I completely regret ever calling Capital One to kindly ask if an old paid collection could be removed from my tradeline.
After repeated success having paid collections removed from my credit report, I decided to take my chances with Capital One. Being a current customer in good standing, I figured it was worth a shot. I called the collection department and kindly spoke to Gabrielle. I had a "paid collection" that had been CLOSED AND UN-UPDATED since 2007. After repeatedly trying to be clear about what I was looking to do and having her ackowledge what I was trying to do and making her answer in the affirmative that she could help me precisely in the way I was asking and send me a written letter to back it up, she asked me for a payment of $10.74. I was puzzled since the account was CLOSED and PAID since 2007 and she even acknowledged that it was CLOSED AND PAID....SINCE 2007 (or late 06...whatever). But I didn't question it. Heck, 10.74 to have something removed? I'll take it any day. So, I paid and waited. I got a letter acknowledging the payment...but that's it. I called and her tone was totally different in tone. She claimed it wasn't coming off the report and that she never said it was. I reiterated that that's why I called in the first place and that she told me it would come off. She denied that it was ever coming off. SO what the heck did pay for?!?!?! I was furious. But whatever. I was no worse off trying...OR WAS I??
A few weeks later, my credit report updated and stated that that same account which had been paid and closed since 2007 was now paid and now closed since Dec of 2011! I was so furious I cannot even begin to explain it!!! They made it look like a "just recently paid" delinquency! I was beside myself. I called and spoke to Jennifer. I explained everything. I read the status of that account to her off one of my old credit reports and then the updated version. She understood and said that she apologized for all the confusion and that she understood my position and that she would fix it immediately and that I would get a letter acknowledging it. I just got the letter yesterday. Here's the relevant part:
"We've updated the above referenced account as paid in full with an R9 Rating, which means the account was more than 180 days past due when the payment in full was received."
My heart started racing. I truly regret ever calling them. I left Jennifer a voicemail (It's Sunday so nobody is there) asking her to call ASAP on Monday to clarify what this means. It's totally vague and causing me a lot of anxiety. I've been working like crazy to build up my score over the past few months and doing all the right things. I've added between 50 and 85 points to my three scores since November. The letter makes no mention of WHEN the account will be considered "paid in full"....and that was the whole reason for me even calling her! If they aren't going to delete it from my tradeline, I at least want it back the way it was as a paid collection that was well over 4 years old...if not 5 years old. As of right now, it doesn't look that way. I'll find out tomorrow I hope.
Lesson: Sometimes it's better to leave well enough alone. Don't pay money on a closed account. It might just update as closed as of your last payment! I hope this isn't the case with me. We'll see.....
Start (Sept 2011): low-mid 600s. NOW: TU FICO: 801, EQ FICO 808, EX FICO 798 (PSECU). Goal: Achieved! Now Maintain!
She didn't say what the $10 was for. But she did explicitly say that the account was paid over 4 years ago in the amount of some $400 or so. So yes, it was clearly marked "paid in full".
This had better get resolved tomorrow. I am so furious. This is plain wrong. And I know it's hurting my score somewhat. Not sure by how much. I have plenty of Credit Reports that show this account as PAID AND CLOSED with no updates since 2007. They weren't calling me for a collection. I called THEM.
Im calling at 8am. Not even waiting for her to call me back. Like I said, I have lots of older credit reports that pre-date this fiasco that clearly and unequivocally show this account as paid and closed.
My TU FICO is 699 and EQ is 682. Not sure how much this silly error cost me but I'd obviously be in 700s on TU right now if not for this.
And while it's not FICO, my EX and EQ scores at ID Guard dropped 14 and 11 points repsectively between the reports I have prior to and after the "updated" account info.
Well, as I feared, nothing changed. I spoke to the rep this morning and she claimed that she sent the request to the right department. So what did they do there? They saw the last payment for $10 and verified it as accurate. UNREAL. What terrible effort on the part of this rep to help clear up something that is not obvious when just looking at the numbers. She apologized and asked for continued patience as she will retry to get the change made.
My patience is running thin. I may go further than just a phone call if it is not removed. I will make copies of my older reports to accompany dispute letters and prepare a bunch of envelopes for the credit bureaus and Capital One. Maybe the constant irritation of my incessant disputes will make them try harder.