Can a creditor ignore your disputes and put it on your credit report anyway?

[amgj1970]

I made the biggest mistake and was dealing with Aaron's rent to own.  I had insurance on the account and unfortunately the merchandise was stolen.  I informed them of this and they told me I couldnt file the insurance claim and was trying to collect over $2000 from me for a used refrigerator which had a value less than $300.

they sent me a letter stating they were sending the letter to corporate collections and if I didnt respond then they would pursue further collection efforts.  I responded the same day and mailed the letter of dispute to them.  (kept a copy as well).  

I didnt hear anything from them for about a month.  (basically the 30 day validation period).  Then in the same day, I received a letter stating I failed to respond and they would notify the credit reporting agencies of the account.  I in turn went to my email and discovered an alert from Credit Karma that it was already on my credit report.  I mailed them another letter (keeping a copy for myself) stating I did respond and they ignored my response, ignored my dispute and that i would be filing a complaint with the Attorney General.

can I dispute this off of my credit report because they didnt follow validation of debt guidelines nor did they recognize my response saying I refused to respond when in fact I did respond.  

[Anonymous]

Did you send your first letter Certified Mail Return Receipt? If you didn't I'm sure you did on your second letter, right?

[RobertEG]

I assume that your first response was a direct dispute under the FCRA.

Direct disputes (FCRA 623(a)(8)) pertain to the accuracy of information contained in a consumer credit report.

As of the date sent, the creditor had not yet reported to a CRA, and thus there was no basis for a direct dispute.

The letter was thus a response, but invoked no 30-day investigation period or period for their response via any Notice of Results.

There was no statutory or regulatory prohibition against their reporting to a CRA at any time.  It is a bit unclear as to what any "response" might be that might have precluded reporting, but a reasonable interpretation would be that if you responded by payment of the debt, they would not report.

I see no violation on their part based on their having reported to a CRA.

Since they have now reported, you have the basis for now filing either a direct dispute or a dispute via the CRA, thus requring an investigation within the statutory 30-day period.

[Anonymous]

If you had insurance why didn't they allow you to file a claim? Was theft included in the insurance? Did you read the fine print?

[amgj1970]

I was disputing it directly with the creditor before they placed it on my credit report

[Anonymous]

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@amgj1970 wrote:

I was disputing it directly with the creditor before they placed it on my credit report

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Did the insurance cover theft?

[Anonymous]

It was a refrigerator that was stolen?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

It was a refrigerator that was stolen?

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Apparently one of the items was a refrigerator.

[RobertEG]

You cannot file a dispute under the FCRA related to information that has not been reported to a CRA.

[amgj1970]

The disputes were filed directly with Aaron's.  They ignored all communication with them and said I failed to respond.  I didnt fail to respond, I failed to give them over $2000 for a used refrigerator that was stolen and had a value of $300.  The LDW or Loss Damage Waiver is the right to file for insurance claim if something happened.  They dragged the situation on for over 3 months within the store level and it was said they wouldnt honor a police report and I would be responsible regardless.  When I talked to the police department they said it was too late to file the charges of theft.  too much time had passed.  The store knew this and that is what they were hoping for so that they could just come after me and not have to write it off as a loss.  Now it is on my credit report.  I just filed the dispute with the CRA now.