AMEX really does hate me

[UncleB]

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@Anonymous wrote:
It's definitely the collection.Amex uses EX almost exclusively. Just as you received that alert, so didAmex, and they quickly took action to limit their exposure. I'm certain I'd you get this collection removed, keep yourUTI low, below 20%, 10% even better,Amex will raise your CL again w/o waiting years or anything like that. That alert definitely raised flags. I'll bet you had it beenTU or EQ, instead of EX, you might not have seen anything happen.Amex is in tight with EX. Get this taken care of and you'll recover quickly.

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I truly do feel bad for the OP, as he is being 'punished' for trying to do the right thing.  At the same time, I'm glad to know there's a reasonable explanation for this action and that Amex isn't just arbitrarily doing CLD for folks that are carrying a small balance across a few other cards.

From my days dealing with this type thing, my recollection (unless things have changed) is that by contacting the collector nothing should have been restarted; the only way to restart the SOL clock is by making a payment, even $1.  If no payment was made, I suspect either A) While accessing the account for the phone contact, the "wrong button" was inadvertently pressed by the CSR and it caused the account to be 're-aged' at the credit bureau, or B) Because the OP was not willing to meet the demands of the collection agency, the CSR reset the date because he/she wanted to cause the OP grief.  Which of these is the case if up for interpretation, and no, I'm not a 'tin-foil' hat wearing type... I've dealt with some that really did make it personal.

That's the bad news.  The good news is that the burden of proof is on the collection agency.  The OP needs to open a dispute with Experian, and I forget what they are calling it now but the option you want is where they verify *everything*; you're specifically wanting them to verify your payment history.  If no recent payment has been made, they will have to correct the age of the delinquency (make it old again) which should restore your credit score.  It might take Amex a bit to catch up (their SPs are notoriously slow) but you'll be able to get back to where you were, and it should be in months, not years.

I had to do this a few years ago, and it actually took two tries before it 'stuck', but I didn't give up because I knew I was right and not just trying to "dispute stuff off" - and the second time around it was actually deleted completely rather than updated (which was fine!).  Since then things have gotten better with the bureaus being more 'thoughtful' on the disputes, so I feel it will be quickly corrected (I'm saying all of this assuming this is the problem; you'll need to look closely at the actual report to make sure, of course).

Good luck, and don't give up!

[joeyoeyb]

Thanks for the info, UncleB!  I'll definitely look into filing a dispute with Experian later tonight.  I can't believe after this thing being 5+ years old & having perfect credit for almost 2 years now (which allowed me to FINALLY get an AMEX) they did whatever they did & caused AMEX to reconsider things.

I also contacted AMEX yesterday & asked them to reconsider.  They said if I paid $400 they would restore my $3500 limit.  I had no problem with that, I was going to pay almost that amount on Friday anyway.  I'm just a little bitter now.  I've been a good customer.  I certainly don't spend the money that some people on this board do, but between these two cards I consistently put between $1000 & $1500 on them each month & pay the blue card off twice each month & always pay most (or all) of whatever is on the Delta.  Perhaps once I get this settled (IF I get it settled), I might just put AMEX in the sock drawer & go with Chase.  At least they haven't tried to screw me over.  Yet.  lol

[UncleB]

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@joeyoeyb wrote:

Thanks for the info, UncleB!  I'll definitely look into filing a dispute with Experian later tonight.  I can't believe after this thing being 5+ years old & having perfect credit for almost 2 years now (which allowed me to FINALLY get an AMEX) they did whatever they did & caused AMEX to reconsider things.

I also contacted AMEX yesterday & asked them to reconsider.  They said if I paid $400 they would restore my $3500 limit.  I had no problem with that, I was going to pay almost that amount on Friday anyway.  I'm just a little bitter now.  I've been a good customer.  I certainly don't spend the money that some people on this board do, but between these two cards I consistently put between $1000 & $1500 on them each month & pay the blue card off twice each month & always pay most (or all) of whatever is on the Delta.  Perhaps once I get this settled (IF I get it settled), I might just put AMEX in the sock drawer & go with Chase.  At least they haven't tried to screw me over.  Yet.  lol

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Hang in there with Amex; it sounds as if you're already on the right track of getting everything restored anyway.  I know it's easy to be "aggravated" (nice word) at Amex, but when you have a chance to collect your thoughts I think you'll see that the true 'villain' in this is the collection agency for screwing with your Experian report.  I'm not a spokesperson or anything, but Amex only acted on what they thought at the time was good information.  Once that is cleared up, you should be 'right as rain'. 

Amex can be handy to have; 20 years ago I was a new card member (< 6 months) traveling in Europe with a friend when my friend lost his wallet, including his cards and cash.  Being young and a brand new card member, I called Amex collect and told them what happened and asked if they would have a problem with me spending a (good) bit more than I had the previous few months.  I was put on hold for several minutes (thank goodness it was a collect call...) but the lady came back and told me to enjoy the rest of my trip, and to use my card when I needed to.  basically, I was brand new card member, and they literally saved my trip since I had to pay for every little thing for the remaining two weeks.  I never forgot that.

I still think it's a shame you got penalized for trying to do the right thing.  I guess it's true, "No good deed goes unpunished". 

[joeyoeyb]

Well, today has turned out to be a pretty good day!  

