     Daniel Tretola (Dant) | Tuesday, July 25, 2000 - 10:36 am 
So here is this wonderful story... I hope I can do it justice, and make it understandable.
I had a visa credit card from a Bank called Jefferson Bank. I was going through some financial problems around 5/98, and was unable to pay the minimum fee. Well, as you know, a late fee then gets assessed, and that is then included with your minimum payment. Before I knew it, I had recieved a piece of mail stating that I had 7 days from the date on the letter to get them a payment or else they would close my account. As is usually the case, by the time I got the letter, it was already the 7th day. I called, and the person told me not to worry about it, and just fed-ex my payment for overnight, and they would take care of the rest. Guess what? They got the payment the next day, and still closed the account. I called up, and to no avail (heck, they got their payment), they "comprimised" with me, and stated that is the next 3 months had good payment, they'd re-open the account. So, I was getting out of my financial problems, so none of this was a problem. I got my payments in on time, and then called 3 months later, and got the account re-opened.
Fast forward to December 1999. I was still ticked about the company doing this, and so I decided, I would cancel the credit card ($0 balance left). I canceled the card. Then I get this letter in the mail dated Feb 1st, 2000 (which I recieve Feb 10th) telling me that they regret to tell me that due to a recent review of my credit record, they are terminating my Visa Credit Card and Account. The termination is to be effective Feb 7,2000. The reason- Serious delinquency and Proportion of Balance to High Credit on Banking Revolving or all Revolving Accounts. (The only lates I had were from THEM when they closed my account the FIRST TIME!)
I call up, to tell then I had cancelled my acount 2 months prior to this! They tell me that hey see it that way too, and not to worry about it. I then pull my credit report just to make sure. Guess what? "Closed by credit grantor". I call up, and am told that they will reverse this. It never happens. I call up In March, and tell them it never got changed. So I am then told to write them a letter. I do. Then I wait another month. In the meantime the bank gets bought out by Hudson Bank. I check the credit report, no change yet, I call up again.
Now, this is where the story gets almost unbelieveable. They no longer have me in their computer records, because my account has been closed (by ME in December not them in Feb) for 6 months! They have no record of my account on their files. I ask to speak to someone who does, and I am not allowed that. My point of contact is them! People who don't have any information about me on hand! I tell them about the letter (which by the way, did have a return receipt that I still have). They tell me to resend it, and I refused, I told them I had a return receipt proving they got it, why should I resend it. So then they ask me question, upon question, upon question. It gets determined that I didn't send them a COPY of my credit report. Come on now, I shouldn't have to send them a copy. Whatever, I send it to them. They recieve it again, and guess what, to this day, "closed by credit grantor". This upsets me, but TU told me it won't effect my credit score, should I believe them, and should I even care that it says this?
Should I sue?
HELP!
-Dan |
| Christine Baker (Admin) | Tuesday, July 25, 2000 - 11:06 am
Well, TU lied again. "Closed by Grantor" DOES impact negatively on your credit.
Whether you should care depends on the rest of your credit and your plans for the future. If you're working on improving your Scores, you need to get that changed.
You COULD sue, but not in Small Claims. So it depends on how much time and money you have.
I know how irritating this is, the time you've wasted.
I'd dispute directly with the bureaus, and since Hudson Bank doesn't have your records anymore, it can't be verified. If they DO verify, you'll have it in writing.
You might want to hire a friend to do the work, pay $100 to $200, and THEN go to Small Claims to sue for your expenses. |
| Daniel Tretola (Dant) | Tuesday, July 25, 2000 - 12:32 pm
Christine,
I disputed with TU, but not the other 3. I don't have their numbers to call them. Why should I have to pay $8 a pop to dispute something. (I would have to buy the report, then dispute the inaccuracy). I know it is on the report. Do you happen to have their numbers so I can ask them to dispute it? Or as them for the forms to dispute. The only thing I can reach is their damn automated system asking me to purchase the report. The ridiculousness (a new word invented by me in the course of this process) of the whole credit bureau industry is astounding. I need to pay them to dispute something that is incorrect. It's enough to get you to give up and accept it. I happen to want my credit cleaned up though, and I will be persistant, but it is SOOOOO ridiculous. Why is it set up for Corporate America to easily get their things done, and the individual to jump through endless hoops. I speculate that Jefferson Bank closed my account because they didn't like the fact that I closed it. Excuse my French, but this is F*cked up. They like to F*ck with me for some reason.
-Dan |
