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Auto Payment Plan Mess Up Dropped My Score 55 Points!

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amandag
Member

Auto Payment Plan Mess Up Dropped My Score 55 Points!

I was going to be out of town for a few month around the first of the year so I went ahead and clicked to set up the auto payment plan on my car loan's online application (volkswagen). I got the confirmation screen. I didn't print it. I've set up accounts like that before and never had troubles. It said I had to pay that month and it'd be set up next month, but I thought I had done it in plenty of time. I should have, in retrospect, done it months before hand so I could see if went through.

Anyways, I did have access to pay it while I was gone, but I didn't even think about it. When I got back, there were several messages waiting for me and I immediately payed both months online. Then they called and demanded payment then and there, so I payed both months AGAIN (paying 4 payments in that period).

It was recently reported to the credit bureau and my score dropped a whopping 55 points. It was higher before I graduated last year when I had no money and tons of CC debt! Is there anything I can do?

Would a letter of goodwill help?

I tried to set it up again after all that, and it didn't go through AGAIN...but I paid an extra bill just in case this time. Finally, this month, I called them about it (and paid the bill just in case). The person I was talking to said that once reported, it can't be taken off my credit history, but I know he is mistaken.

Message Edited by amandag on 06-03-2008 04:55 AM
Message 1 of 7
6 REPLIES 6
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Auto Payment Plan Mess Up Dropped My Score 55 Points!

I made my final car payment in April 08 and noticed on my bank statement that the payment was still sitting.  I received a late notice and called HSBC Auto and discovered in my excitement to make my final payment online I click Chevy Chase (recently closed account) instead of my current account (Chase Bank).  I received a one month late notice from HSBC who also reported that I made a payment from a closed account which caused my score to drop 65 points!  After speaking with a representative from HSBC I was told they will restore my account to its original good standing.  Will the 65 points I lost in the credit score be restored?  For those of us who struggle to get ahead in repairing scores, we seem to constantly get slammed.
Message 2 of 7
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Auto Payment Plan Mess Up Dropped My Score 55 Points!

The key to resolving these kinds of incidents is to be polite but persistent. Eventually, they often give in just to get you off their phones!
Message 3 of 7
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Auto Payment Plan Mess Up Dropped My Score 55 Points!

You need to contact the credit bureau and explain in writing what happened. If you can somehow salvage some witten documentation of this event, they will work with you. I have had mistakes on my report in the past and appealed them, thus  having them removed; since it sounds like you were not totally at fault here you just neglected to print out proof of the account setup and did not check your payments while gone, the credit bureau's may extend some leniency in this case.  Good luck!
Message 4 of 7
merlin
Member

Re: Auto Payment Plan Mess Up Dropped My Score 55 Points!

Contacting the credit bureau will do absolutely nothing for you. They don't make the decision what to report. If you write them and explain what happened, all you do is confirm what is being reported. It may have been an accident, but it is factual. If the lender has agreed to remove the derogatgory info your credit report will reflect that and your score will go back up.
Message 5 of 7
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Auto Payment Plan Mess Up Dropped My Score 55 Points!

Agreed. The credit bureau is just the weatherman here: they report the data as they receive it. It's the lender that you're going to have to pester into removing the bad data.
Message 6 of 7
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Auto Payment Plan Mess Up Dropped My Score 55 Points!

I work for a similar company and would be the person you talk to if this were to happen and I run across this at least once a week. Here's the deal, you're basically asking them to do you a favor by removing the reporting. At the end of the day it was a mix up but not the company's fault. When you call to ask you will be initially told that they can't remove it, make your case anyway. If you have a good payment history with the company and they have a record of you trying to set up the plan (which they should if you received a confirmation page) and you showed good faith by paying the payments both online and over the phone you have a good foundation. If at the end the person you're speaking with isn't budging ask to have a manager review your account and request a callback from said manager. If all else fails you can file a dispute with the credit bureaus and make your case by writing a letter to accompany the dispute. The dispute goes straight to the decision maker but you should try to have your account noted by going through the first channels. This is how my company works, your credit company maybe different but I doubt it will be vastly different. One more piece of advice is to be polite at all times, this can be very frustrating but try to keep your cool while you're on the phone. I will help you.
Message 7 of 7
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