posted
Okay, I've been divorced 13 years, but just since I began working for a bank have I learned how important it is to get the old credit rating cleared up. Divorce left me very deeply in debt, and it took me years to pay things off. I was more concerned about feeding my kids than I was about how my current credit rating looked.
But now the kids are almost grown, things are stable, and I'm trying to "fix" all those things that TransUnion, EquiFax and whoever are saying about me.
So questions: How do you get your FICO score changed? Most duns on my credit are from many years ago. I had someone here at the bank pull my credit report (I haven't had any need to lately) and there are several things on there that were long paid off -- I have proof of that. But they are still showing as unpaid. If I supply proof they are paid, then will my FICO score go up? Does the passage of time figure into any of this? (I have had no deliquencies in at least the last 5 to 7 years, if not more)
I think it is stupid that credit reports only show things like loans and credit cards. I mean, it doesn't say "she pays her electric, gas and water bill on time each month"
But here's some of what I learned by fixing even minor things on my credit report:
1) You have to deal with all 3 major credit bureaus as they each have different errors, etc.
2) To get something removed as "resolved" you usually have to go to the creditor, not the credit rating bureau. They will have to send something to the 3 majors (all 3) to say "this was resolved take it off..."
3) If something is old, I'm told, you can just challenge it. At that point, they have to investigate and things that are minor enough and old enough will have disappeared from the company's records systems.
Be careful what you do this with, though. It can be a felony to, for instance, claim you never had a bankruptcy when you did, even if no-one can find a record of it. I know you didn't file bankruptcy, but that's the example that a lawyer used to explain it to me. Basically, there were people "cleansing" bankruptcies off of their credit reports after as little as 3 years by just claiming "it never happened." The records-keeping is so screwed up that in many cases, the credit bureau couldn't find it!!!
But for minor stuff that's old and you don't have backup for, I would say to them "prove it" and see what happens.
I have had some serious things on my credit report. Basically, it didn't stop me from getting a car loan or a house loan at favorable rates -- not BEST rates available, but favorable. Debt to earnings ratio matters a lot more in those cases than past credit problems or your FICO score.
But if you want no-fee credit cards...that's a problem.
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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posted
It's true about household bills not mattering.
My understanding is that late pays are supposed to be removed after 7 years. On at least some of my reports it says "this item will show through x date"
The process is to write to the credit agency, and they will write to the creditor and get their info.
Credit reports are not a fair-minded, guilty until proven innocent deal. They very often have old and outdated stuff so be aggressive.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
I had erroneous information on my credit rating. According to my report, I defaulted on a Burdines charge card when I was nine years old, and an American Express when I was fourteen. It was all clearly there--dates and everything--when I checked on it ten years or so ago. I filed appeals, I sent letters, I joined credit watch. CBI sent an inquiry to Burdines . . . who confirmed that I did, in fact, owe them that money. End of appeal. Pretty useless appeal process if they just ask the alleged creditor. Equifax removed the obviously wrong reports, and after about a year of fighting, so did TRW. A year or so later, I checked my reports with both, and the Burdines and American Express charges were back on it.
I stopped bothering. Many creditors would overlook the bogus reports because they could see that they were bogus, and leant me money anyway. I have credit cards, a mortgage, and I have financed a car and several computers (and payed them off). I suppose I'm getting screwed on interest rates. *shrug* I haven't looked at my credit rating in years, and haven't really felt the need to.
But nobody cheered more loudly than I at the end of Fight Club.Posts: 1112 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
You can challenge anything on your credit report to the credit bureaus. Be prepared to prove your case if they deny your challenge (this has happened to me).
Anything over 7 years old has to be dropped from your credit report anyway -- that's federal law. That would apply to things like a traffic ticket paid late back in 1994 (an example from my credit report ). You may have to challenge it to get it off there, but if it is complete and over 7 years old, it shouldn't be on the report. A bankruptcy stays on your credit report for 10 years, but then should be dropped.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
You contact the agency and tell them you feel your report is in error. They give you paperwork to fill out. You wait a while, and they tell you you lost.
