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Is this a valid BBB complaint?

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Is this a valid BBB complaint?

Maybe I'm just feeling a bit desperate and frustrated here but it's something I've been thinking about for the past month since I found out about it. And I feel like I've hit a wall with what is probably my biggest obstacle in terms of baddies. Some background:

 

Single full-time working mom. I also teach part time at a local university, Needless to say, I've been chronically sleep-deprived for the past 14 months. In August of last year after missing a payment on both my CapOne and WFNNB/VS accounts (No excuses - I honestly just forgot to pay), I decided to enroll in automatic payments for all of my accounts (CCs, electricity, insurance, etc). Well, somehow I didn't for the WFNNB account. (They apparently don't do it anymore at least for the VS CC.)  I have 2 separate checking accounts. The one I have with USAA is where my automatic deposit from my part-time teaching job goes into and that's where I pay all of my smaller bills like CCs and insurance. I never check the account because I don't use it for anything else but to pay for the aforementioned (stupid, I know, lesson learned).  About a month ago, I received an email from WFNNB that it would be written off as a bad debt. I received the email on a Sunday afternoon/evening (March). I remember this clearly because I was driving back home from visiting family. I called immediately the next day during my lunch break on the 19th to make arrangements to pay it. I even paid it off in less than 1 month. I was informed at that time that it had been written off as a charge off/bad debt - less than 24 hours after receiving the email (I still have the email and they have records of the phone call to prove it). I was too much in shock to argue the timeframe which IMHO is ridiculous. Prior to that, I didn't receive any phone calls from WFNNB.

 

I have made several attempts to get them to do a GW adjustment via letters and phone calls but to no avail. I take full responsibility for not being more cognizant and checking to make sure everything was paid on time, etc. I'm not arguing that. Less than 24 hours just doesn't seem like enough time to give someone to respond to that email. I realize again that I need to be patient with GW letters and phone calls, as well as the fact that I'm just feeling frustrated but am also wondering if I have a valid complaint. So, here aer my questions:

1. Is it a valid complaint?

2. If so, should I risk filing a complaint with the BBB? My fear is that I'll piss someone off and my GW letters and phone calls will really be fruitless.

3. Any other thoughts/suggestions?

 

TIA!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Message 1 of 8
7 REPLIES 7
RobertEG
Legendary Contributor

Re: Is this a valid BBB complaint?

I think you might have basis for a legal challenge of the appropriateness of a charge-off.

Under the IRS code, a delinquent debt must have reached the level of being considered "uncollectible" in order to do a charge-off.

I believe that 120 days delinquent is the normal standard.  It is not there to benefit creditors for marginally delinquent debts.

The IRS does not permit creditors to shift debt from a receivable asset to a business loss, and reap the tax writeoff, on debts that are newly delinquent.

The charge-off plum is handed to creditors in order to prevent their assets from being over-stated by inclusion of debt that cannot reasonably be expected to be paid.

I dont think your situation meets the intent of the charge-off regulations.

 

You can file a BBB complaint, but I would also file a complaint with the FTC, who has administrative oversight of the FCRA.  I would cc; a copy of any complaint to the creditor.

 

I would suspect that, if you raise enough stink, they will delete rather than answer to a challenge of the appropriateness of their tax writeoff, which in my opinion is very questionable.......

Message 2 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Is this a valid BBB complaint?


@RobertEG wrote:

I think you might have basis for a legal challenge of the appropriateness of a charge-off.

Under the IRS code, a delinquent debt must have reached the level of being considered "uncollectible" in order to do a charge-off.

I believe that 120 days delinquent is the normal standard.  It is not there to benefit creditors for marginally delinquent debts.

The IRS does not permit creditors to shift debt from a receivable asset to a business loss, and reap the tax writeoff, on debts that are newly delinquent.

The charge-off plum is handed to creditors in order to prevent their assets from being over-stated by inclusion of debt that cannot reasonably be expected to be paid.

I dont think your situation meets the intent of the charge-off regulations.

 

You can file a BBB complaint, but I would also file a complaint with the FTC, who has administrative oversight of the FCRA.  I would cc; a copy of any complaint to the creditor.

 

I would suspect that, if you raise enough stink, they will delete rather than answer to a challenge of the appropriateness of their tax writeoff, which in my opinion is very questionable.......


Thank you! Is this the reason why their unwilling to do a GW adjustment - because they used it as a tax write off?

Message 3 of 8
RobertEG
Legendary Contributor

Re: Is this a valid BBB complaint?

I dont know what the heck they are doing, as it appears that they have created a whole lot of unnecessary work for themselves.

 

If they did take a tax writeoff as a result of their charge-off, and you subsequently paid the "uncollectible" debt, then they will be required to amend their tax return, now shifting the debt back to income, negating their tax benefit.  A whole lot of accounting ledger work for no benefit.

 

I dont understand what the heck they are doing......

Message 4 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Is this a valid BBB complaint?

Me neither but I wish I had found this forum before I began this journey (thanks, MarineVet for the term).


Does anyone else have any other thoughts and/or suggestions?

Message 5 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Is this a valid BBB complaint?

bump Smiley Happy

Message 6 of 8
winstars
Regular Contributor

Re: Is this a valid BBB complaint?

I saw the other thread about this:

 

How many payments did you miss??? Did you pull your reports and see how this was being reported since last August??? Is it being reported now??? 

Are you saing that by mistake you forgot to pay this bill from August thru January and that on a Sunday night you recieved and email from them. And by the time you called them the next day they had already charged off the account??? And that was the first communication from them about any issue with your account???

 

I could see myself making a payment mistake (forgetting a creditor) in these days of automatic payments. But them not sending you or alerting you before an email on SUNDAY is pretty low life of them!!!



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Message 7 of 8
Lel
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Is this a valid BBB complaint?

This thread is locked.  Further replies can be posted on the identical thread on another board.

 

Please resist the urge to cross-post across multiple boards so that parallel threads, as has happened in this case, can be avoided.

 

 

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/Valid-BBB-complaint/m-p/1374555#M161745

Message 8 of 8
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