs to have at least 500 accounts to upload.
Right, I understand all of that, I'm just saying it's unfortunate that my bank used my report to make a lending decision, yet they are unable to submit my account information. Due to the very small number of accounts they have to report on, it would not be fiscally feasible for them to susbscribe to the CRA's services. It's just too bad for me and others in my situation because if they could report my mortgage, my scores would be in great shape. But then again, I was able to get my mortgage with them because they are such a small lender, and can still make judgment calls rather than relying solely on scores. It's a catch22 - I got a loan and a house, but it's not doing anything for my credit... =)
My bank also does not report UNLESS you are late or default. They say it is too expensive. I guess the 100K+ they will make on interest on my mortgage will not over the costs. Ha Ha.
