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     | Sunday, March 19, 2000 - 07:27 am  Has anyone had any luck having deragatory information removed from their report with Equifax? I have challenged several things with both mine and my spouses. They have claimed to verify all of them. One such thing was a car that was repossed in 1987 and we filed bankruptsy in 1989 and included this in the bk. Equifax reports last activity as 9/95 and says the bank has verified it. I have sent three follow up letters and they have not responed. This listing is not being reported on the other two CRA report. I am also having difficulties with Trans Union. I mailed a letter to them six weeks ago, they responed that they received it. I have sent follow up letters and have not heard from them. I not sure how to proceed. Experian responed quickly to the same issue and promptly fixed the error. I have followed up with the bank who said Experian did ask for verification and they told them I was never late - but trans union has not sent any letters yet. How should I proceed.
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| | Sunday, March 19, 2000 - 08:24 am When I began trying to correct the reports last fall, CSC-Equifax was the quickest of the three. They actually had a real person willing to work via fax as well. The errors were corrected inside of a 30-day window. The office I was working with was CSC-Houston. I'm not sure if I got lucky or if they responded faster due to sending it out on office letterhead (small law office), but I haven't had any other problems with their report. The only problem is that I have found very few people that use anyone other than Experian for the credit scoring on a new application.
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| | Sunday, March 19, 2000 - 08:24 am Yes, I have had Equifax delete information. If you've sent three letters, all certified mail, and you have gotten no satisfaction then you need to take it to the next level. I recommend that you ask them for details of how they verified the debt -- who they talked to, when, at what number, etc. I believe the FCRA entitles you to all this. You should also discuss with an attorney the possibility of a lawsuit. As for Trans Union, if you have a cooperative creditor the best thing to do is to get information from the creditor confirming what you say is true and to forward that along with your dispute to Trans Union. I'd also send a copy of your return receipt (did you send the dispute certified mail?) to the Federal Trade Commission along with a letter complaining that Trans Union hasn't responded in the thirty days they're supposed to have responded in. In general credit reporting agency personnel are incompetent. Experian used to have negative information on their files for me and even with a letter from the creditor acknowledging that the information Experian had was wrong it still took two disputes to get it cleared. Persistance pays off.
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| | Sunday, March 19, 2000 - 12:25 pm Sean, the FCRA entitles a consumer to a LOT. But, it obviously isn't stopping the CRA's from blatantly ignoring laws. I have asked, in writing, sent certified, for details on whom they contacted for verification. The CRA simply ignores my repeated requests. I'm building up a paper file for lawsuit, but in the back of my mind I know I'll never file suit. I can't afford a lawyer.
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| | Monday, March 20, 2000 - 06:43 am My personal experience has been as follows: Equifax Letter # 1: Disputed about 7 entries, 3 were deleted, 4 came back as "creditor verified the information". Equifax Letter # 2: Requested creditor information, got back a list of ALL my creditors with their addresses and 800 numbers. I had to contact each of the remaining 4 creditors (often the 800 number was not the correct department, and often that person referred me to another which referred me to another, etc.) After about a month, I got to the proper person who verified that the CRA's entry was in error (makes you wonder what the CRA did in the first place to "verify"). Got the creditor to send me a letter to that effect. Experian Letter # 3: Included copy of the letter I had just received from the credit, demanding they delete the entry. Entry was then deleted. Total time: aporox 4 months Hope you have a comfortable desk and chair to sit in.
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| | Monday, March 20, 2000 - 11:13 am Hello above... All they sent you was "boilerplate" information one can gather easily on the net or phonebook. The law allows for the consumer to get the "actual" contact information for each disputed item. That means the *real* person they conversed with regarding that specific item. ... it's obvious they RARELY contact ANYONE regarding innacuracies. If they did nobody would have any problems.
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| | Monday, March 20, 2000 - 12:18 pm If you filed suit, what would you say were your damages?
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| | Monday, March 20, 2000 - 12:48 pm As you already know, Greg, that's a tough one! Can I say I'm "damaged" because of incorrectly reported information which "may" result in a disapproval for credit, or at best a bad rate? We all know incorrect info results in a lower score, but to document it one must make credit applications which themselves further lower the score. And, how can one "prove" it was a specific entry which had an impact on the score? I believe incorrect information on it's face is "damage" enough! Probably comes back to scoring... If we can get the before-and-after scores while correcting mistakes we would have some hard evidence to work with.
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| | Monday, March 20, 2000 - 07:26 pm It is indeed a quagmire. That my question is impossible to answer proves it. The award to the consumer should be a statutory amount-- as in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. [If you want to remain anonymous, you can post with a name, but not an email address (by using *@*) in the email entry box. I can't tell which anonymous I'm responding to. You be "Bucky."]
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| | Tuesday, March 21, 2000 - 10:00 am Anything in a BK filed in 1989 has to be gone today. You can sue, and you will win. Damages? In federal court, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life are recoverable damages. You have to ask for an amount (up to you) and you have to convince the jury. Six people in the same boat as you. This will take you several years, but lets say you ask for 400,000, and you convince the jury. Can you save 400k in 2 or 3 years? Equifax makes 400k in about 30 minutes.
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| | Tuesday, March 21, 2000 - 10:44 am Gary: What are these (say, just one of them) people doing wrong? http://www.bayhouse.com/discus/messages/4/407.html?953152270#POST2590
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| | Tuesday, March 21, 2000 - 11:16 am The answer is they were all filed PRIOR to the amendments to the FCRA. The amendments were made for the very purpose of what you just pointed out!
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| | Tuesday, March 21, 2000 - 11:22 am Please explain. And how about using a name and *@* for your email address? You be "Gonzo." Can you name one example of a post amendments suit?
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| | Thursday, March 23, 2000 - 03:24 pm My two cents: I have worked in the Credit/Collections industry for 15 years. Generally speaking, items fall off of your credit report 7-10 years from the date of "last activity". This means if your file was sent to collection or reviewed and reported routinely it would fall off 7-10 years AFTER that date. Not, for instance, the date the debt is incurred, the date the bankruptcy is dismissed, etc. Some of these items seem to have a life of their own....
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| | Friday, March 24, 2000 - 05:04 am Lori, in what capacity did you work in credit? For what type of company did you work?
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