Should I dispute?

[Anonymous]

My AmEx account on Equifax is showing a $382 balance. I currently do not have a balance and PIF every month. It is saying DOLA is November '08 which I believe is the last time I carried a balance.

Should I dispute because I know I am losing points for having too many CC's reporting a balance and total number of accounts reporting a balance?

Mind you, this is by far my oldest account - 25 years. I don't want to risk having them just remove the acount from my credit report or do you think that is very unlikely to happen?

[haulingthescoreup]

---

rengler2208 wrote:

My AmEx account on Equifax is showing a $382 balance. I currently do not have a balance and PIF every month. It is saying DOLA is November '08 which I believe is the last time I carried a balance.

Should I dispute because I know I am losing points for having too many CC's reporting a balance and total number of accounts reporting a balance?

Mind you, this is by far my oldest account - 25 years. I don't want to risk having them just remove the acount from my credit report or do you think that is very unlikely to happen?

---

I would check my AmEx statements to find exactly when this balance first posted.

Here's how AmEx reports (sound of head banging against wall in background):

Dec 16th --statement posts with $500 balance
Jan 14th --$500 balance reported to bureaus; for most of us, it shows on EX first, and TU and EQ eventually
Jan 16th --new statement posts with $0 balance
Feb 14th --$0 balance updates to bureaus

So essentially, you have almost a 2-month wait from the time a balance shows on your statements to when it is off your reports. During that second month, it's affecting your util, even though your balance is $0 again.

So confirm exactly when that $382 first appeared on your statement. If if was in December, it might be updating on EQ any day.

If it was in November, then there's a problem. Try calling AmEx to confirm that they updated to EQ *rolls eyes*, and then you can try disputing the balance on EQ only. I did that, and it was fine. Otherwise, unless you're apping for something and you need the score change now, I'd wait for things to trudge on through.

Message Edited by haulingthescoreup on 02-16-2009 03:23 PM

[Anonymous]

I just checked my AmEx statements online and the period that reported the $382 balance was for the period of Aug 14 - Sep 12. That is, in fact, the last time I carried a balance.

I'm not app'ing for anything anytime soon but may consider purchasing a house toward the end of the year.

Should I dispute now or ride it out? I have a feeling that if they haven't updated in that long, they're not going to. 

[haulingthescoreup]

---

rengler2208 wrote:

I just checked my AmEx statements online and the period that reported the $382 balance was for the period of Aug 14 - Sep 12. That is, in fact, the last time I carried a balance.

I'm not app'ing for anything anytime soon but may consider purchasing a house toward the end of the year.

Should I dispute now or ride it out? I have a feeling that if they haven't updated in that long, they're not going to. 

---

That's crazy.

I would go ahead and dispute online with EQ. I had no problems the two times I did this (both J.Crew, two separate balances), and they fixed it right away without problems.

I would never dispute a closed account, because IMO the lender is just as apt to say Fine, we'll just stop reporting it then. But it has worked for me with open accounts, after I first verified with the lender (i.e., listened to them lie) that they had been updating.

And it's also possible that your demographics on your EQ report have gotten screwed up, and that's why it's not updating. If so, this is one way to find out.

[voidman]

Or charge $10 on Amex and let that report for a month.

[Red1Blue]

Amex is normally very slow on updating the balances.

[haulingthescoreup]

---

voidman wrote:
Or charge $10 on Amex and let that report for a month.

---

That would work, too. Assuming that they'll ever then report that the $10 was paid off!

[Anonymous]

They did that to me a couple of times last year but both times they updated the actual balance a couple of days later.