topic Re: FCRA - Deleting trade lines in Rebuilding Your Credit

FCRA - Deleting trade lines

djc225 — Wed, 23 Dec 2015 19:15:15 GMT

Is there any documentation that shows or allows lenders to do a goodwill deletion of a tradeline? I've had sucess with some creditors doing goodwill deletions, however, one creditor is specifically saying that this is against the Fair Credit Reporting Act but will reconsider deleting if i show them proof that this is acceptable.

Here is the language that they stated:

The Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) governs furnishers and specifically requires under 15 USC, § 1681s-2(a)(1)(A) the furnishers report only accurate information. In that the installment payments due were paid late during the periods in which a delinquency was reported, then Bank must report this information for those periods. The FCRA expressly requires that furnishers report delinquency information. To issue a goodwill deletion of the past delinquencies would be a regulatory violation.

Please let me know what I can show them as evidence that deleting is acceptable.

Thank you.

Re: FCRA - Deleting trade lines

RobertEG — Wed, 23 Dec 2015 19:29:09 GMT

You will not find a direct statement in the FCRA that furnishers are permitted to delete information that has been reported.

That is primarily because the FCRA does not require any party to initially report any information to a CRA.

Statutes rarely list what persons dont have to do, so no such express statement is provided.

Credit reporting is totally discretionary and voluntary.

The two primary sections governing credit reporting are FCRA 623(a)(1) and 623(a)(2).

Section 623(a)(1) states that if a party reports, then they must not report information that they know to be inaccurate.

That does not require all reporting to be accurate, or require furnishers to report anything that is accurate.

It stipulates that is someone does report information, it cannot knowingly be inaccurate.

Section 623(a)(2) is more relevant, in that it does mandate certain information that MUST be reported.

It stipulates that if a furnisher does report to a CRA, they assume obligation to promptly update that information so as to maintain its current accuracy.

Howver, it does not prevent a party from simply deleting their prior reporting if they choose.

There can be no inaccuracy in reporting of information that has been deleted.

Arguing the legal semantics with a furnisher is rarely productive.

They need no reason to refuse to delete, and in fact, the CRAs have a policy instruction in their manuals informing parties NOT to delete based on payment of the debt.

That policy is a business policy of the CRAs for the purpose of maintaining the completeness, and thus value, of the credit reports they sell.

That is the primary basis why furnisheres may decide not to delete, not any provision of the FCRA.

Re: FCRA - Deleting trade lines

djc225 — Wed, 23 Dec 2015 19:31:22 GMT

excellent information. Thank you very much.