Hi there,
i just wanted to write about a recent experience I had in getting a University of Phoenix charge-off, off of my credit report in less than 30 days.
I had attended the UofP from 2012-2014 and withdrew 9 credits short due to a death in the family. My academic counselor was great but my financial advisor was a joke. When i had to adjust schedules for different things the actual cost and what would be charged to my loans was never discussed. When i withdrew, I received an email from the financial advisor stating there was a balance because of when I withdrew, about 2 days later I received one other email, and then that was it. That was the last communication I had from the University of Phoenix (sept 2014).
well flash forwadr, the death of my brother, layoff from my job of 10 years literally 2 weeks later, a cross country move, etc. etc. I was not thinking about a balance. I never received a letter or bill or another phone call or email.
In Oct 2015 I received a letter from a consumer group in Colorado stating I had new negative information that had posted to my credit file. Sure enough there it was. Showing I opened an account in 2012 and had late payments starting in September of 2014. I contacted the University of Phoenix by phone, by email and letter and kept getting the same response. Nothing we can do, you are referred to collections, speak with them, it has to stay on your credit file.
i did call the collections group and I settled the $952 owed for half, even though my online account showed no balance. On that day I happened to be griping to a friend because I was upset that I had let this hurt my credit (ratings had fallen into the 650-680 range depending). She recommended I reach out to the BBB. So I did.
I had gone online before and tried to dispute the credit reporting for being inaccurate, but it had comeback as correct. I went online to the BBB website and found a ton of complaints about billing and charge offs and most of the responses from the school were favorable, removing the information from the credit file. So, I pleaded my case, said I had paid, but the fact that I was never billed or told I was going to be placed for collections, or that I was passed due, in fact their computer online system didnt even show it was unfair and that i wanted the derogatory information removed from all three agencies. I figured what could it hurt.
Two weeks after the online filing I received a follow-up and two days after that the information was removed from all 3 credit reporting agencies. My fico jumped up to741-766 between the three. Needless to say I was ecstatic.
So, if you have tried other letters or avenues, I would say go online and read some of the complaints and the outcomes. There are a higher percentage of favorable outcomes when you have your facts in order. Reach out to th university, know who you h ave talked to there directly, because they have a record. They obviuosly can't tell if you got the mail but know if you emailed or called 2 or 10 times.
Good luck!
