Kate1258 wrote:
Yes, I have gotten a supervisor involved.
Lel, hmmm....I actually spoke to a reporter from Bloomberg about this situation on 7/31/09. When did you read that article? I believe I am being reported delinquent. I've looked at my Equifax report and the payment status says 'pays 30-60 days' or similar language. All my other accounts read 'pays as agrees'.
I would think that if I were reported 'current' with the CA comment would be better than being reported as pays 30-60 days late. I've never made a late payment or defaulted on anything in my life so this is a real shocker. We are current on all other bills and have only paid partial payments to Citi when we were told to.
What does the AC code mean anyway and how do scorers look at it? Will the new wording next month make a difference in how it is scored? Is it true that they will show me current again after this is over and my credit will go back up? That is what they keep telling me. Unfortunately I am not sure my business can go that long without a credit line. We do environmental consulting and a lot of the prospective customers want to know you have a line, presumably so you can finance some costs up front before they pay you, I suppose. This type of consulting is definately based on receivables.
Okay, so it appears that there could be two factors working against you here.
You're right that there's an error in the way that CitiMortgage is reporting your loan to the CRAs, based on the current CDIA guidelines. Have you checked all three credit reports for the same reporting pattern? Like you already figured out, if you were current when you started the MHA process, you should be reported as current.
Even if you get the late reporting corrected, the AC code might still have a negative effect on your score. That seems to be what is implied in the Bloomberg article. However, for the illustrated case, the article doesn't specifically mention what is being reported on his credit reports that caused his score drop - we don't know whether he is being incorrectly reported as late, whether the AC code is attached to his mortgage accounts, or if there are other factors that negatively affect his score.
Based on what the FICO scientist says in this article, it seems like the AC code will have a directly negative effect on a person's scores. This is not without precedent; when a short sale code is attached to a closed mortgage account ("Paid in full for less than the account balance", or something like that), this code drives down one's FICO score. I don't expect the new wording to change how one's scores would be affected. This change is being made so that the CRAs can more accurately describe the phenomenon of loan modifications.
What will happen after your trial period is over and the modification is finalized? According to the CDIA guidelines, the AC code is still supposed to be reported. After November 1, the new CN code will apply (taking the place of AC) if the mortgage was modified under the MHA plan. So unfortunately, it looks like the credit score hit is going to persist even after a loan modification is finalized.
[Edited: links orginally contained in this message were no longer active, and have been removed. Also, at present the CN code is not expected to have a negative effect on one's FICO score.]
Message Edited by Lel on 01-26-2010 09:51 PM
