Answer to: "Illegal for us to change your credit histor

Anonymous · June 30, 2003

I have called several OC's and CA's to remove late pays and to pay-off and delete an account. I have been getting the same answer lately. "It is illegal for us to change your credit history" or "We could lose our license to changing the facts" or "Credit Reporting is fact based, and we could get in trouble for lying"

I am getting down right pissed off at hearing this statement. They start murmuring in general terms about how they are not allowed to change items reported to the collection agencies, how they are being investigated and could lose their "license." One even mentioned ENRON to me. WTF? That has nothing to do with anything.

I ask them what law they would be violating, they say that don't have it in front of them.

I tell them I am asking for a negative item to be removed, not for a statement that it never happened. They say that is would be false.

How has everyone else handled this? Suggests to me there is no merit in going for the straight-up "I have been a good customer, may have been late but it was over a year ago, and could you remove the negative items" approach.

There has to be an way to sue them for "lying" to you about this. It would seem to violate the FCRA for them to lie to you about the law, say they are under investigation, say they don't ever change reports, when they clearly do. Need to find a provision.

If you get it in print (letter) and rely on it to your detriment, it would be fraud.

Any other advice? I suppose you just have to go lying yourself - dispute it even if it is accurate, then use it as leverage to get them to delete the information.

BrassFan · June 30, 2003

<blockquote>Originally posted by jbrettgriffin

How has everyone else handled this? Suggests to me there is no merit in going for the straight-up "I have been a good customer, may have been late but it was over a year ago, and could you remove the negative items" approach.

This is totally hit or miss. It all depends on who gets your request, and how they are feeling. Many people have sent numerous goodwill requests before finally getting something updated.

There has to be an way to sue them for "lying" to you about this. It would seem to violate the FCRA for them to lie to you about the law, say they are under investigation, say they don't ever change reports, when they clearly do. Need to find a provision.

If the information they are reporting is correct, a lawsuit is a bad idea. I'm not sure if they are violating the FCRA by telling you they can only report accurate information, and that they can't remove correct negative information. The FCRA has no provisions for them to remove correct information. What are you going to do, walk into court and tell the judge, "Your honor....I was late 3 times with this account, and I asked them to remove it from my credit report. They say they can't do that, and that's a lie, so I want them to pay me money?"

Don't take this the wrong way, I'm not trying to make fun of you....just pointing out that a lawsuit wouldn't get this fixed. The best thing to do is try another goodwill attempt (do it in writing, and make it the nicest letter you've ever written). If that doesn't work, then try disputing it with the CRAs

If you get it in print (letter) and rely on it to your detriment, it would be fraud.

Any other advice? I suppose you just have to go lying yourself - dispute it even if it is accurate, then use it as leverage to get them to delete the information.

</blockquote>

CTownTerryM · July 1, 2003

Hi! I had to jump in on this, because I have a problem with an account from Chadwick's of Boston. Who, by the way, is on the BBB's top 10 complained about businesses - and lo and behold about 80% of the problems are with their credit area.

Long story short, I bought a boatload of stuff. It was all on deferred billing. Apparently the last shipment that went out for $39 - they f'd up and never charged it to the credit card on file for the deferred billing.

So no notice of outstanding balance - they sent it to their collection department. In checking my credit report, I found the collection entry. So I paid it and requested it be removed due to the circumstances. Then, it was updated to "Paid after collection".

I wrote them a letter reminding them that they never notified me of the outstanding balance and I wanted the item removed compeletly. They said that it would be illegal for them to remove the entry, as technically, it was correct. They would lose their licensing and have to pay a fine for reporting incorrect information, blah blah blah.

So, unfortunately - they wouldn't budge and gave me the same bull-crap and wouldn't change it even though they screwed up. :@ So, I just keep sending a complaint to the BBB, and they keep responding to them that they "notified the CB that the account was paid in full". I keep sending the letters back to keep it as an open item, unresolved. Maybe if I drive them nuts with this they'll cave.

calawyer · July 1, 2003

The contract between the OC and CRA requires the OC to report truthfully. However, they screw up all the time and are never sued by the CRA for breach of contract. If you are attempting to settle a debt, insist upon "clean" reporting. If they want to be paid bad enough (and they do), they may eventually agree.

adam · July 6, 2003

I got that same answer from a CA when I initially tried to contact them about 6 weeks ago. Keep in mind I was offering to pay the account in full if they would delete from credit reports. I sent them a "Delete Account from my Credit Report" request (about 5 weeks ago) and received a letter back (dated June 4th) stating that "the account cannot be deleted from your credit file due to our agreement with Equifax." [what a bunch of BS]. I just sent them "Sample Letter #10-Validate & Remove". If they don't agree to accept full payment AND DELETE from report, I will simotaneously dispute w/ them and CRA. Has anyone had any luck trying to have accounts deleted b/f disputing with CRA?

bu9418 · July 7, 2003

I had a CA that was sent to them $780 in August 2000. It was for family counseling. The counselor saw my kids and me all through my divorce and afterward. I have/had custody of my kids and felt it was necessary to continue the counseling. My ex-wife (that's another story) sued me for furniture and contempt of court because I wouldn't allow the kids to visit her one summer (2000). The counselor testified on my behalf, but I got the shaft. Anyway, I disputed the bill because I didn't understand what the charges were.

Anyway, after three years, I decided to pay this off. Keep in mind, the CA never had contact with me. I never spoke with them. I never replied to any correspondence I might have received.

So, mid-June, I sent a GW letter to the CA stating "Although I have disputed this debt for 3 years, I am going to pay the amount in full within 1 month. I would like you to remove your entry from my credit reports in exchange for receiving payment in full. Please reply within 10 days. If I don't hear from you in 10 days, I will simply pay the doctor's office and state that my payment is voluntary and is not any way, shape or form due to your collection efforts."

The CA responded by stating when the account was assigned, the amount. They also stated "Our records indicate we have called you 25 times and sent you 6 letters. Our entry on your credit file will be there until August 2007. Furthermore, I have gone over your account with the Office Manager for [doctor]. They have instructed me to file suit if you haven't paid this account in full by July 1."

I replied to the CA with a DV, demanding 1) signature documents 2) their authority to collect said debt 3) stating the account was disputed 4) general editorial that if they don't validate the debt, including making note that it is disputed, I will file suit against them. I also forwarded their written statement to the Doctor's office and asked that they re-claime the debt so that I could pay them directly. I stated that under no circumstances would I pay the CA.

I paid the OC on June 27 (which is what I intended to do all along) and disputed the debt with EQ, and TU. The CA has not replied since I sent the DV letter on the 18th. I

ADSOFT · July 7, 2003