WHICH COPY OF MY REPORT TO USE AS THE DISPUTE?

[Anonymous]

I wish to dispute the CRTP of a CA that is currently being reported to Experian (I will be asserting an earlier DOFD). I will be disputing by mail via CMRRR.

Experian says I must have a current copy of the report (report received within the last 90 days) to use for the dispute.  I received my free yearly report back in February which is clearly outside the 90 days.  I printed (and paid for) another report today directly from Experian. However, this report doesn't reference the OC (citibank) along with the CA that is currently reporting.  It only shows the CA.  I find this strange as both the OC and the CA were reported on the FREE yearly report, yet the report I had to pay for seems strangely incomplete.  Oh well, anyway, to continue.....

I understand it is best not to dispute the free yearly report because of the added time frame the CRA has to investigate and respond.  BUT I also feel it would be better to dispute that copy as it shows both the OC and the new CA that is reporting the debt.  I figure this way it is crystal clear which account I'm disputing.  Especially since CAs seem to play so fast and loose with the account numbers they use when reporting to the CRAs.

So What should I do?  Which report should I use for my dispute?  Can the CRAs really impose a dispute period (the 90 days) ? 

I suppose I could dispute the EX report I received today and include a copy of the report I received back in February.  I had already planned to include copies of reports from other CRAs (TU and EQ) as proof of the DOFD on the account in question.  I guess a couple of additional pieces of paper can't hurt. 

Also, is it just me or does it seem that the CRAs are all pushing hard for all disputes to be made online? On the surface that seems like it might be faster and cheaper (No fees for CMRRR).  But it also doesn't leave a paper trail of proof as afforded by CMRRR, not to mention you can't really include written supporting documentation with an online dispute.

Heck, the CRAs seem to be going out of their way not to provide a mailing address for disputes by mail. 

Any advice or suggestions?

Thanks,

BigTrees

[medicgrrl]

It sounds like the OC has already fallen off due to the CRTP being over.  What did the previous report show as the DOFD?  If the previous report has the accurate information then I would dispute using the current report and reference the previous report and the OC's DOFD as your documentation.

[Anonymous]

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@medicgrrl wrote:
It sounds like the OC has already fallen off due to the CRTP being over.  What did the previous report show as the DOFD?  If the previous report has the accurate information then I would dispute using the current report and reference the previous report and the OC's DOFD as your documentation.

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Yes, I have a TU report from 2003 that shows the OC (Citibank) charging off the debt in June 2000.    It popped up again from time to time from other CAs, but it finally fell off all of my reports completely in 2007 or so.  

Now, as of February of this year, it has all of a sudden been reported again by yet another CA on the EX report. The new CA is making no mention of any dates prior to 2007/2009 which is clearly incorrect.  The free EX yearly report I recv'd in Feb does at least show the CA that is now reporting and references the OC (Citibank).  This report doesn't list a DOFD.  It only states "this account is scheduled to continue on record until Nov 2010".  Counting back 7 years that would make the DOFD 2003.  But that is incorrect as the account was charged off in 2000.  It is my understanding that the charge off date would be the DOFD.

The report purchased today directly from EX only shows the new CA - it doesn't reference anything re:  the OC.  And of course the dates are still showing as 2007/2009.

My proof of the DOFD is the report sent to me by TU back in 2003 which shows the OC (Citibank) reporting the account as:  "closed 06/2000" and "status as of 06/2000: charged off as bad debt".    The question is, will EX honor that information contained in another CRAs report as accurate?  I don't have any older EX reports that show the original OC - much less any reports with the DOFD. 

Do you think this will be enough to convince EX to delete the CA from my report because it is past the CRTP? 

Message Edited by BigTrees on 06-25-2009 08:30 PM