In need of advice

[Anonymous]

I'll try to keep the background of the circumstances brief.

About 6 and half years ago I declared chapter 7 bakruptcy and had my debts discharged (about 16k).  One of the creditors named was CapitalOne with a credit card debt of  over $900.  Since that time I've accepted offers from a few Credit Card companies.  One of these was Providian who I had a very good relationship with and through building up balances and paying them off, my Credit line increased from $1000 to $9500 within 2 years.  A year or two ago, they were taken over by Washington Mutual.  Back around 2002/2003, I accepted 2 credit card offers from CapitalOne.  Each card had an annaul fee.  When it came time to renew the cards with the annual fee, I payed them off and cancelled them since I had enough credit from other cards and no longer wanted to pay any annual fees.

Fast forward to 2007.  My balance on my Washingtom Mutual card (formerly Providian) has been hovering near $9k for a year or so and until very recently I haven't been in a position to pay it down with sizeable payments.  The APR on the majority of the balance had been roughly 16%.  Meanwhile, in March, I accepted another offer from CapitalOne with a $1000 credit line and this time no annual fee.  In the whole time since the bankruptcy (Feb 2001), I have never failed to make timely payments to every card that I've had.

Last month my Washington Mutual bill arrived and it looked very different.  The most glaring differece was that instead of an APR of 16%, the APR was now 25.99%.  I have attempted to get an explanation from them and have been told that I will receive one in the mail within 30 days (that was about a week ago).  Meanwhile, I've taken the initiative to look at my credit report.  My credit report has always listed my bankruptcy on it since Feb 2001.  However, there was one peculiar item that was added on 5/6/07.  I suspect this new item gave them the opportunity to blindside me with this rate adjustment.  The report now includes the CapitalOne debt that was discharged 6+ years ago when I declared bankruptcy and lists its status as "Derogutory".

I've recently payed down about 4k of the Washington Mutual account.

At this point in time I'd like to know -

How was this item able to show up on my credit report  on 5/6/07?

How can I get it removed?

How can I get Washingtom Mutual to revert the APR on my account back to where it used to be ?

I should also note that my FICO credit score plummeted about 40 points shortly after this "Derogutory" item showed up.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

-Bill S.

[SmartCookie]

Hi Bill,

I'd start by calling a WAMU rep and nicely explaining that you recieved a few 0% balance transfer offers from other companies and though you really want to stay with WAMU, what can they do for you regarding the current interest rate.  Be nice, they will transfer you to a different department where they to this all day and 9/10 give you a better rate.  Don't take the first rate, ask if there is anything better.  Again, be nice... explain you are a loyal customer etc. but be firm that you need them to do better in order for you not to transfer your balance and close your card.  BTW, no matter what you need to tell them... do not of course close your card!   Take what they seem to bottomline offer, anything helps while you figure out the rest.

As far as Cap1, I'm not an expert on the SOL's in BK  and will leave that to someone else but I would think it still couldn't hurt  to write them a GW letter explaining your past issue and how that was long ago etc... cite your 2 newest closed and 1 active account in good standing with them.  Ask them if they will delete it off the credit reports.  You never know... but at least even if this isn't possible, you are coming to the end of the line with it.     

Good luck!  I'm sure you will get lots of great advice to help you decide what process is best for you. 

Message Edited by SmartCookie on 07-03-2007 12:10 AM

[Anonymous]

Since your WAMU CC has a $9.5K CL and a near $9K balance, that is likely the reason for your APR ratejacking. Universal default. Ontime payments don't matter, but paying down $4K can make a huge difference.
http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=generalcredit&message.id=4120

When was your BK discharged? BKs by law can remain on your CRs for 10 years. However, there's a vagueness in the statutes I'm seeing and need to clarify for myself, so I'm going to go digging. The vagueness I see is whether the discharged debt itself can remain for 10 years or does it drop after 7.5 years? I'll find out and report I find.

How is the BKed Cap 1 debt showing? Late, collection, chargeoff, etc.? If it was current when you filed for BK, then they must report it as $0 balance, closed, and IIB. That's it.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your replies.

Noah - I was informed of the BK discharge in Mar/2001 .  My CR states that it was Feb/2001.  I basically figure it will drop off my CR at some point.  As previously stated the BK has been there for all creditor's to see for years.   What's puzzling is this new "Derogatory" entry on the CR from CAP1. On the CR from TU next to "Condition:" it reads "Derogatory".  Clicking on "more about this account" opens a seperate window that has

 -----------------------------------------------

 High Balance: $895

 Opened: 05/23/1998

 Reported: 05/06/2007

 Responsibility: Individual

 Remarks: Chapter 7 bankruptcy

 ------------------------------------------------

This debt was discharged as part of the BK.   I'm curious why it was "Reported" 8 weeks ago.  Its reporting also coincides with the APR rate hike from WAMU.  The WAMU rate hike first showed up on a bill I received in mid May.  Unfortunately, I didn't notice it until the next bill arrived in mid June (when the min payment jumped nearly $100).

Does it seem likely that this "Derogatory" item has been put on my CR by error?

[Anonymous]

---

ndv180 wrote:

Noah - I was informed of the BK discharge in Mar/2001 .  My CR states that it was Feb/2001.  I basically figure it will drop off my CR at some point.

...

 -----------------------------------------------

 High Balance: $895

 Opened: 05/23/1998

 Reported: 05/06/2007

 Responsibility: Individual

 Remarks: Chapter 7 bankruptcy

 ------------------------------------------------

Is the Cap 1 IIB account showing a balance due, open, late, chargeoff, collections, etc.? Also is it showing a "Scheduled To Appear Until" date?

[Anonymous]

I'm able to look at 2 CR's.  TU has the newly added "Derogatory" item.  It appears as I've already described.  Here is the cut and paste from the online version of the TU CR

Account No.: 52910714****

Condition: Derogatory    

Balance:      

Type: Credit Card    

Pay Status

Clicking on the link "more about this account" yields the following information in a seperate window:

More about CAPITAL 1 BK

Remarks: [TransUnion] Chapter 7 bankruptcy

TransUnion Experian Equifax

Past Due:      

High Balance: $895    

Terms:    

Limit:      

Payment:      

Opened: 05/23/1998    

Reported: 05/06/2007    

Responsibility: Individual

The Experian report has an entry for this account listed and it reads

====================================================

CAP ONE BK   EXPERIAN    

Account Name: CAP ONE BK 

Account Number: 52910714XXXX

Acct Type: Credit Card - Revolving Terms 

Acct Status: Closed  

Monthly Payment:  

Date Open: 5/1/1998 

Balance: $0.00 

Terms: Revolving 

High Balance: $895.00  Limit:  

Past Due:

Payment Status: Debt included in or discharged through Bankruptcy Chapter 7, 11, or 12 

Comments: Credit line closed-grantor request-reported by subscriber

==================================================================== 

Hope this information helps.  Thank you for all your assistance.