Posts: 1112 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
You can do it online. It's been a long time since I last looked at our credit report... *goes looking elsewhere online for a little while*
I challenged an entry at Transunion and disputed it directly to them. www.transunion.com I wish I could say that it was fruitful. It wasn't, but at least they are now showing that I don't owe anything on the disputed entry, where before it was showing I owed over $60K. The entry is still there, though. The other credit agencies didn't have that entry on there anymore, as I'd long since sold the property.
You'll want to pull all three reports...there are lots of places online to do that. I'd do some reading on Clark Howard's website and see what he recommends. clarkhoward.com
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
Yeah -- there are lots of places that want you to PAY them to fix your credit report -- but I'm not going for that -- I know this can be done legally for free with enough determination...
But my friend here in the other area of the bank that let me know my FICO score won't give me the copy of the credit report they received -- it is against the rules
posted
How to get a free credit report: - get denied for credit. Then they by law have to provide you with a free copy.
It's easy and fun!
Now, as for clearing things up on your reports, you people have experienced what I did. Now, what you have to do about it is NEVER give up. The credit bureau will tell you the contact information for the creditor. Then you contact them. Get a name of who you are dealing with and make it their responsibility.
Remember to escalate. Ask to speak with a supervisor. Write your 2nd letter to the president/CEO of the company. Give them a deadline.
Keep copies of all your correspondence.
And then...WHEN IT IS STILL SCREWED UP. Write to your elected representatives with copies. Urge them to INCLUDE consumer protections and independent arbitration in the new credit reponsibility laws.
This actually works. My representative was in the pocket of the banking industry. After getting my letters (and pointing him to various Wall St. Journal articles about the uncaring practices of the credit rating bureaus), he inserted accuracy requirements in the bill that was originally designed solely for the protection of the credit card industry in America.
It still doesn't go far enough, IMHO. But it's better than the "we'll kill you if you declare bankruptcy" bill that was originally drafted.
There simply is NO WAY to clear up a credit report without contacting the actual creditors though. The reason:
All this stuff comes from linked electronic files. And what you fix with the credit bureau is OVERWRITTEN by what is received in the NEXT download from the creditors. So, the error is erased and then put right back on a month later. It has to be fixed at the creditor end.
No exceptions.
The fact that it is THAT much work is part of what we need our elected representatives to fix.
In the meantime, you are allowed to file a message with your credit report. It doesn't do you any good if they just use the FICO score to make a decision. But if can be helpful if you are dealing with a loan officer one-on-one. In the message, you can tell prospective creditors about the various transactions you've had with that credit bureau and how messed up their records are. I even urged users of one credit bureau to use a different credit bureau for their rating service. And I named the competitor by name!!
And they are bound BY LAW to publish that notice in my credit report. To whit:
"To prospective users of this credit report: Please note that after several attempts, the company (Experian) has simply been unable to correct even the most basic information in this report include my name and address. There are several inaccuracies in this report which they cannot seem to correct. An accurate record may be obtained from __________. Please use them for all future business."
Ha ha ha...
Okay, small comfort, but isn't that a hoot?
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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posted
I'm still waiting for someone to win a lawsuit about this. Not against the credit bureaus, but against the creditor.
It would work like this. You find something wrong on your credit report. You tell the creditor its wrong and ask them to fix it. Document this all in writing. Give them a reasonable amount of time and tell them again.
Finally, get a loan from a bank who will tell you that you are getting a higher rate because of your credit score, which is affected by the wrong information. Then sue the bastard creditor in small claims court for the difference in the price of the loan.
Repeat 100,000 times as needed until they get their f*&#ing act together.
You have at minimum negligent fraudulent misrepresentation, possible libel. You have measurable, monetary damages. It should work.
quote: - get denied for credit. Then they by law have to provide you with a free copy.
Keep in mind that multiple credit checks can be a negative on the FICO score. That's another reason to never give someone your SSN and birthdate over the phone. They will run your credit without asking, in my experience.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Pretty useless appeal process if they just ask the alleged creditor. Equifax removed the obviously wrong reports, and after about a year of fighting, so did TRW. A year or so later, I checked my reports with both, and the Burdines and American Express charges were back on it.![[Smile]](smile.gif)
). You may have to challenge it to get it off there, but if it is complete and over 7 years old, it shouldn't be on the report. A bankruptcy stays on your credit report for 10 years, but then should be dropped.
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