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Removing Fathers Collection From My Credit

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Removing Fathers Collection From My Credit

My father recently died and moved into his old house. Here's the kicker. He and I share the same name. At no point have he and I ever had a joint account. A couple of weeks ago I got a email notification from experian online stating that my credit had changed. I logged in to discover that Amex for which I have a C/O had reported me as deceased and my credit score was 0! Logged into creditkarma and TU and EQ both say they can't be updated. 

I read all I could online about the subject and learned that I needed to send a notarized letter to all 3 bureaus to dispute this which I did. I have now received letters from all 3 suggesting that the error was corrected. Great, but...

I had one of my dad's collections show up on my Experian report. I disputed it online via their dispute center and today I received a letter stating that "the dispute your recently submitted is now complete." In the results section it states the removal is still pending and the expected completion is 31 May. Despite the contradictions I believe that this should be removed soon. Except.... 

You know how they include a copy of your report in each dispute or change..? Well, I just noticed that my Amex C/O which was supposed to fall off in Jul 2018 is now a CO (not C/O) and is set to fall off in Jan 2025! ARGH!!!!!

Please tell me this is just a mistake and wasn't a sneaky way to punish my report for another 7 years. In the history section of the account is says 2011 OK, OK, then ND until Mar 2018 and CO for Apr 2018. WT Actually F....

 

Please help! 

 

 

 

 

 

Message 1 of 8
7 REPLIES 7
gdale6
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Removing Fathers Collection From My Credit

They only get 1 bite at the apple as far as reporting. Make a copy of earlier CR that has good info and make copy of it and send it along with a letter disputing the reported information.
Message 2 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Removing Fathers Collection From My Credit

Another great example of why I didn't name my son after me.  I too was named after my father and it has done nothing but create problems throughout my entire life.  Everything from credit-related things to bills to doctor's appointments.  It's crazy and something I didn't want my own son to ever have to deal with.

Message 3 of 8
UncleB
Credit Mentor

Re: Removing Fathers Collection From My Credit


@Anonymous wrote:

Another great example of why I didn't name my son after me.  I too was named after my father and it has done nothing but create problems throughout my entire life.  Everything from credit-related things to bills to doctor's appointments.  It's crazy and something I didn't want my own son to ever have to deal with.


Well said.  I have a similar curse, and I wouldn't wish it on anybody.  Smiley Sad

 

@Anonymous, you might want to double-check that Social Security doesn't show you as deceased as well.  I don't think that is the case here, but if it is you'll want to clear that up without delay.

Message 4 of 8
MakingProgress
Senior Contributor

Re: Removing Fathers Collection From My Credit


@Anonymous wrote:

Another great example of why I didn't name my son after me.  I too was named after my father and it has done nothing but create problems throughout my entire life.  Everything from credit-related things to bills to doctor's appointments.  It's crazy and something I didn't want my own son to ever have to deal with.


I have my father's name, my grandfather's first name and same middle initial, and my son has my name. Yes it does sometimes create problems but if you are aware of what's happening it isn't really that hard to deal with. 

FICO 8 Starting Score

Current Scores


Garden Goal is All Reports Clean – Achieved 11/26/20
Message 5 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Removing Fathers Collection From My Credit


@MakingProgress

I have my father's name, my grandfather's first name and same middle initial, and my son has my name. Yes it does sometimes create problems but if you are aware of what's happening it isn't really that hard to deal with. 


I'm not sure what you mean by the above in saying that if you are aware of what's happening it isn't really that hard to deal with. 

 

My suffix is "V" (I'm the 5th generation in my family with the same name) and for me it's been a nightmare my entire life.  Not making my son "VI" was probably the easiest decision I've ever made.

Message 6 of 8
coldfusion
Community Leader
Mega Contributor

Re: Removing Fathers Collection From My Credit

 

I went through this same nonsense a few years ago after my father died.   This happens because someone was lazy in their data-gathering.

 

You already have paper copies from the 3 major CRAs, which is a good start.  Also get a hard copy of your Innovis credit report,  and triple check all of them to make absolutely sure they all have your correct DOB and correct SSN.

 

As someone else already suggested, visit your local Social Security office with the needed photo IDs as well as a copy of your birth certificate and SSN card, and have your father's DOB and SSN# (and if you have one, a copy of his death certificate) with you.  They can confirm your current correct status and also confirm the status of his SSN showing he's deceased and date of death. 

 

Lastly, also get hard copies of your ARS, Sagestream, and especially your LexisNexis report and go over all of them in painstaking detail.  You don't want the error clawing its way back into places you already cleaned it out from. Smiley Sad

 

 

 

 

(3/2024)
FICO 8 (EX) 846 (TU) 850 (EQ) 850
FICO 9 (EX) 850 (TU) 850 (EQ) 850

$1M+ club

Artist formerly known as the_old_curmudgeon who was formerly known as coldfusion
Message 7 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Removing Fathers Collection From My Credit

Thanks everyone for the advice and commisuration. It really helps! 

Update, I got ahold of the OC for my fathers collection and explained what had happened (this is a southern healthcare company that was treating my father for cancer). They were horrified and immediately called the CA to fix the problem then called me back to tell me they had done so. Sure enough, gone from all 3 bureaus! Yay!

However, I noticed that the notes on my amex still show deceased and the amex account will be aged off in 2025. I went back to earlier reports and noticed that Amex has always been reporting this account this way since I first started checking and it wasn't a result of my actions. Good, but...

Amex is reporting OK in Sep, Oct 2011 then FP in whatever the current month is with no data in between. I have a funny feeling that Sep 2011 happens to be when I first missed my Amex payment. 

So my questions are: is this a normal way of reporting? Why does the EX not show the data in between? Can Amex keep reporting this way indefinately therefore never aging off? I believe this was a standard Amex charge card (not credit card). Does that have something to do with it. Finally, if Sep 2011 was indeed the DoFD should I expect/pursue the aging off of this account in Aug 2018?

Thanks for all the advice! 

Message 8 of 8
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