Need help with a letter

[merlin]

I'm aggravated. I've done really well cleaning up my credit reports after some really rough years that ended with BK.

There was a bank line of credit that first went delinquent 2/01 and was charged off a couple years later, then included in the BK. When February came and went I thought this one would go away easily. But no. Apparently the account was sold at some point and it is being reported with a status date of 2003, when it was charged off. (I think one has updated to show the BK from 05.)

I contacted the bank, thinking this would be fairly simple to resolve. They can report for seven years from the first delinquency. Seven years has passed. The bank said it had been sold and gave me a phone number for the agency that now owns it. (Even though it is reported under the bank name.) I've called them and get a recording regardless of when I call. They have yet to return a phone message. Assuming I can get a valid address, what exactly should I write to them? This is showing up on both my and my husband's CRs.

[Anonymous]

For a CO that is reporting longer than it should, you need to dispute the account with the CRAs as "obsolete."  Yes, you can approach the bank and ask them to remove the account from your reports, but disputing with the CRAs is the only way to preserve your rights under the FCRA.

[merlin]

They've been disputed and "verified". The CRA's are no help at this point. That's why I called the bank, thinking if I explained to them they would pull it. But they said it was sold and the current holder hasn't responded to my voice messages.

The last one was still showing the dofd as 2/01. I asked the CRA to remove it. It came back verified with a last activity date of 5/03 (the actual chargeoff date, apparently.)

[Anonymous]

Do you have any reports..where they say.."this account is scheduled to stay on record"...until such and such date...I would make a copy of that...and send it to the CRAs...some CRAs are hard heads...you have to highlight everything for them to catch on...highlight the DOFD..and the scheduled drop off dates...from previous reports...make sure the account is not re-aging...

[merlin]

I tried that with one, but haven't heard back since I tried that tack.

Another one though I was disputing items online and it actually prompted me to dispute that to have it removed since it was past the limit. Then it came back updated and verified with the later date!

Sometimes it really is most effective to make a phone call. I got one CA removed that way instead of having it updated to reflect being included in BK. It was still showing open with a balance. I called the CA and explained that it had been included in BK a couple years ago, and they pulled it. Before that I had disputed it and it had come back "verified".

[Anonymous]

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merlin wrote:

They've been disputed and "verified". The CRA's are no help at this point. That's why I called the bank, thinking if I explained to them they would pull it. But they said it was sold and the current holder hasn't responded to my voice messages.

The last one was still showing the dofd as 2/01. I asked the CRA to remove it. It came back verified with a last activity date of 5/03 (the actual chargeoff date, apparently.)

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OK, you didn't mention that you had already disputed with the CRAs.

If DOFD was Feb 2001, it is still within the CRTP.  Expected drop date would be Aug 2008.

CRTP is 7 years and 180 days from DOFD.

[merlin]

Well, at one time it appeared on the credit reports with an expected deletion date of 2/08. Sorry I didn't make it clear that it had already been disputed. The point is it is now being reported and verified with a later status date and no mention of the DOFD, and I'm getting no response from the creditor, which is a collection agency.

[adamseve]

Merlin,

You indicated that this account was included in your BK.  If that's the case, the bank is violating the discharge.  Any account that was discharged in your BK can not be sold, transferred, etc.  They can never collect.  So, you may have them on this.  Take a look at this link:  http://www.bankruptcylawnetwork.com/2007/05/03/violation-of-the-bankruptcy-discharge-injunction-may-...

Second, when was your BK discharged?  Finally, if you have a CR that shows that the account was supposed to be deleted 2/08 did you fax this to the CRA?  They usually will delete with this information from what I gather.

Hope this helps.