30 day late from 2006 reporting as current?? huh??

[hippychic823]

So I'm in rebuild mode and have been keeping a close eye on my credit and living on the forums I have been tracking my scores but kinda glazed over my report. I thought I was pretty familiar with the items on there, and knew I had this old 30 day late from a consumer finance loan (World Finance) but when I reviewed this account further they have my current status reported as 30 days late!!! I opened this account in Sept 2006, DOLA reported as Apr 2007 (30 day late) and then the next month (May) has a green "OK" box and the report states "Status as of: June 07". Then it reports "Closed. Zero Balance." Why would they report my current status "30 days late" as of June 07 when I have a positive payment in May 07 and paid the loan off that month and the late was in Apr 07?? Can I dispute this? Or just wait for it to fall off?

[RobertEG]

If it is reported as current status, it is incorrect and should be corrected, as it indicates a closed account with a current delinquency status.  Since the current balance is reporting as $0, the two are contradictory.

Current status is a snapshot of status as of last (current) reporting, and has no historical memory.  When a delinquent account is brought current, the current status is updated, and the prior delinquency status is retained in a separate code called your Payment Rating.  If closed, the current status should simply read "Paid."

It is possible that your CR is improperly using the Payment Rating as current status, and your credit file itself might be correct.

:However, that is not what your CR states, so yes, I would insist on the current status being updated to Paid.

You could handle it by informal request to the creditor, or you can compel correction within approx 30 days by filing a direct dispute.

The path of direct dispute has the obvious advantage of compelling an investigation and correction within a set period, however may also result in a dispute flag being placed in your CR, skewing your score.  If you plan on needing your score within the next couple of months, it may be best to first try the informal approach.

But informal requests often get informal attention.....

[hippychic823]

Thanks for all your wisdom RobertEG!!!! I tried calling the finance company local branch but apparently they have closed so I may try calling their main branch if I can find a contact number for them. If not, then as soon as I close on my house I'm in the middle of buying I will file a dispute with the CRA's I guess. I realllly want to file a dispute now because seeing this on my report is so upsetting but I know the worst thing you can do while you're in UW is to file a dispute or open any new credit. So just have to be patient and wait. What should I say in my dispute? Are there any FCRA statutes/regs that I can quote to let them know I mean business?