When all this started I was given the option of sending in a payment on the Delta card of $400.  I went ahead & paid it to zero & I also paid off my BCP card.  A day or two later I got another email from them asking to make payment (I think the payments were still pending at this time) &/or send in copies of my pay stubs & bank statement to be reconsidered.  I figured I had nothing to loose so I went ahead & uploaded those too.  Although I haven't heard anything from AMEX by email or letter, I just logged in & my available credit on the Delta card is back to $3500!

I also had another account that was supposed to have been deleted from all accounts about two months ago.  Equifax & Transunion were quick to delete but it was still on Experian for some reason.  I sent in the documentation from the creditor saying they were going to have it removed and I heard back today from Equifax...they deleted it!

Overall, a pretty good day!    My feelings are still a little hurt over the whole AMEX ordeal but I do love having them in my wallet so I'm going to keep using them often, paying in full & hope I've proven myself so this won't happen again.

[NRB525]

Congratulations on getting it all resolved. And it's good to hear you were able to keep the AMEX and get back on track with them.

[UncleB]

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@joeyoeyb wrote:

Well, today has turned out to be a pretty good day!  

When all this started I was given the option of sending in a payment on the Delta card of $400.  I went ahead & paid it to zero & I also paid off my BCP card.  A day or two later I got another email from them asking to make payment (I think the payments were still pending at this time) &/or send in copies of my pay stubs & bank statement to be reconsidered.  I figured I had nothing to loose so I went ahead & uploaded those too.  Although I haven't heard anything from AMEX by email or letter, I just logged in & my available credit on the Delta card is back to $3500!

I also had another account that was supposed to have been deleted from all accounts about two months ago.  Equifax & Transunion were quick to delete but it was still on Experian for some reason.  I sent in the documentation from the creditor saying they were going to have it removed and I heard back today from Equifax...they deleted it!

Overall, a pretty good day!    My feelings are still a little hurt over the whole AMEX ordeal but I do love having them in my wallet so I'm going to keep using them often, paying in full & hope I've proven myself so this won't happen again.

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Awesome news!  It sounds like you've had a good day, indeed!

I'm glad to hear things have all worked out with Amex as well 

[Anonymous]

Congrats on getting your credit limit restored. I do not think the CA "re-aged" your old collection account however. They can update as not paid every month is they so desire, and by you contacting them, they decided to do that. It is just a tactic they use to try to get you to pay. If you notice, your credit score didnt go down when they did this. It isnt a new derogatory mark. It is just an update of an old one, basically saying that it is still unpaid. The DoFD is still the same and the mark will still fall off when it originally should have. The collector just knows that most people who are contacting them have been looking at their credit reports, and they assume you will see the "new" mark and be panicked by it. I told the collection agency that pulled this on me, that since they tried to pull some BS, they can forget about EVER getting paid. I know that their "new" mark wont hurt me, and since they tried to pull something shady, they can forget about the payment which I HAD been considering. I will now just wait for it to fall off lol. The stupid part is that we wouldnt contact the CA if we had no intention to pay it. They just think their tactics will work, but I certainly didn't fall for it. I was just trying to negotiate for a lower settlement amount when they pulled that on me. Good job CA!! lol

[OmarGB9]

Glad you got all of that resolved.

[Anonymous]

Congrats on hour resolution of the problem! Good job!

In my wallet: Venture 15k; Barclay Ring 12.5k; Discover 10k; PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa 10k; PenFed Promise 10k; CareCredit 7.7k; Amazon Store Card 5k. QS 5k; BA Travel Rewards 3.5k; BA Travel Rewards 3.5k; BA Platinum Visa 2k; Barclay Apple Rewards 2k. Total Credit: 86,200. 7/2-FICO: EQ - 788; TU - 781; EX - 779; Utilization: 10%; GOAL: 780 across the board then 800 across the board. Inquiries: EQ: 6 TU: 6; EX 3; Chapter 13 seven years May, 2015. Reset my garden date to 7/7. Gardening until further notice.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Congrats on getting your credit limit restored. I do not think the CA "re-aged" your old collection account however. They can update as not paid every month is they so desire, and by you contacting them, they decided to do that. It is just a tactic they use to try to get you to pay. If you notice, your credit score didnt go down when they did this. It isnt a new derogatory mark. It is just an update of an old one, basically saying that it is still unpaid. The DoFD is still the same and the mark will still fall off when it originally should have. The collector just knows that most people who are contacting them have been looking at their credit reports, and they assume you will see the "new" mark and be panicked by it. I told the collection agency that pulled this on me, that since they tried to pull some BS, they can forget about EVER getting paid. I know that their "new" mark wont hurt me, and since they tried to pull something shady, they can forget about the payment which I HAD been considering. I will now just wait for it to fall off lol. The stupid part is that we wouldnt contact the CA if we had no intention to pay it. They just think their tactics will work, but I certainly didn't fall for it. I was just trying to negotiate for a lower settlement amount when they pulled that on me. Good job CA!! lol

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Yep the collection agencies can do that sneaky trick of theirs. My old chase debt was updated EVERY MONTH for like 3 yrs as still being unpaid by a CA which will go un-named. I panicked and eventually negotiated with them for about half price although I think it would have fallen off maybe 1-2 yrs later. Oh well i'm just glad that's in the past.