I have a problem with my Costco Visa Card negatively affecting my Credit score. It went from 800 to 637 in a matter of a month. The problem centers on the Costco transition from AMEX to Citi where AMEX sent an old address to Citi when my account was activated.
Let me explain.
When I started using Costco I lived in Illinois, and I did use the AMEX card. I had the account on my computer so I could check it monthly and paid accordingly. We moved back to Michigan in late 2014 and did not have a Costco nearby, so we did not use the card. Costco set an end date where they switched to Citi Visa, so when we were in Grand Rapids, MI in 2016 we made the switch and I explained that I did not want the auto renewal feature activated. I never thought to ask, nor was i asked about my current mailing address. I never got the new card, and never thought about it, since I always charged things with a different card.
We are currently looking for a home loan, and my credit scores in the past had been at the 800 level for years. All of a sudden it was 637 and I have panicked. The culprit has been my Costco Citi card. Costco did an auto renewal of $110 dollars for my executive membership. I had never used the card or activate it, and did not think it unusual that i did not receive a bill. Upon investigating with with Costco and Citi the address that was transitioned from AMEX was my Illinois address, not my current Michigan address. I did not transition to the Citi card until 2016 and the USPS had stopped forwarding my mail from Illinois at that time. So I never received a bill from Citi about the auto renewal charges. Then came the negative credit score.
I have contacted Costco and they point to Amex sending the wrong information to Citi. Citi says they just use the information they were given. Citi had removed the late fee charges, and Costco is going to reverse the charge on the credit card.
I want to get the negative effects of this fiasco removed from my credit report and need some help on doing this. I have filed a dispute with Citi due to me not getting a bill from them & also not autorizing the credit card since I never received it in the mail. They said it would take up to 2 weeks to review the case. It just seems fairly simple to recognize that Citi was mailing the bill to the wrong address and make a correction to the credit reporting companies.
I always thought that I had to call the number on the card to activate it so items could be charged. It appears that is not true.
So long story short is that Citi has in their records that the statements they have sent to the Illinois address were returned as undeliverable. I am trying to get CITI/Costco to make a correcton that can be sent to the 3 credit reporting groups.
I am looking for any ideas on how to get this mess cleaned up. I thank you all in advance for your help.
