I posted earlier that I had a CFPB dispute going with Experian. Yesterday I logged in and saw a 25 point drop in my Equifax score, somehow a "90 day late" was added to one of the accts.
So I log in today and I dropped another 48 points. Now the same account is showing charge-off. The thing is it started six months after my BK was discharged and is showing every month to today. The date of change reported was yesterday. Before that the account was just closed in 3/24 after the BK.
WTH happened?
I have a guess. My CFPB complaint caused Experian to request verification on the account. The creditor uploaded something and sent this fiasco to the bureaus. Now I wonder if TU will join the mess.
Ive disputed it with Equifax since it's clearly wrong. But WTH???? This is so aggravating. A 73 point drop over a clear mistake.
Rebuild Started March 2024
What are you disputing ?
If this account was included in your bk what are you disputing about it ?
The account showed the BK and closed as of Nover 2023 (see the image). It was that way throughout as a closed account.
I'm disputing the false CO reporting as of August 2024 until this day every month. This is a "recent" entry that caused my score to drop 73 points. The account was current until I filed BK and it was discharged. So where did the charge off come from? My Equifax report shows an 84 point Vantage score drop (on their website) and this "Newest delinquent or derogatory payment status on your accounts is too recent". On MyFico it says "recent missed payments" as a cause of the massive score drop. Previously there were no delinquent payments and no charges offs. Everything closed after the Bankruptcy as it should be. These CO appeared out of nowhere.
Per the FCRA once an acount is discharged a creditor cannot legally continue to report a delinquency (in this case it was never delinquent even before bankruptcy). It shows "Included in Bankruptcy" which is all it should show. The "account dates" on the Equifax website note the first delinquency was 11/14/23 (which was the day I filed BK). But look at the "Date Reported". This week. Where did that come from?
@AndySoCal wrote:I looked at your CFPB dispute payment history on this account. In that post the account had a single month of the account being reported as a charge off in 2023. The account after the dispute the charge off has been brought forward in time to current day in 2026. Any account that has been discharged in a chapter 7, charge off or collections is closed. The account may not report as closed but due to the status of the account it is implied as closed. Long story short due to the dispute the charge off was brought forward in time. The dispute will, cause all the account history etc to be reviewed and updated as necessary.
The account should not reported as a charge off. The history of the account ends when the judge discharges the account. What happens after that that charging off the debt should not be reported. You can try a dispute if you do talk to a human to file it. The better option is talk to the creditor to see if they will correct the reporting.
Yes. The CFPB complaint was Experian but even there it was never 90 days late and never charged off. All it should show is included in bankruptcy. Those 17 accounts showing a mysterious 90 days late and charge off are the reason my Experian score was so much lower. That appears to be a data issue.
Now one former creditor obviously reported completely inaccurate information to Equifax. Probably updating based on the Experian dispute. One account and a 73 point drop.
This is getting ridiculous but I am going to get it corrected. I looked up next steps online and I have a roadmap to follow. I'm glad I am not applying for any credit because this would definitely hurt me.
The next step if the creditor doesn't update correctly is a certified letter outlining the inaccuracy and the correction required. If that fails I hire a credit reporting attorney and sue for damages. I tossed this entire fiasco into four different websites and every one said it's basically a slam dunk. Those lawyers basically work on a contingency because the law requires they be paid by the offender.
@crystal626 wrote:Sometimes its best to leave well enough alone. When credit reports get updated, FICO treats it as a new delinquency, crushing your score all over again. Good luck sorting this out.
If it were one account my Experian score might've been a bit lower but not this much. I'd probably have ignored it. But 17 accounts is way to many to ignore.
It is also a matter of what is right. Credit scores run lives and ruin lives. When I've done everything I was supposed to do to rebuild I deserve correct reporting. If anything this entire situation has pissed me off. I'm going to fight to get it fixed. I'm retired and have all day. More than that I have the law on my side.
Some possible movement. Today's Equifax report no longer shows any charge off or late payment. The Vantage score still shows the 84 point drop. I'm hoping they corrected this mistake correctly, they'll report the corrections to everyone, and the FICO and Vantage scores will go back to where they where before this fiasco started.
Images:
1. 9/22/26 showing correct payment history up to the closed BK.
2. 9/24/26 showing the false charge offs starting six months after BK discharge.
3. 9/26/26 showing nothing at all.
4. The huge Vantage drop.
Update:
This morning I received a call from the creditor in question. Of course the customer service is offshored and I had trouble understanding them. They were calling about my dispute. I told them the problem and the lady said the account showed pending with the Barnkruptcy in filed status.
I told the lady it discharged in March 2024 and that they had shown it included in bankruptcy and closed up until last week when all this changed. I asked her how it could change from closed to filed. No answer. Then she tried to transfer me to the "dedicated bankruptcy department". After being transferred to the main menu (not the BK people) I managed to get a human on the line. I asked to be transferred and after about ten minutes of trying they asked me to call back later.
I have my BK paperwork ready to send them showing the discharge. Hopefully I can get a human on the phone from the BK department and get this corrected asap.
Update:
I spokle to the creditors BK department today. They aren't sure exaclty what happened. They did go into PACER and confirmed the discharge (I had the BK number). They're reentering the BK discharge and notifying another department to have the CO indicators removed. Then they'll update the bureaus. It hasn't hit TU or Experian yet but I can expect it to. They said to dispute with them as soon as it does. They said it could take 30-45 days to update so I'll just relax and wait.
I will say I always speak nicely to customer service. This representative from the BK department was clearly not offshored and was super friendly and helpful. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar and I thought the customer service was excellent. They even gave me a direct number to call if there is an issue down the road so I can call them directly.