Equifax and Transunion STILL reporting deceased

[Anonymous]

I just closed on a house and have spent quite a bit of time over on the Mortgage Forums.  Long story short --  Out of the three CRAs, TU and EQ are reporting me as deceased.  This stems from 5 years ago, when I closed an AMEX.  AMEX, for whatever reason, cited "deceased" as the reason the account was closed. 

I never knew about the deceased status until I apped for a mortgage and it came up.(I wasn't nearly as on top of my credit and scores as I am now).Since Experian is reporting me correctly, and me bending over backward to demostrate I am, in fact, alive to the lender I was approved for the mortgage. 

I have disputed with both TU and EQ and they both say that my status has been corrected "in their system", but yet I cannot pull a FAKO thru them or a score here on myfico.  This was all done the 1st of December.  What can I do?

[haulingthescoreup]

Wow, that one's different!

Do you know if AmEx is still reporting? If so, they might have updated since 12/1 and killed you off again.

I'm checking around to see if anyone has any ideas...

[haulingthescoreup]

I ran this by some others, and we're thinking that even though the CRA's figured it out, AmEx is faithfully reported you as dead every month, undoing your good work.

Find a human being at AmEx who deals with account errors and who will give you a fax number, fax the EX report and the incorrect reports, and demand that AmEx go clean up their records and update the CRA's immediately. (As opposed to the next billing cycle, for instance.)

Even if you never want an American Express card again, it's hardly right for them to paralyze your credit in this manner. hth

[Anonymous]

Thanks, Hauling.  But that's not it either.  AMEX last reported anything in '04.  The requirements to prove one is not dead is to fax a copy of a drivers license and current utility bill, etc and they will correct. 

When I get a human on the phone  with TU/EQ they tell me "yeah we verified your not dead".  I then say "great, send me that in writing." To which they continue to say "the fact that you can pull a report is proof your not dead."  I forgot to mention getting the actual report from the 2 CRAs isn't a problem.  It is the SCORES. 

Crazy scenario, I know.  But I got a $200,000 mortgage, then went to buy a new bedroom suit, and was denied because "I'm dead."  HELP.

[Anonymous]

Veee went through this. Maybe you can find her and message her? She might have some tips.

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks, Hauling.  But that's not it either.  AMEX last reported anything in '04.  The requirements to prove one is not dead is to fax a copy of a drivers license and current utility bill, etc and they will correct. 

When I get a human on the phone  with TU/EQ they tell me "yeah we verified your not dead".  I then say "great, send me that in writing." To which they continue to say "the fact that you can pull a report is proof your not dead."  I forgot to mention getting the actual report from the 2 CRAs isn't a problem.  It is the SCORES. 

Crazy scenario, I know.  But I got a $200,000 mortgage, then went to buy a new bedroom suit, and was denied because "I'm dead."  HELP.

---

I can see why you were denied for credit to buy a new bedroom suit, ghosts don't sleep! lol!

Seriously, your nightmare is a prime example of the CRAs not knowing exactly what to do with their own computer systems. They are probably miss-coding your info because the CSR is confused on how to correct the situation. Perhaps someone on the forum that is familiar with the actual code entries could help you.

I saw a news article in the past day or so that said to send a notarized letter to the CRAs along with driver's license, and utility bill. Have you tried the notarized letter yet? I will try to find the article and send it to you this evening. 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, any tips greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Dead man walking........

http://banking.senate.gov/public/_files/jokinen.pdf

I am still searching for the article I mentioned earlier, however, I had bookmarked the page above some time ago because it was interesting, thought you may like to read it. I will still post the news article for you on repairing deceased notation when I find it.

[Anonymous]

MojaveMoon posted a link to an article today, in the Credit in the News forum, from SmartMoney magazine, titled, "Why the Credit Bureaus Can't Get It Right. There is a paragraph about Ken Clark and the deceased issue. Go take a look at the article.

From my research, everything points back to going to the source- the reporting creditor who reported you as deceased, AMEX. I would send the following to the original creditor as well as the CRAs-EQ & TU, and Fair Isaac, in your case:

• Notarized letter from you, outlining what proof you are sending to prove you are indeed alive, as well as your request that the correction be made to your credit report deleting any and all "deceased" notations.
• Utility bill 
• Copy of your driver's license 
• Letter from Social Security Administration confirming you are indeed alive, not deceased!

Message Edited by mymoneynow on 02-03-2009 09:10 PM

[Anonymous]

I Have the same problem now, Equifax and T.U.  have me as deceased, and they have stopped all my ability to get credit. I'm not dead, really I'm not. What should I do.