"Current Status" Reporting Incorrectly?

[MBOhio2]

I have a federal student loan that I consolidated in 2009. In the 3 months prior to the consolidation, I was struggling financially so the payments were late. In the month directly prior to the consolidation, it was 120 days late, but the account was then paid in full and closed as part of the consolidation.

Currently on my Equifax report, the "current status" reads as "Over 120 Days Past Due." This is not true because the account is not currently 120 days past due. Currently, the account is paid in full and closed. The "Current Balance" says $0 and the "Amount Past Due" also says $0. Is this reporting technically correct or incorrect (I know that some CR items, which they may feel misleading, are technically correct) and if incorrect, is this current status hurting me? For example, is this account being considered currently past due as a result of this status?

If this is incorrect, how should I correct it? Just contact the lender directly and dispute the current status?

[Anonymous]

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@MBOhio2 wrote:

I have a federal student loan that I consolidated in 2009. In the 3 months prior to the consolidation, I was struggling financially so the payments were late. In the month directly prior to the consolidation, it was 120 days late, but the account was then paid in full and closed as part of the consolidation.

Currently on my Equifax report, the "current status" reads as "Over 120 Days Past Due" This is not true because the account is not currently 120 days past due. Currently, the account is paid in full and closed. Is this reporting technically incorrect (I know that some CR items, which they may feel misleading, are technically correct) and is this hurting me? For example, is this account being considered currently past due as a result of this status? If this is incorrect, how should I correct it?

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You stated that you were 120 days late. So the reporting of 120 days late is correct and it will keep reporting that for the next 7-7.5 years from DOFD. Since the loan was consolidated it should show a 0 balance and 120 date late with the OC.

[gamegrrl]

I've found that it's really difficult to get the folks at Nelnet, Sallie Mae and others to update the Pay Status field to reflect the current pay status. In fact, I've had to go all the way to the Department of Education Ombudsman office and have them open a case to make this happen.

I tried talking to the original holders of the loan who were reporting $0 balances, yet Pay Statuses of 120 Days Late. That is incorrect. While those lates will still show up in the report, the Pay Status field should reflect the current status of your loan payments, such as Paid or Paying as Agreed.

[gamegrrl]

JM-AM: Shouldn't the Pay Status field show the current status? The 120 Days Late shows up in other fields, but it's my understanding that the Pay Status field should reflect the current status of payments. In other words, "Is the person currently delinquent"?

[MBOhio2]

gamegrrrl - Thanks for the info. Is this "current status" of 120 days late hurting me?

I'm well aware that because the account was 120 days late at one point, this will be reflected on my CR for 7-7.5 years. However, the "Current status" is not 120 days late. That was the status back in May of 2009, but not now. Now, the account should be paid as agrees because the account was paid in full.

[Anonymous]

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@gamegrrl wrote:

JM-AM: Shouldn't the Pay Status field show the current status? The 120 Days Late shows up in other fields, but it's my understanding that the Pay Status field should reflect the current status of payments. In other words, "Is the person currently delinquent"?

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As long as the balance reflects 0 then the loan is paid. Some creditors will report paid/120 day late and some just report the late payment. Either way it is correct reporting to show the 120 day late.

[gamegrrl]

I'm relatively new to the myFICO forums, and I'm by no means an expert. Not by any stretch of the imagination. But what you're saying is exactly the argument I made. Current means, ironically, "Current". To my way of thinking, anyway. I look forward to seeing what others have to say about this.

[gamegrrl]

Well that stinks. What good is a Current Status field if it's not for reporting the CURRENT status of an account?

[Anonymous]

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@MBOhio2 wrote:

gamegrrrl - Thanks for the info. Is this "current status" of 120 days late hurting me?

I'm well aware that because the account was 120 days late at one point, this will be reflected on my CR for 7-7.5 years. However, the "Current status" is not 120 days late. That was the status back in May of 2009, but not now. Now, the account should be paid as agrees because the account was paid in full.

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If this was true then no one has to pay there bills on time.

[MBOhio2]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@MBOhio2 wrote:

gamegrrrl - Thanks for the info. Is this "current status" of 120 days late hurting me?

I'm well aware that because the account was 120 days late at one point, this will be reflected on my CR for 7-7.5 years. However, the "Current status" is not 120 days late. That was the status back in May of 2009, but not now. Now, the account should be paid as agrees because the account was paid in full.

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If this was true then no one has to pay there bills on time.

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Not true at all. The payment history would still reflect the 120 day late, as it clearly does right now. However, it seems only logical that the "current status" should state the actual current status of the loan. As of today, the current status of the loan is that it has been paid as ageees, i.e. paid in full and closed. However, the account has a payment history which reflects a late payment of 120 days late. These are two separate items.

For all of my other accounts that are currently being paid on time, even those that have at one point been late, the "current status" says "pays as agreed" and then any late payments are reflected in the payment history section. Those accounts that are currently paid as agrees but that have a late payment in the past still hurt me because of the payment history section. The "current status" section isn't the only information reported.

I'm the one that asked for advice so by no means am I now trying to argue, but what you're saying above doesn't make sense because the "current status" isn't the place where creditors report past late payments.