NYS TransUnion dispute complicated and quite shocking.

[Anonymous]

In 2007 NYS filed a tax warrant against me for unpaid sales tax from my DBA. The amount was for $1,000 & filed with the county Clerk. The warrant was satisfied/paid in 2010. On the warrant itself it shows as a warrant/judgement. The county records it as a Lien. TransUnion   lists it as a "Public Record" showing it's a "paid tax lien" from the county clerk.  The filed and paid dates are correct. TransUnion   estimates it to be removed  in 2017 as "tax liens" stay on credit reports for 7 years. The issue I am having is that in NYS paid sales tax liens are to be removed after 30days of being paid (NYS GBL 380-j(f)(iii)). NYS tax law 1141(c)(3) reinforces that effect. Also judgements are to be removed within 5yrs of being paid. Either way this should have been removed from my credit reports years ago. I have disputed with with TransUnion   on multiple occasions to no avail. Only to have them state they "verified" the "lien". I also sent copies of the original papers filed with the county clerk stating it was for Article of tax law 28. Article 28 of NYS tax law specifically deals exclusively with sales tax. The county clerk is only a record keeping/filing agency and does not / can not provide anything except copies of what was submitted to them. I have also provided TransUnion   with a letter from the NYS Dept of taxation and finance, sales tax civil enforcement division stating the "warrant" was satisfied in 2010. TransUnion   refuses to accept that letter as it did not come from the "county clerk" directly. Upon multiple calls to TransUnion  one supervisors supervisor states their system had no way of differentiating between a "paid tax lien" and a "paid sales tax lien". I was also told "we do not follow NYS law" as "it would be impossible to know each individual states laws" and "we have no way of checking into specific laws". Another supervisor supervisor I spoke to stated "We cannot and will not verify what Article 28 is nor will we research NYS FCRA laws, you must provide proof from the court". He also stated that "It is not our requirement to verify the law as to when it should be removed", I went on to ask "So you are stating it is not your companies responsibility to acknowledge and follow the law?" to his response "No it is not, you must provide proof of what the laws are and we will review it, however we will not review anything that does not come directly from the county clerk".  I also files a complaint and attached the records with the CFPB. TransUnions response was that the "Lien was filed" in "2017" which is impossible and I'll assume a typo on their part. and verified. 

I'm at a loss here. Both with how to get this removed from my credit report as I've been denied all credit I've applied for as a result. And more so completely shocked that TransUnion openly admits they do not follow NYS law and there is seemingly nothing anyone can do about it. Not only how it has effected me but everyone else out there who may be in the same situation and not even know it.

[RobertEG]

Have you obtained advice from a NYS attorney that supports your interpretation of the NYS statute?

My reading of the statute is that the 30-day deletion period only applies to a "paid, vacated or satisfied tax lien involving a purchaser, transferee or assignee in a bulk sate transaction who has been deemed liable by the state tax commission of sales tax due from a seller, transferee or assignor...", and only applies to reporting to a CRA of that obligation by the purchaser, not the seller.

If you are the original party who accrued the tax obligation or are the seller of that obligation in a transaction for sale of the obligation, then the purchaser is subject to the 30-day period, not the original party or the seller.

I assume you are not a purchaser of an obligation incurred by an original party?

The full text of NYS GBL 380-j(f)(iii)):

"(iii) paid tax liens which, from date of payment, antedate the report by more than seven years or, a paid, satisfied or vacated tax lien involving a purchaser, transferee or assignee in a bulk sale transaction who has been deemed liable by the state tax commission for sales taxes due from a seller, transferrer or assignor under subdivision (c) of section eleven hundred forty-one of the tax law, where the receipt by a credit reporting agency from such purchaser, transferee or assignee of a notice, or true copy thereof, from the state tax commission to such purchaser, transferee or assignee that his liability has been wholly paid or satisfied or no longer exists, antedates the report by more than thirty days;"

Regardless, if you have filed a dispute and the dispute has been investigated and verified as accurate, then your recourse is to either file a complaint with the NYS Office of the AG or file your own civil action asserting violation of provisions of the statute.

You can then attempt to prove your interpretation of the statute, and have it administratively or judicially reviewed outside of the FCRA disute process.