Any suggestions? My lien is withdrawn, but the CRAs won't delete

[LadyLeah]

So, a couple of weeks ago, I told you all that the State of Georgia withdrew my lien, sent me a letter and affidavit stating that the lien was issued in error, was officially withdrawn, and that they reversed the full amount and paid interest. The letter stated,

"The Department has reviewed the matter and determined that the State Tax Execution was issued in error. We shall correct our records, amend the State Tax Execution by stating that it has been officially withdrawn, and forward it to the XXXX County Clerk of Superior Court to be entered into that county's general execution docket.

...Please note that the Department cannot instruct a credit reporting agency to alter its records regarding this error because we did not report the State Tax Execution to any agency.  Nevertheless, I suggest that you send a copy of this letter to any credit reporting agency or potential lender, as needed, so that they will not rely on the erroneous State Tax Execution.

The Department regrets its error and any inconvenience this may have caused. Please contact me if you have any questions regarding this matter."

I filed a dispute with EQ and TU, and both came back "verified" with the lien still on my credit report.

Any idea what I can do now?

[eagle2013]

How did you dispute?

[gdale6]

If you sent both of them a copy of the letter posted here and they refused your next move is to file a complaint with the CFPB.

[LadyLeah]

@Eagle

TU - I filed the dispute online and uploaded both documents, the letter from the State of GA and the sworn affidavit. I just received a response in writing today that the lien is "verified."

EQ - I filed the dispute online, but there was no opportunity to upload files. I explained the withdrawal without any supporting documentation (but told them I had the documentation and would fax it to them upon request), and within 3 days, received notice that the lien was "verified."

I then called them and explained that I had a letter from the State of GA and a sworn affidavit proving that the lien was issued in error and withdrawn. They asked me to fax both of those items over to them and I have not heard back yet. 

[LadyLeah]

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@gdale6 wrote:

If you sent both of them a copy of the letter posted here and they refused your next move is to file a complaint with the CFPB.

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Oh dear. Is that a complicated process?

[LadyLeah]

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@gdale6 wrote:

If you sent both of them a copy of the letter posted here and they refused your next move is to file a complaint with the CFPB.

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Gdale, would you suggest filing a complaint over calling to talk to a supervisor or someone who can help? Should I try to call first or go straight to the complaint?

[ezdriver]

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@LadyLeah wrote:

@Anonymous

TU - I filed the dispute online and uploaded both documents, the letter from the State of GA and the sworn affidavit. I just received a response in writing today that the lien is "verified."

EQ - I filed the dispute online, but there was no opportunity to upload files. I explained the withdrawal without any supporting documentation (but told them I had the documentation and would fax it to them upon request), and within 3 days, received notice that the lien was "verified."

I then called them and explained that I had a letter from the State of GA and a sworn affidavit proving that the lien was issued in error and withdrawn. They asked me to fax both of those items over to them and I have not heard back yet. 

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I recently dealt with a similar situation except my mine was an IRS lien.

The lien withdrawal letter has to be recorded with your county recording office. Take the document to the county office or courthouse [find out where documents like deeds, liens, etc are recorded] and ask them to check on the status of your lien. I am willing to bet that the lien still shows active in the public record, Tell them that you want to record the document and pay the recording fee. Then you take the proof of recording and send that to the credit agencies. I gave mine to my loan officer who had it done via a rapid update. That's the correct way and sequence to address that problem. When you simply disputed with the credit agencies, they simply checked the public records and found that the lien was still active. Good luck and let us knwo how it goes.

[LadyLeah]

Thanks, Ezdriver! 

As an update, I did get an email today stating that my lien was removed from my EQ credit file. So I guess the only hold up now is Transunion. (It never did show up on my EX report). 

I'm going to give them a call and explain the situation. If that doesn't work, I'll contact the recorder's office. Incidentally, I just went there yesterday for a work matter. I work just a few blocks from the govt center, so it's no biggie if I have to go back.

[LadyLeah]

Crisis averted. 

I called TransUnion and they agreed to delete it from the credit file. 

The lesson I learned is that they do not really read the attachments you provide in a dispute. A follow-up call may be helpful when the results of the dispute are not favorable. All's well that ends well.

[ezdriver]

Fantastic ... but make sure that your withdrawn lien is also shown in the public records. If it isn't, that lien could reappear in your credit reports in the future. Things are often dropped on credit reports only to reappear later. It is your credit records out there so keep an eye on them.