No Acount Number on Credit Report

[penman]

My sister is in the process of doinga refinance of a mortgage. On her credit report(EQUIFAX) it shows her as a joint user of a credit card. She has never had

a chase card but her husband did. He passed away a few years ago but it shows up on her credit report as a charge of. She does not recall ever signing for this card as a joint user. Her husband may have put her on it as a authorized user.

The date of last activity shows as January 2002 so in here california the sol will be up in January.

My question is should this be disputed now as "not mine" or disupute it because on the entry in the credit report it does not show any account number. Thanks

for any help.

Penman

[pilgrimfaraway]

Here's what I do with accounts that I don't recall. They will be gone in 2-5 days:

1. Call customer service and request a copy of the signed contract.

2. Almost always they say that they cannot provide that and their physical records don't go back that far

3. Determine if I had made payments on the account by asking for copies of checks paid. They will confirm that they don't have such records.

4. Check personal checking records to see if I had paid such an account

If all the above results in nothing then I assume that the account isn't mine. If it's not mine, then it shouldn't be on my credit report. There are three ways to get such things off the credit report - long battle based upon FCRA, long goodwill battle, overnight success

For overnight success, if it's not my account, then I file a police report for possible identity theft. In California, they are required by law to prepare a police report. Some states only require that an incident report is produced.

Now, with that incident report, I file a report with the FTC and print out a copy of the FTC report.

All this is put together with my letter of dispute and I call the CRA. With the CRA, I request to be transferred to the fraud department. I then file the dispute and request the fax number. I then fax in the supporting information.

Note - it is illegal and immoral to file a false police report. If the account is not yours, then it is either a mistake on your report or it was added without your permission. I use the ID theft protection to speed up resolution of such matters. It takes 3-5 days for the fax to be processed and you are done.

Some people will object regarding the fraud alert on your credit file. I have had fraud alerts on my credit file for the last 3 months. During that time, I have refi'd my car, opened 2 credit cards, gotten pre-approved for a home loan and got an unsecured personal line of credit. The FA helps me tremendously - this way no account is ever opened without me confirming by phone that I want the account. I think the FA is a good thing, not bad.

[June]

The FA helps me tremendously - this way no account is ever opened without me confirming by phone that I want the account. I think the FA is a good thing, not bad.

Brilliant, I like your Method. Now, does the FA work for opening CAs accounts as well? Must the CRA phone you, if a CA wants to open an account?

Thanks,

June

[pilgrimfaraway]

Unfortunately, CA's are not establishing new credit accounts with you, they hold existing debt of yours. So, they are not affected by your fraud alerts.

[June]

Unfortunately, CA's are not establishing new credit accounts with you, they hold existing debt of yours. So, they are not affected by your fraud alerts.

You're absolutely correct. I am now reviewing my EQ Credit Report and it

reads: "A security freeze does not apply to a person or entity, or its affiliates, or collection agencies acting on behalf of the person or entity, with which you have an existing account, that requests information in your consumer report for the purposes of reviewing or collecting the account. Reviewing the account includes activities related to account maintenance, monitoring, credit line increases, and account upgrades and enhancements."

But my point becomes: Where the CA had PURCHASED my account, the CA is NOT acting on behalf of the OC, with which I had an existing account. It is no longer an existing account, where it had been Closed by the OC, and Opened by the CA. That's why CAs Update or Report on our CRs with "Open Dates", I just think that it would make a valid legal argument in court, should it come to that.

Best Regards,

June